One of the biggest reasons an unhappy Windows users may be on the fence about buying a Mac is the re-education required. On top of having to learn an entirely new set of programs and tools, they are then faced with data migration. Granted, the process much easier today than ever before, but it can seem like a daunting task to someone who has never laid hands on a Mac.

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With nothing of much interest in the Apple world for me to justify switching, I'd rather just have the true experience minus all the Apple overhead and pretending that they're doing the same thing. Parallels is ok for those who work in-between the Mac and PC world. But it's like a child wearing their parents clothes. On the surface they might appear similar, however the similarities end soon after.

I dunno - Apples don't tempt me either, but I have a non-techie sister who can't wait to get hold of an Apple netbook (beats me why). OTOH I have used both Parallels and the Crossover WINE tweaks to run Windows apps on Linux when I had to (mostly for work purposes). So I do understand the impulse to mix OS's to suit one's software. Seems to me Parallels is filling a well understood user need to help those who, like my sister, want to make the switch to some form or other of Apple computer.