There are a few select ways to run Windows on your Mac, one of the more popular methods being virtualization.  Today I will be looking at one of the most popular choices for virtualization on the Mac, Parallels (the alternatives being VM Ware Fusion and the free and open source Virtual Box).  Parallels has been the forerunner mainly because it was the first Mac virtualization software to hit the market.  Since its initial release (it is currently on version 3), Parallels has become more of a reliable, and powerful application. In this review I will be covering some of the more interesting features, and discussing what sort of users would want to use this product in the first place.

Installation Options

Parallels makes it very easy to install the operating system of your choice.  With Windows especially, it cuts out all the nonsense and makes the Windows installation the way it should have been from the beginning.

One of the great features of Parallels is that it works in unison with Apple’s Boot Camp. If you already have an existing Boot Camp partition, you can use Parallels to access it with out having to reboot. It is a very simple process, and the only hinderance is that you have to reactivate Windows.  This usually consist of nothing more than a ten minute phone call to Microsoft support.

There are a lot of options for Parallels users as to how much of their system’s resources that they want to give up to their virtual machine. You can decide the amount of memory you want to give the virtual machine, graphics memory, and lots of other tidbits. At this point it may be good to mention that if you want to run Parallels “well”, then you probably want your Mac to have 2GB of RAM at a minimum; however for optimum performance you will probably want 4GB.

The Experience

Running Windows in Parallels is a very good experience overall.  Programs load at a decent speed, and you can’t really feel that much of a delay. The Windows experience you receive is almost complete, apart from one problem.  It lacks good graphics performance. Sure, you can run games on it, but it is a world away from running a game on a native Windows machine or through Boot Camp.

When running everyday programs such as Office 2003 and FireFox, Parallels performs tremendously.  With one of the features of Parallels that I’ll discuss later, I’ll tell you how to make that experience a little bit better.

If you happen to be running Vista, one thing I suggest you do is immediately turn off Aero.  Even if you have a large amount of memory available to Windows. The trade up of performance is not worth it.  If you choose to run Aero, then you can not guarantee a great day-to-day computing experience. Parallels also features full integration with USB ports so that when you plug a USB device in you are able to access it. The only problem with this is the continual pop-up that appears asking if you want Windows to use it.

Parallels Tools

You can quite easily enjoy Parallels as a standard package, but to unlock some of the more interesting and helpful features you really need to install Parallels Tools (just to be clear, it is free and comes included - it just requires an installation on the Windows side). By installing Parallels Tools, you are able to access Coherence, cut and paste between operating systems, plus a couple of extra features that make working with Parallels easier.

Parallels Tools increases your productivity ten fold, though sometimes you find a couple of glitches where you can see the desktop background of Windows in coherence mode.  I have also noticed that the copy and paste between operating systems doesn’t always work as nicely as people may expect.

Coherence

There are three ways to view your virtual machine in Parallels. Window view, which lets you see the desktop within a window.  Full screen mode where the screen can become one of your Spaces, and finally my favourite: coherence mode (which requires Parallels Tools). In coherence mode you are able to run Windows applications in unison with Mac OS X. They appear as if they are simply a program in a Window running.

Coherence mode allows for a more seamless experience. Knowing that most of the time you will only require one app, not having to divert to a full Windows interface is helpful. An extra touch to this being; when you minimize a Windows program it zooms into the dock just as if it were a native app to Mac OS X.

Snapshots

Parallels has also made allowances for the fact that (in my opinion) Windows tends to fail a lot. This feature is called making a Snapshot. Basically it allows you to take a Windows install and freeze it in time; so if Windows fails on you, you can revert back to a pristine Windows install. Though I haven’t had a chance to test this out under real circumstances, I have done one revert as a test and it worked very well. You might consider making a snapshot as soon as you have everything installed so you have a fully loaded version of Windows when you need to revert.

Parallels Explorer

What if you wanted to get a file from Windows and copy it over to your Mac? Well the problem is that you have to wait for Windows to start, and then for it to load up.  Parallels solves this problem with Parallels Explorer. This app allows you to access files in Windows without having to boot into the OS. I found this very useful when looking for Word documents that I needed.  In that case there was no need to launch Windows.

Conclusions

Parallels is a very strong piece of software.  From what started as an easier way to run Windows on your Mac, it has come a long way.  For me, it’s unique features and very reasonable retail price of $80 puts Parallels above the competition.

I have only scratched the surface of Parallels.  There are loads of more unique features out there ready for you to enjoy. If you have a spare copy of Windows around I suggest you at least give the trial a go.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have added a new tool to my writing arsenal. Google Docs. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s Google’s latest attempt to gain space in the Office market. It’s a free web based Office suite entailing a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation app. It is currently still in BETA (would you expect anything else from Google?) and it originally was formed from the purchase and collaboration of the web app Writely.

Since then Google has added both spreadsheet and presentation functionality.

But what makes it so great?  Why should you uninstall Microsoft Office from your Mac or PC and embrace Google Docs? - here are five reasons.

Collaboration

One of the most interesting features of Google Docs is the ability to collaborate on documents and share them with ease. So, say you were working on a report and needed to share a few points or even do a communal edit. With Google Docs it is as simple as clicking a button to make someone a collaborator, which then gives the new user the ability to edit and add new collaborators. Therefore, you no longer make the mistake of having the old version of that document.

Very simply, you can use Google Docs as a simple Wiki - something a lot of companies are starting to embrace.

Easy Access

Google Docs is obviously web based.  This means that you can access a lot of your documents online wherever you are. This can be incredibly important if you’re jumping between multiple machines, or don’t have your personal computer with you. Now some may say that with something like Sky Drive you are able to upload the documents and then download them when you want to. But with that there are two extra steps that really aren’t needed - the downloading and uploading.

