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Now that windows is officially supported via Parallels, couldn’t apple consider bringing back bootcamp?

Maybe it’s harder because of the apple sillicon architecture, but would be a bonus for those considering switching from pc to mac.
ARM Windows cannot boot and run natively on a ARM Mac for multiple reasons (booting, drivers, etc.), and this won't change unless Apple and Microsoft work together on it, which is very unlikely.
 
Cool… but bootcamp would still be much preferred. I can still hope.
Apple doesn’t want or need to have to deal with the expense and longer term support of having to write the drivers to support this.

One of original benefit of boot camp was to give switchers a fall back if they bought a new Mac but hated macOS. In other words it helped sell Macs. A fall back to Windows ARM doesn’t really achieve that, so the incentive to offer it isn’t the same.
 
Re: "Boot Camp"

What you have to understand is that running Windows natively on a Intel Mac was trivial because an Intel Mac was really just a PC with an Apple firmware. Apple didn't have anything else to do than make an assistant to setup dual booting, and write a few drivers for Apple-specific peripherals (for Windows XP they also needed BIOS emulation, but later Windows supports EFI booting so that's no longer needed, Windows 7 and above can boot 100% natively).

The ARM architecture doesn't work like that, any given vendor's system is very different because there's no equivalent to the PC standard in the ARM world, so the OS needs to be specifically customized to run on a given system.

ARM Windows can be virtualized on a ARM Mac because the VM can reproduce an ARM machine that Windows already supports. To run natively, Windows would need to specifically support Macs.

Unless Apple actively cooperates with Microsoft to make ARM Windows compatible with Macs, you'll never see Windows running natively on a ARM Mac.
 
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also incorrect, it always was a US company, but at one time had R&D facilities in Russia, these days it's a part of Corel which is Canadian.
Tsk-tsk...


Founded Parallels in 1999, a "prominent Russian businessman", at some point in time was very, very cozy with Kremlin.

Acronis, Parallels, Acumatica – all are Russian, all are staffed by Russians, no matter how they try to disguise now.


P.S. Here's their employer's page from the bigget Russian job board: https://hh.ru/employer/1736538
Of course, now they're "not hiring". :)

P.P.S. They've even dropped Russian version of the site, because "it is not a Russian company". :D http://www.parallels.com/ru/
 
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How about emulating DirectX 12?
I think the writing is on the wall for Parallels gaming and they know it; Apple seems to be trying to woo developers for more native ports and CrossOver is actually getting ahead of Parallels in places like this. The one extreme advantage Parallels has over CrossOver is ease of setup and all of these updates lean hard into that advantage.
 
I love Parallels and have used it for 15 years now. One knock against them is that this is a Russian company likely cooperating with the FSB just like Kasperski. They can’t not cooperate, so it’s anyone’s guess what Parallels siphons off the Mac and the VMs. Unfortunately, VMware Fusion is so much behind that it’s no longer a competition.
I use VMware products in our environment, but when it comes to virtualization on the Mac, Parallels has always performed much better than Fusion.
 
I love PD - never used VMWare Fusion, but VMWare VM products weren't as easy to setup when I used them at work. PD replaced a very slow VirtualBox solution I had used before then.

For years I've used PD for only two reasons: to build/test my own software installers on x86-Windows/Linux and to run TurboTax for Business - which is only available as an x86 Windows installer. With Apple having moved to Apple Silicone I feel a bit left behind. PD doesn't provide instruction-level x86 emulation, so I can't really be 100% certain that my x86 Windows 10 and Linux binaries work on ARM-based Windows 11 and Linux VMs. Similarly, I'm not 100% certain that TurboTax won't have any issues on an ARM-based Windows 11 VM (I did try installing x86 TurboTax for Business on an eval version of PD with ARM Windows and it did start and seem to work, but do I really want to risk it working when I most needed come March 15th?) So in the end, I simply kept my old x86 around and kick the problem down the road until that Mac falls apart or PD stops producing an x86-based PD.
The earlier versions drove me to tears, especially getting hold of the Windows ARM iso via Homebrew.
 
Isn’t parallels on an Arm Mac pretty useless? It will only run Arm based apps under Windows 10.

I used to love Parallels under intel Mac - I could test under most previous Mac and Windows OSes. Now I think you can only run Win10 ARM and some Linux OSes. Barely seems worth it.
 
Isn’t parallels on an Arm Mac pretty useless? It will only run Arm based apps under Windows 10.

I used to love Parallels under intel Mac - I could test under most previous Mac and Windows OSes. Now I think you can only run Win10 ARM and some Linux OSes. Barely seems worth it.
I’m running windows 11 for ms access and excel, works flawlessly. Never used it for gaming.
 
