As I’m sure some of you have noticed, I have completely switched over to Mac OSX from Windows. And, I have done so, without the slightest regret, concern, or second thought. I will not go into why the word superior does not do justice to OSX over windows, but if any of you have doubts, I assure you that that is the case (and if you are still unclear, I’ll gladly explain at a later time).
However, due to the fact that I am an engineer, and the majority of engineering applications that I work with are not compatible with OSX, my transition cannot be 100% complete. Though I hope that one day AutoDesk will reconsider releasing a version of AutoCAD for OSX, in the present day there is little that comes close.
It is therefore that I am forced to use Windows, and, with Apple’s release of Boot Camp, I can now dual boot both OSX and Windows XP (and Vista for that matter). I have tried this solution and though it is quite seamless and is an amazing development in the world of Apple, restarting each time that I need to use a Windows application is a tedious task to repeat over and over throughout the day (I refuse to use Windows for any longer than I have to when given the alternative to use OSX).
Well to the rescue comes a Parallels Desktop for Mac, “an easy to use virtual machine which allows users to run Windows and other OSes in virtual containers directly on Mac OS X desktop. Use Windows applications without losing the functionality of your Mac – no rebooting required.” Parallels Desktop allows me to run Windows at almost full speed within a window in OSX, 
minimizing it (or putting it in standby) when I don’t need it, and instantly turning it back on when I do. The program is not currently released as a retail product, but is very quickly nearing a release. For now, you can download the program and use it for free for 30 days (or until they release the final version for $40). I highly recommend this program for anyone who is forced to use Windows. For those of you who are not, get a mac.