There are a very few times when I wish I had a copy of Windows on my Mac – mostly when I want to see if a web design will work in the notoriously tricky Internet Explorer 6. The advent of Bootcamp and Parallels Desktop made that possible, but now there’s an even easier way to do it.
CrossOver Mac is based on the open-source WINE project, which allows Intel-based computers to run Windows programs from inside Unix. With Apple moving their Macs to Intel processors, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a quick and easy way to run WINE on OS X.
It’s nice and peppy, because WINE isn’t an emulator (unlike the maddening Virtual PC). Sadly, CrossOver Mac is only available as a time-limited public beta; happily, it’s only going to cost $59.95 – and if you pre-order, the price drops to $39.95.
Think it’s too good to be true? I have screenshots to prove you wrong, my friend:
I love Parallels. How does this compare?
The big difference is, this actually replaces Windows – you don’t need to buy a copy.
That said, I’ve had one or two stability problems out of the gate. We’ll see if they settle down in the next few days.