The whole point to this state of mind is that if you want it, it’s there.  If someone else wants it…it’s there.

Simplicity

It’s ridiculous how many features a program such as Microsoft Word actually has, especially when most average users probably use what? 5% of the power that Word has. Whose fault is this? No one’s.  People expect new features with a new release, so it is expected that over time applications are going to become more “busy”. Of course there will be those that complain that this is a bad thing and detracts from how simple writing a document should be.

Google Docs has a very clean and intuitive interface which makes it easy and simple for even the novice user. That’s what I like about it. My grandparents get lost in Word, but in Google Docs, it is much simpler for them to get things done.  Sometimes less is better.

The user-interface is also reminiscent of the Office apps, just with less items on the menus - you won’t find yourself digging through every single feature looking for the blockquote option.

Security

You can’t afford to loose your data and neither can Google. By having your data off site, things are less likely to go wrong.  If your laptop is stolen, no problem because all your documents are on Google Docs.  Some might say (just to be the Devil’s Advocate) that there could a problem, like a fire at a Data Center.  Though this is possible, Google probably has far more protective measures then your office does.

So basically, thanks to storing all your data with Google, you’re protecting yourself from any unforeseen problems.

Integration

When using Google Docs you are able to integrate everything that Google offers around the internet into your word processing. So you could have your iGoogle showing all of your newest documents, then you could send a file from Google Docs with your Gmail account. The possibilities are endless.

Also on the point of integration, for all you yet to be converted Word users, Google Docs also allows documents to be saved in the .doc format.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it, five good (in my opinion) reasons why you should at least consider giving Google Docs a try. There may be a couple of things that Google still have left to incorporate (like page formatting), but all these things are easily remediable.

Do you use Google Docs?  If so, why?

Over the last few years the amount of PC gamers has begun to drop. People have started to favor consoles as their main source of interactive entertainment. Computers have become more of a digital lifestyle tool rather then for enjoyment. This is one of the things that I associate to the increase in Mac sales. With people buying consoles they no longer need a computer that can play games.

However this hasn’t stopped companies like Alienware from flourishing and manufacturers continuing to promote their line of gaming desktops vigorously. For instance the newly releasedDell XPS 730. Truly a beast of a machine. This sort of computer still has its market for those who want an experience that the console does not yet offer.

Long Live The PC

The gaming PC is bound to be around for a while longer, there are still a fair few things that attract consumers to PCs. For instance, they’re more customizable to suit your needs. With a PC you can tune your computer to play whatever form of games you want - something that the console (power wise especially) does not yet offer.

Your also less limited to games, playing a real-time-strategy using the Xbox 360’s controller isn’t the most friendly experience. While with a good old keyboard and mouse, you have far more control. And of course, with a console you are pretty much limited to playing games and watching video content (though Microsoft is slowly making changes with this). On a PC you’re only limited by the software which is available for the platform.

Power is important, let’s face it, if you compare the latest and greatest gaming PC to something like the Playstation 3 there is no comparison (admittedly there is not comparison in price either) but if people are willing to make a large investment they want the best, which graphically wise the Playstaion 3 or Xbox 360 does not have.

Consoles Are King

There are a fair few attractions to the consoles, the price (as previously mentioned) been one of them. You could buy ten Playstation 3’s for the price of the base Dell XPS 730! When you get a console you get a GUI that is fine tuned to the gaming experience and making it easier for you to get to your games straight away. With the PC, it has been designed to do many more things: send and receive email, browse the web, create Excel spreadsheets - the list goes on.

It’s also a lot harder to fit a gaming computer in a home media center experience. You really have to have a separate area, it’s not as easy to game, you can’t simply switch input and turn it on as you can do with a console.

Conclusion

Though desktop gaming still remains to be many people’s preference the future seems to be the console for gaming and the computer for everything else. As for whether this is really a good thing really depends. It may keep everyone innovating and my hope is for PC makers to realize that they are alienating their customers by having such high prices - and therefore make them more competitive against consoles.

It seems, for now, the jury is out.

Ever since Mac OSX Leopard was introduced customizing the dock has become a popular tweak to the operating system. At first the only way of customizing the dock was by transplanting the files yourself, or using an automator action. And if you don’t know what you are doing; things could go wrong.

Panic’s Candybar also has a way of allowing you to change the dock design (and do lots of other UI changes) - but it does, of course, cost in the region of $30, It’s a fair amount of money, there must be a free option if all you want to do is change your dock?

Enter, Dock Library, an easy way to customize your dock with ease, all within a clean GUI interface. Editing your dock with Dock Library couldn’t be easier. Dock Library also comes with a few popular docks for you to try out when you download the app; but if you want to find more, all you have to do is go to a website, such as LeopardDocks.com, choose the dock, you want to try out, download them. and open up Dock Library.

From here you can then go hit the Import Button (see bellow), choose the downloaded dock and you’ll find it has appeared in your portfolio of docks.

Now, all you have to do is select the dock and click activate and your dock will automatically change to your preferred design.

Of course, changing the design of your dock is only half of what Dock Library was designed to do, with the clean interface you can easily organize all the docks you have in your collection, so when you get bored of your current dock, it’s as easy as opening up the app and clicking on the new style you want to use.

To put it in a nutshell, it’s as easy to change a dock with Dock Library as it is to change your Mac’s desktop background in system preferences.

As you can see, Dock Library is currently the most efficient way of modifying your dock. The best part about this app, is that it is free (though donations are encouraged, especially if you want more cool applications like this). If you’ve been waiting for a quick easy way to modify your dock, this is the answer.