[2 Eyed Sam]

I am looking to becoming a iMAC owner and have a few questions for the group. I am looking at the stock 21.5" 2.9 ghtz iMAC. I may upgrade to 16 GB memory.

1. Some of my programs are not available (or too expensive) in the MAC version so I have to run a VM. I have Windows 7 Pro. I am thinking of using Parallels or VM Ware Fusion. I would use the VM portion for Microsoft Access, Quicken, Acrobat X among so other minor ones. Which VM program would be best to use?

2. Does running either VM program slow down the MAC?

3. I plan on storing all my documents (both Windows and MAC) on Buffalo Tech Link Station Duos. Per Buffalo Tech Web Site, the drives support both OS. Can I modify the same file from both Windows and MAC without having to have a copy of the file in MAC and one in Windows?

4. When I switch to MAC and get rid of Windows (as finances permit) will I have to convert files used in Windows to MAC?

5. I use Access for some small databases and Acrobat to scan, OCR, and make searchable PDFs and fillable forms. What are good MAC programs to replace Access and Acrobat X without spending hundreds of dollars?

[mikeo007]

1. Both are good options. I prefer parallels for the slightly better performance in games, but they're both great.
2. It will slow it down if you are doing too much, but it's no different than running any other programs. Just make sure you allocate a reasonable amount of resources to your VM (no more than 1/2 your RAM, CPU, etc).
3. As long as you use a filesystem that both OS can read (exFat for example) you should be fine.
4. No conversion necessary, a file is a file regardless of the OS.
5. I wouldn't replace either of those. Not much is better than Access for simple databases and Acrobat is still the best for handling PDFs.

[Bigeric23]

If you would like to try a free VM, you might want to test this for your use. I have been using it for years for Windows and Linux.

https://www.virtualbox.org/