- Virtual Machine--A virtual machine is one of the best ways to run Windows desktop software. They allow you to install Windows and
other operating systems in a window on your Mac desktop. Windows will
think it’s running on a real computer, but it’s actually running
inside a piece of software on your Mac.
Popular virtual machine programs for Mac include VMware Fusion
and Parallels. Each of these is a paid program, so you’ll have to
buy both a Windows license and a copy of your virtual machine program
of choice. You can also use the completely free and open-source
VirtualBox for Mac, but its 3D graphics support and Mac operating system integration aren’t as good. VMware Fusion and Parallels both
offer free trials, so you can try all these programs and decide which
is best for you.
- Wine--Wine originated on Linux. It’s a compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on other operating systems.
Essentially, Wine is an attempt to rewrite the Windows code that
applications depend on so they can run on other operating systems.
This means that Wine is nowhere near perfect. It won’t run every
Windows application and will have bugs with many of them. The Wine
AppDB can give you some idea of which applications are supported,
although it focuses on Linux support.
Nevertheless, Wine is one way to try running Windows applications on a
Mac. Because it doesn’t require you actually use Windows, you don’t
need a Windows license to use Wine. It’s completely free.
- CrossOver Mac- CrossOver Mac is a paid application that will run Windows programs on Mac. It uses the open-source Wine code to
accomplish this, but CrossOver provides a nice graphical interface and
focuses on officially supporting popular programs. If an officially
supported program doesn’t work, you can contact CodeWeavers and expect
them to make it work for you. CodeWeavers contributes their
improvements back to the open-source Wine project, so paying for
CrossOver Mac also helps the Wine project itself.
Most people will probably be happiest going for a virtual machine
program and a Windows license. With CrossOver, you don’t need to run a
Windows virtual machine — but if you do run a Windows virtual machine,
you’ll be able to run almost any Windows program with less risk of
bugs. CrossOver does theoretically allow you to run Windows PC games
on a Mac with better performance than you’d get in a virtual machine,
but you’ll risk running into bugs and unsupported programs. Boot Camp
may be a better solution here.
- Remote Desktop-You could also skip running Windows software on your Mac completely and use remote desktop software to access a
remote Windows system running your Windows applications of choice.
Organizations with business software that runs on Windows can host
Windows servers and make their applications available to Macs,
Chromebooks, Linux PCs, iPads, Android tablet, and other devices. If
you’re just a home user who also has a Windows PC, you could configure
that Windows PC for remote access and connect to it whenever you need
a Windows application. Bear in mind that this isn’t ideal for visually
intensive applications like PC games.
If you’re a Chrome user, you can even use Chrome Remote Desktop to
connect to a Windows PC running Chrome from your Mac running Chrome.
Although all these tricks obviously require more work than simply installing a Windows program on a Windows PC. If you have a Mac, you
should focus on using Mac software. Windows programs won’t be as
integrated or work as well. You may have to buy a Windows license for
your Mac to get the best compatibility, whether you’re using a virtual
machine or installing Windows in Boot Camp. Wine and CrossOver are
nice ideas, but they aren’t perfect.
Here is the link for more details
Try it. Worst thing that will happen is it wont work. – Keltari – 2015-10-03T04:25:38.650