The downside here is that you can’t run macOS applications and Windows applications side-by-side at the same time.
Your Mac will perform as well as a Windows PC with the same specifications.
When you install Windows on your Mac, you’ll be able to use Windows and Windows applications with the maximum possible performance. Installing Windows as a real operating system on your Mac is the best idea if you want to play Windows games or use demanding applications that need all the performance they can get. If you’ve ever dual-booted Linux on your Windows PC, it’s just like that. Only one operating system can be running at a time, so you’ll have to restart your Mac to switch between macOS and Windows.
RELATED: How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot CampĪpple’s Boot Camp allows you to install Windows alongside macOS on your Mac. That’s where the next option comes into play. Many games, especially newer ones, will be unplayable. Yes, it can work-especially with older games-but you won’t get the best performance, even in an ideal situation. There’s one big downside to virtual machines: 3D graphics performance isn’t amazing, so this isn’t the best way to run Windows games on your Mac. In the long run, the price is well worth it. The integration with macOS is amazingly well done, and the speed blows away VirtualBox.
Note: We don’t often recommend paid software, but in the case of Parallels Desktop, it’s something we use at How-To Geek every single day for testing software and running Windows. Parallels and VMWare Fusion both offer free trials, so you can try all these programs and decide which is best for you. 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. 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.
Popular virtual machine programs for Mac include Parallels and VMware Fusion. RELATED: How to Seamlessly Run Windows Programs on Your Mac with Parallels If you already have a product key, you can download Windows installation media for free and install it in a virtual machine program. You’ll need a Windows license to install Windows in a virtual machine. However, they’re still running inside the virtual machine in the background. If you want it to be more of a permanent install for them, then a virtual machine on their Mac would be the way to go.You don’t have to use your Windows program in the virtual machine window, either-many virtual machine programs allow you to break Windows programs out of your virtual machine window so they can appear on your Mac desktop. So there's some options for you if you just want your friends to be able to view your database. That service has a monthly fee, though much less than it would be to place your database on a cloud Server with remote desktop.Īnother option is Chrome remote desktop, which is an add-on for the Chrome browser, which works in a similar way and doesn't require a VPN, but doesn't cost anything. Then your friends could use the same service to connect to your PC, without needing a VPN. Or you could just create an account with a service like Go to My PC. Then your friends could connect via your VPN, and use remote desktop to connect to your computer and look at your database. Set up your computer to allow remote desktop access, and create a VPN to your computer. So if this was meant to be a temporary thing just to show your friends your database, then you could rent some space on a remote desktop server for a month or soĪnother option is to do the same thing but on your computer. But it would cost you a little bit of money to run it.
That would be very simple for them to do it would only require them to use remote desktop, which is a simple application to install. You would then install your access database on there windows machine, and your friends would be able to use remote desktop on a Mac to be able to access your database on that service's cloud Server. It's not like it's just an interface.Īctually, if you just want them to be able to view your system then the best way and easiest way to do it would be to place it in the cloud using a service that provides remote desktop access. You have to actually build the VM on your system. But I know that it's a somewhat involved process, so if you're just looking for your friends to take a quick look at your program, that wouldn't be a good way to go.