What is particularly cool about Parallels is that the application appearance is seamless Windows apps run transparently within Mac OS X as if the “Wintel” apps were in fact native to the Mac.īy using this method, you are financially on the hook for both the Parallels license ( $79.99 as of this writing), as well as the license and installation media for Microsoft Windows. Parallels Desktop for the Mac provides hardware virtualization of Windows for Mac OS X-based computers. That is, we are unable to drag-and-drop resources between the host computer and the guest virtual machine. Note that the biggest “Achilles Heel” to the VirtualBox approach is that there is a pretty high degree of separation between Internet Explorer and Mac OS X. To browse IE sites, simply fire up your VM, log into Windows, start Internet Explorer, and off you go! If you need to share resources between the guest OS (the Windows-based virtual machine) and the host OS (your Mac computer), then you’ll want to set up the Shared Folders function in VirtualBox. If you need some assistance with this issues, there exist many wonderful tutorials that are only a mouse click away.Ģ. In order to access your LAN or the Internet from within the virtual machine, you will need to ensure that the VM’s network settings are configured properly. As of this writing, a single-user license for Windows 7 Home Edition is approximately $115. Note that this step requires that you own a license and installation media for that version of Windows. Open VirtualBox and create a virtual machine based upon your desired version of Windows.

For specific instructions on how to install and use VirtualBox on Mac OS X, I suggest that you check out the VirtualBox documentation site.ġ. With VirtualBox we can create guest virtual machines that run practically any operating system under the sun- pun intended-, depending upon your penchant for tweaking.įollowing is an abbreviated overview for getting Windows 7 and Internet Explorer running on Mac OS X. Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free x86 desktop virtualization product that is available for Windows, Linux, and yes indeed, Mac OS X. But hey: it’s better than nothing, right? Paid Method #1: Sun VirtualBox ^ Judging from the above screenshot, which displays the 4sysops Website rendered in a WineBottled instance of Internet Explorer 7, the user interface is nowhere near as pretty (or as functional) as it is in native Microsoft Windows. To run Internet Explorer, navigate to your previously specified installation location and simply launch Internet Explorer. After installation completes, you are ready to rock. You will be prompted for an installation location (I suggest the Applications folder), after which then the virtualized IE installation will proceed.ģ. Next, select the desired Internet Explorer version from the list. Open WineBottler and select Install Predefined Prefixes from the left-hand navigation bar. Download WineBottler and drag both Wine and WineBottler to your Mac’s Applications folder.Ģ. Here is the high-level procedure to get WineBottler and IE up and running on your Mac OS X system:ġ. As of this writing, WineBottler includes built-in “ prefixes” (basically virtualized applications) that support local installation of several Windows applications, including Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8. WineBottler is a Mac tool based upon Wine that provides for the easy installation of Windows application on Mac OS X. Wine, short for Wine Is Not an Emulator, is a GPL-licensed Mac application that relies upon X11 and allows Microsoft Windows applications to run under non-Microsoft operating systems.

Let’s get to work! Free Method: WineBottler ^ After all, sometimes the most reliable solution incurs financial outlay. I will also give you some IE-on-Mac methods that involve additional cost. The first solution is free, but may have variable long-term success for you, depending upon a variety of factors. In this blog post I will present to you a number of methods that will enable you to run Internet Explorer on a Mac.

Ie emulator for mac