Quick Parallels/Fusion Question!

[Radio Monk33]

Hey guys, about to pull the trigger on a work purchase..

Situation: they want Windows on a 10.4 imac.

I see the choices as:
1) Upgrade to 10.5 (no benefit other than boot camp) for 129$
2) Buy Parallels or Fusion ($89-99)--leaning towards this option.

Is there anything I would need to do other than install the program? I have a Windows XP SP 2 disc and license ready. Do I need to format the drive like in Boot Camp or to install drivers?

I'm looking for the fastest, quickest and EASIEST dsolution--all they need is to use Microsoft Word natively..

 

[Winter Charm]

Hey guys, about to pull the trigger on a work purchase..

Situation: they want Windows on a 10.4 imac.

I see the choices as:
1) Upgrade to 10.5 (no benefit other than boot camp) for 129$
2) Buy Parallels or Fusion ($89-99)--leaning towards this option.

Is there anything I would need to do other than install the program? I have a Windows XP SP 2 disc and license ready. Do I need to format the drive like in Boot Camp or to install drivers?

I'm looking for the fastest, quickest and EASIEST dsolution--all they need is to use Microsoft Word natively..

i belive that if you go with virtual software, you do NOT need additional drivers, that way you could just run windows and GO =D so the parallels option is the best way to go ... good luck!

 

[Mr. Zarniwoop]

I'm looking for the fastest, quickest and EASIEST dsolution--all they need is to use Microsoft Word natively..

If all you need is to run Microsoft Word for Windows, then by far the simplest, easiest, and best-performing solution is CrossOver Mac. It will run Windows Word as a native Mac OS X application with native performance, and there's a free trial so you can try it before you buy it.

CrossOver is not a great general solution for running a wide variety of Windows applications, as lots of Windows applications run poorly on it or not at all. But in your case, where there's a specific application needed and it happens to be one CrossOver runs very well, it'll do it with far less overheard and much better performance than Fusion or Parallels.

Boot Camp, CrossOver, Parallels, VMware Fusion in three bullet points each!