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Running SHAZAM on a Mac
SHAZAM can be used on the Mac! This article discusses the different methods, issues, and workarounds involved in getting it to work well.

Make no mistake, running SHAZAM on your Mac is experimental.   It can require a little bit of tweaking, and is not recommended unless you feel comfortable installing and configuring the Windows operating system and applications.   This article is not a how-to, just information to point you in the right direction and make you aware of what is possible. 

Virtualization Software

Regardless of what kind of Mac you have, in order to run SHAZAM, you need to be running virtualization software which enables running Windows and Windows-based applications on your Mac.  In addition, you will need a copy and license for Windows XP or later in order to install the windows environment that supports SHAZAM.  

We will explore three different methods of running SHAZAM, using 3 different Virtualization software products.  The first two methods, Boot Camp and Parallels, require one of the newer Intel-based Macs.   If you have one of these,  you can get very good performance, in some cases rivalling or exceeding that of a dedicated windows computer.    The third method, Virtual PC for Mac, works on PowerPC G4 or G5 based Macintosh computers, but has lower performance.   Each of these methods will be detailed below.

Method 1: Apple's Boot Camp (intel Macs)

Boot Camp is software from Apple, Inc that lets you install Windows without moving your Mac data.  Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.  Once this is done, you can restart your mac in either Mac or Windows mode.  Generally, this method gives the highest performance and reliablity you can get from your Macintosh using SHAZAM, at the expense of not being able to run Mac programs at the same time.

Boot Camp is free, and available from Apple.

Method 2: Parallels Desktop for Mac (intel Macs)

Parallels Desktop for Mac gives you the flexibility of running Windows AND Mac OS X simultaneously without rebooting. You can use Parallels Desktop for Mac on any Intel-powered iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, & Mac Pro Towers.    Parallels supports Windows XP or later.

Unlike Boot Camp, you can literally run SHAZAM side-by-side with Apple Mail, or Safari, for instance.   If you have multiple monitors, you can have SHAZAM running full screen on one monitor, and your favorite Apple applications on the other.  

Parallels even lets you share your internet connection between your Mac and PC applications.   Although not quite as fast as Boot Camp, Parallels takes advantage of the Virtualization technologies built into the new Intel chips to run SHAZAM very efficiently and quickly. 

Method 3: Microsoft's Virtual PC for Mac (powerPC Macs)

Although we haven't personally tested it, SHAZAM may also run on the G4 and G5 PowerPC based Macs by using Microsoft's Virtual PC for Mac.    Because the processor is having to emulate an Intel processor, performance will be the lowest of the three solutions by far, however we have customers who seem fairly happy with this approach.

Issues and Workarounds

Virtual Memory/Disk Settings - When deciding how much storage to allocate to Windows, be sure to take into account the size of SHAZAM, Windows, and any other Windows applications you might want to run.    In general, this is at least 10-12 GB for just SHAZAM and Windows.