Soon there will be yet another option, which, unlike the current choices, doesn't even require a copy of Windows. Meanwhile, start-up Parallels has released software that lets the Microsoft operating system run in a separate virtual machine with only a slight loss in performance. For one, Apple has its own Boot Camp software, which lets Intel-based Macs boot up with either Windows or Mac OS X. There was only one option: running Virtual PC emulation software.īut with Apple Computer's shift to Intel chips, the pool of options has expanded considerably. It used to be that running Windows programs on a Mac was a slow, painful process.