Thanks. Couldn’t see much evidence for the original claim, and didn’t know about the acquisition by Corel until your post!
Being US based company doesn’t mean that it had no Russian roots. Anyone can open a US-based company. The founder and the developers were Russian from the get go. The developers were stationed in Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Novossibirsk (Russia).
 
Isn’t parallels on an Arm Mac pretty useless? It will only run Arm based apps under Windows 10.

I used to love Parallels under intel Mac - I could test under most previous Mac and Windows OSes. Now I think you can only run Win10 ARM and some Linux OSes. Barely seems worth it.
No. Windows for ARM emulates AMD64 and X86, so any 64-bit and 32-bit Windows app written for the Intel architecture works under Windows for ARM. All these Windows applications written for the Intel architecture work under Parallels on Apple Silicon Macs.
 
No. Windows for ARM emulates AMD64 and X86, so any 64-bit and 32-bit Windows app written for the Intel architecture works under Windows for ARM. All these Windows applications written for the Intel architecture work under Parallels on Apple Silicon Macs.

And it works pretty well for office and productivity. I do my gaming on a PS5, so can't speak to how well it runs games, but I am surprised at how well some legacy x86 apps work on Windows ARM via a VM in Parallels. Not everything works, but a lot of it is more than usable to get work done.
 
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Since ARM Windows is far from full Windows, another option for about Parallels annual rate times 5 or 8 is to buy an actual PC. That kind of budget can buy a surprisingly robust Mac Mini-like PC that will then run anything that runs on Windows, not just some things that run in Windows ARM. That's what I did: "old fashioned bootcamp."

I also chose a 5K2K monitor with more than one video input so that both Mac and PC can share the same monitor without switching cables. Monitor has built-in hub so that both can share the same keyboard and mouse too. Monitor is an ultra-wide so- if desired- I can split screen to have both Mac and PC on the same screen at the same time. That "feels" very much like Parallels, minus the annual fee.

A modest Mac budget will buy a LOT of PC power and PC key upgrades like RAM and SSD have lots of competition driving down prices and margins so that most of the money one might spend on either is actually buying RAM and SSD... instead of deepening the cash pool in another vault.

Windows 11 is not nearly as bad as Mac fans spin. And all that stuff that we wish Windows emulation could do fully works on an actual PC. Bonus: since PCs are focused on Power instead of PPW, some things that lean on raw power get done faster on PC. So now I just parse out computing tasks accordingly. Some stuff I used to do on Mac now gets done on PC.

"Think different" works well this way for me. Perhaps for some of you too?

My only problem is, I can run pretty much everything I actually need for work or personal on my MacBook, and I have access to Windows computers at work (and someone to use them for me, usually) if what I'm doing absolutely requires Windows.

However, the one thing I want to do is run games. And the video card alone to do it properly is at least $800, but why **** around if I'm spending that much, might as well get a $1200 top of the line. That's the entire budget of a Mac Mini class PC.

Been using GeForce Now with BG3, and it looks great on fast internet. But not all the games I own are playable, apparently it takes them all day to install small patches, and if I have no internet access, no games at all.

There's no good solution, I chose to spend the money I could have spent on a gaming computer on a MacBook instead, since right now portability and a good work computer are more important than a gaming computer tied to my desk.

I imagine many people are in a similar boat and that's why consoles still exist. For the price of a good video card you get the whole thing. But that of course has its own problems (apparently BG3 isn't even out on consoles yet, for one example at the moment.)
 
And it works pretty well for office and productivity. I do my gaming on a PS5, so can't speak to how well it runs games, but I am surprised at how well some legacy x86 apps work on Windows ARM via a VM in Parallels. Not everything works, but a lot of it is more than usable to get work done.

Games not so good. The only gaming Mac there ever was, was the 2019 Mac Pro. And now it's gone. Not that anyone in their right mind bought it for that reason anyway.
 
No. Windows for ARM emulates AMD64 and X86, so any 64-bit and 32-bit Windows app written for the Intel architecture works under Windows for ARM. All these Windows applications written for the Intel architecture work under Parallels on Apple Silicon Macs.

We should not write this so matter of fact- that anything that works on X86 will work on Windows for ARM. That is NOT true. Here's an article that lays out pretty clearly that that is not true. Pay particular attention to the bullet list and some info just below it to understand WHY so much will NOT work with Windows for ARM.

Mainstream apps that have been updated to work for Windows for ARM will work well. Unfortunately, Windows being the king of PCs by far has countless numbers of apps that are not "mainstream." Some of those will work fine, some will work somewhat and others may not work at all. Best I know, there is no comprehensive list anywhere to check if any given app will or will not work. It's basically a game of try & hope.
 
