So Parallels lets you run Windows applications side-by-side with Mac OS X apps. Furthermore, it forces you to context shift and learn a second OS. Doing so within a virtualized environment in a window 'works' but it's not elegant. The point of using virtualization on a Mac is that you're using a Mac but need or want to run one or more Windows applications. Windows 8.1 virtualized, running in a window under Mac OS Xīut you don't want to do that. At the most basic level, it works as you might expect: You install Windows to a virtual machine and if you want, you can access that VM in a window with its contained applications, much as you might in a traditional virtualization product such as Hyper-V Client or Virtual PC. Parallels Desktop 10 is so full-featured I barely know where to start. Note: Yes, there are other options, including VMWare Fusion and the free VirtualBox. And the one I'm using now, Parallels Desktop 10, is particularly amazing. These solutions have gotten dramatically more sophisticated in recent years, allowing you to run Windows applications side-by-side with Mac OS X apps. From the earliest days of Mac OS X, various virtualization solutions have made it possible for users of Apple's Mac computers to run Windows and, more critically, Windows applications.

Shortcut to switch from mac to pc os