Running Mac + Windows in Parallel?

I have a MacBook Pro w/Parallels on it and it's working great. I'm a professional web designer, so I needed this flexibility to run both Mac and Windows at the same time, in fact, right now I have OSX, Windows XP and Linux (Fedora 6) running simultaneously. I can switch between them with a single mouse click.

You can allocate as much memory to the 'guest OS' as you like, but there are some limitations, to make sure that the primary OS - OXS can operate smoothly. I have 3 GB of memory, so I allocated 1.5GB to OSX and 1.5Gb to Win XP. I run XP from an external eSATA hard drive, so the speed is great.

It runs very fast, if I didn't know it was a VM (virtual machine), I'd say it runs faster than my native Win XP. The only device that's not working inside Windows (there's still no driver for it) is a built-in iSight camera.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try to answer them.

Jimtyrro

Re "It runs very fast, if I didn't know it was a VM (virtual machine), I'd say it runs faster than my native Win XP."

This sounds like it might just be what the doctor ordered....

At a glance, the specs look pretty similar on the lowest to highest priced MacBook Pro.

Can I safely conclude that the main difference is screen size?

As I use an external monitor, can I save the money and recycle the savings into maximum RAM?

The lowest priced Macbook Pro has less video memory comparing the top model - 128MB as opposed to 256MB, and it will run only at 1440x900 max resolution. If this is something you don't really care, then yes, by all means invest into more RAM. And, here's the advice on how to save some money on RAM. Buy the configuration with just 1GB and buy an extra 2GB module off Ebay. I bough mine (which is a Apple approved Samsung brand) for just $379 as opposed to Apple's own $750 upgrade to 3GB.

BTW, I don't know if you're following disscusions on Parallels' forum, but there's a new beta 2 3094 built, that supports such cool features like Coherence mode which will basically allow you to run any windows applications right from OSX screen, you can even put them in your dock panel.
Also you can run boot strip partion right from Parallels.

Does Apple have new desktop or G machines as well?

If so, will they work in the same way?

Or even better?

Newer Mac's have intel chips. The older one's have G series chips. Different processors. Parallels won't run on the older ones.