Now that Apple computers use Intel processors -- a change the company made last year -- Mac owners can run Windows and Apple's Mac OS X side by side. That's thanks to a technology called "virtualization," which allows users to switch from one operating system to the other without having to reboot their computer.
So does that means Mac users will be able to run Microsoft Vista and have two state-of-the-art operating systems on one machine? Not so fast.
Using virtualization software such as Parallels or VMWare, Mac users can theoretically have Vista and OS X running side by side. But they can't use the cheaper version of Vista designed for home users -- at least, not if they want to abide by the terms of the End User Licence Agreement, which software owners effectively agree to when they install a product.
That's because the Microsoft agreement states that anyone running Parallels can't use the $199 basic or the $239 premium edition of Vista. Instead, they have to buy the $299 business version or the $399 ultimate version of the long-anticipated OS. MIcrosoft says the move was necessary because of security issues with virtualization technology. A security analyst showed last year that, in theory, the kind of virtualization that Intel and AMD processors allow could be used to run malicious software programs alongside another operating system, creating the potential for damage.
AMD and Intel have both questioned whether the research is valid, however, and said there are no inherent security issues with virtualization. But Microsoft maintains that there's a chance such a problem could occur, and has therefore restricted the use of Vista to versions that it assumes are likely to be run either by corporations or by sophisticated users.
Unfortunately for anyone who plans to use their copy of Vista to play music or watch videos while running a virtual PC on their Mac, the Vista end user agreement also prohibits virtualization programs from playing any content that's encrypted with Microsoft's digital-rights management software -- another security risk, according to Microsoft.
If you're a Mac user, you can get around these restrictions by using Apple's Boot Camp software, which also allows you to run Windows Vista and OS X on the same machine. But it's not virtualization software -- which means that you'll have to reboot your computer in order to switch from one OS to another.
