Tikkabik

Every so often I'll read these forum discussion threads about running Windows on the Mac. In particular, for gaming, this has become a popular way for some users to get access to software they can't run natively on Mac OS X.

I admit that I've experimented with it extensively since Apple first started beta testing "Boot Camp" last year, which enables you to reboot your Mac into Windows (provided you have a spare user license for Windows XP or Vista lying around). It's clever software -- when you're working in Windows, your Mac is, for all intents and purposes, a PC.

Some Mac users clearly have no problem doing this, and don't find it a major inconvenience to lose the functionality of Mac OS X when they're running Windows. But it finally dawned on me this morning how it makes me feel: Like I'm running my car to keep the lights in my house turned on.

It just doesn't seem like a very efficient use of the hardware.

You have to partition a chunk of your hard drive for that use, which is inconvenient enough, imo -- then you need to actually restart, unless you're using virtualization software like Parallels or VMware Fusion. And while those are great alternatives, they don't offer the same performance or compatibility that the Boot Camp route does, so there is a penalty.

Don't get me wrong: It's a neat hack, and I suppose that in a pinch it's a really worthwhile solution. But working with it for more than a year now, I can't say that I'm really thrilled with it: If I had to work with Windows on a daily basis, I'd much rather do it using a dedicated PC than a Mac.