I quite liked Parallels but was really put off by their pricing/upgrade model.
We had a HEAP of Parallels licences at work, as soon as their new pricing structure came out (9 years ago ?) it was dumped.
We have now gone to a VDI solution
 
My only problem is, I can run pretty much everything I actually need for work or personal on my MacBook, and I have access to Windows computers at work (and someone to use them for me, usually) if what I'm doing absolutely requires Windows.

However, the one thing I want to do is run games. And the video card alone to do it properly is at least $800, but why **** around if I'm spending that much, might as well get a $1200 top of the line. That's the entire budget of a Mac Mini class PC.

Been using GeForce Now with BG3, and it looks great on fast internet. But not all the games I own are playable, apparently it takes them all day to install small patches, and if I have no internet access, no games at all.

There's no good solution, I chose to spend the money I could have spent on a gaming computer on a MacBook instead, since right now portability and a good work computer are more important than a gaming computer tied to my desk.

I imagine many people are in a similar boat and that's why consoles still exist. For the price of a good video card you get the whole thing. But that of course has its own problems (apparently BG3 isn't even out on consoles yet, for one example at the moment.)

I'm no gamer but since I decided to embrace "old fashioned bootcamp" I realized I could put some retro games and a few favorites on it. So I chose one with a "pretty good" graphics card (the GeForce RTX 3070) and it handles even PS3 emulation. Barebone $849 + 32GB RAM and 2TB + 8TB SSD for a LOT less than Apple pricing. Or I could have got it with 32GB RAM and 1TB for $999... and just used existing storage "laying around" for big storage. I never hear any fans, it does not require a nuclear reactor to power it, my electric bill does not show any change I can notice, etc (all that negative we Apple people sling at PCs to prop up our favorite machines). Seemingly objective review...


That one's somewhat "old" now and there's probably some even better options available for 2023/24 but it doesn't take much to buy a lot of PC, especially when factoring in highly competitive RAM and SSD suppliers too. I chose to load it up with RAM and 2TB + 8TB SSD at a total cost of less than only the 8TB SSD upgrade for a Mac... intending this to cover all Windows needs for the next decade or so.

Perhaps the 3070 is not impressive enough??? It certainly has no problem with anything I throw at it and then it throws back to a 5K ultra-wide screen. They have some newer ones built on latest AMD tech that rate very well for gaming interests too.

Bonus: With the terrific Moonlight app for AppleTV, I can airplay-like from it to the big screen TV and play games on the best AV equipment in the house. I really did NOT think that would work as well as it does and am very impressed with it. Moonlight lets one play and control the PC at the TV. Stuff like Launchbox works very well. So now anyone around the house can get a game going within Moonlight on any AppleTV-equipped television. It "just works."

If I didn't have any gaming aspirations, some of their other mini PCs can get down to only a few hundred dollars for productivity software purposes.

If gaming was the only interest and I couldn't fully scratch the itch on a new (or intel) Mac or AppleTV, I'd also probably go with a console if I wanted intensely-demanding games and save several hundred dollars. But since I definitely needed Windows and could not trust ARM Windows emulation for anything clients may need, this seemed like a great option to pair on embrace of Silicon Mac.
 
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We should not write this so matter of fact- that anything that works on X86 will work on Windows for ARM. That is NOT true. Here's an article that lays out pretty clearly that that is not true. Pay particular attention to the bullet list and some info just below it to understand WHY so much will NOT work with Windows for ARM.

Mainstream apps that have been updated to work for Windows for ARM will work well. Unfortunately, Windows being the king of PCs by far has countless numbers of apps that are not "mainstream." Some of those will work fine, some will work somewhat and others may not work at all. Best I know, there is no comprehensive list anywhere to check if any given app will or will not work. It's basically a game of try & hope.
I use Windows on ARM for work on the Mac, and all apps (non-Microsoft) that are written for the Intel architecture work perfectly under Windows for ARM. There is one very old Cisco app (CIPC) that doesn’t work under Window's for ARM, but the support for this application was dropped by Cisco about 10 years ago, so the fact that even works under Windows 11 at all (on Intel architecture) is a miracle. In other words, I haven’t experienced a single application actively supported by its developer that doesn’t work under Windows for ARM. Obviously, one can never claim 100% success because there is a million applications that were written for Windows on the Intel architecture.

It’s true that the device drivers have to be compiled specifically for Windows on ARM, as it doesn’t emulate device drivers. But if you run Windows on ARM as a VM, then the device drivers in use are those in macOS, and the Windows drivers in use are only for the virtual devices presented to the guest OS by the hypervisor. Parallels Tools take care of these Windows on ARM drivers.
 
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