Most people who need Windows access use a virtual environment such as
Parallels or VMWare Fusion to run Windows applications virtually on a Mac.

However, if you don't need Windows and only need to run Windows applications Darwine might be able to help you. The Darwine project aimed to port and develop WINE as well as other supporting tools that allow Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows Applications. For developers out there, it also aims to provide a Win32 API compatibility at application source code level.

You should note, however, that as of May this year, the Darwine project has officially ended. Darwine is now known as WineBottler, although you can still use the last-known build of it, which is provided here. Note that Darwine runs only on Intel Macs with Tiger and Leopard and Snow Leopard is not supported yet. Darwine also isn't suitable for running 3D applications because there's no support for OpenGL as yet.

Darwine has many limitations and is now superseded by WineBottler but it's still worth a try if all other methods at running a Windows application in OS X have failed.

Download WineBottler 1.2.5 in Softonic

There are essentially two options to run Windows on the Mac - using Boot Camp which involves installing Windows on a separate partition and rebooting it in Windows or, running Windows in a virtual environment, such as the one that Parallels Desktop provides. With the former, you'll get quicker and more realistic results but there's no substitute for being able to switch at will between OS X and Windows which is what Parallels Desktop allows you to do.

Setting up Parallels Desktop is a breeze. You'll either need a copy of Windows on CD to install it or an ISO image will also suffice. Parallels Desktop will then install Windows in about the same amount of time that it would take to make a fresh install of Windows on a PC. The Transporter feature guides you through the whole setup process, asking you if you'd like to be able to share files between OS X and Windows and use external devices amongst others.

There's no need to worry about viruses on your Mac by running Windows in Parallels Desktop - any viruses will be restricted to the virtual environment that Windows operates in and won't affect your Mac in any way. However, version 7 of Parallels includes a security barrier to ensure there is absolutely no risk.

To launch Parallels Desktop you have two choices. Either launch it from your dock, it will ask you which version of Windows you'd like to launch (if you've installed more than one) and allow you to change settings such as the amount of RAM allocated to Parallels, hard disk space and hardware acceleration. Alternatively, just double click on the file you want to use and Parallels Desktop will automatically open it in Windows or OS X depending on the file type. In this way, version 7 has blurred the line between Windows and OS X so that switching between the two has never been easier.

You may notice that the mouse runs sluggishly (among other niggles) but this can be easily remedied by going to the Actions menu and downloading Parallels Tools. Why this is a separate component I have no idea because it makes running of Parallels far smoother and more realistic but it doesn't take much time to download.

The latest version of Parallels Desktop for brings full OS X Mountain Lion compatibility, including support for Full-Screen Apps and Launchpad integration. This means you can add Windows apps to your Mac Launchpad as if they were installed on your Mac. There's also support for the new voice operated dictation feature in OS X 10.8. In addition, you can also get an app for Android and iPhones that complements Parallels Desktop 8 and allows you to control your virtual environments from your mobile. You can even use Trackpad gestures to navigate around Windows.

There are many other great features in Parallels Desktop too, including the possibility to use Spotlight to find Windows files and applications. Mac keyboard shortcuts work in Windows too as do parental controls. Adding USB devices is a breeze and the Mountain Lion resume feature now extends to Windows apps too.

It's a bit more sluggish than using Boot Camp to install Windows on your Mac but the latest version of Parallels Desktop makes it faster and more convenient than ever to switch between Windows and OS X.

Download Parallels Desktop 8.0.18345 in Softonic

Intego VirusBarrier protects in real time by constantly examining all the files that your computer opens and writes, as well as monitoring for suspicious activity that may be the sign of viruses infecting applications or files. This makes VirusBarrier ideal for detecting Word and Excel macro viruses and even viruses targeting Windows if you are running it in a virtual machine such as Parallels.

Intego's Virus Monitoring Center provides updated virus definitions via the NetUpdate function. However, VirusBarrier does seem to be one of those tools that Mac users either love or hate. Some people report that it does its job efficiently and discreetly while others find that it kicks into action when they least want it to, tends to lock-up their system and may even throw-up alerts that aren't threatening.

In terms of presentation and interface, Intego VirusBarrier scores top marks. Its functionality could be a but hot or miss though.

Download Intego VirusBarrier X6 Intego VirusBarrier 2013 in Softonic

iCleanMemory can be configured to automatically start when you startup your Mac so that all you need to do is click "Optimize Memory" when you need to clean memory. You can hide it in the Dock or Menu Bar as well as integrate iCleanMemory with Growl to notify you when a cleaning action has been completed.

iCleanMemory displays how much RAM you have remaining at any one time and clears it by simply optimizing the balance of RAM in your Mac to allow other apps to function more smoothly. It should be used with caution however - OS X is designed to balance and manage your RAM, and interfering with this could lead to instability and potential crashes.

iCleanMemory is however particularly useful for those that use highly intensive graphical applications such as graphic designers and video editors. It's also handy if you run intensive applications such as Parallels. For those with at least 4GB of RAM, it's probably not necessary but for those struggling on 2GB it could be ideal, especially if you've just upgraded to Snow Leopard.

iCleanMemory is a powerful tool that helps you instantly free-up space for applications.

Download iCleanMemory 1.2 in Softonic

While they don't actually take-up any space on your machine, they clutter your hard drive, serve no use and in the worst scenarios, can actually affect how your Mac works. BlueHarvest offers two ways of taking care of these unwanted transfer files. It installs as a preference pane and offers two viewing modes - Simple and Advanced. In Simple mode all you need to do is select which drive you'd like to keep clean, be it Startup Disk, Non Mac Disk or File Servers that you want to keep clean.

For more experienced users there is an Advanced preference view in BlueHarvest, which allows you to specify in detail which areas you want to keep clean. This is aimed more at those connected to several drives or servers though and for most general users, the simple view will do everything they need. It's great knowing that, with no further action needed on your part, these DS_Store files are gone for good.

BlueHarvest is an excellent preference pane-based tool to get rid of unwanted DS_Store and .Trash files left behind after transfers between your Mac and a PC.

Download BlueHarvest 4.0.5 in Softonic

Bible-Discovery is a Java based application and this download includes both the Windows EXE file and the JAR Java file that you'll need to open it on Macs. However, despite this it works very quickly - there's no sluggishness - and it opens instantly.

Bible-Discovery features bookmark handling, customizable font size and color,s a biblical text importing pane, and a parallel and comparative Bible read feature. The translations - of which there are over 50 - aren't included in the download but you can download them from the developer website including an extra 10 dictionaries.

Bible-Discovery is generally easy to use - Menus are clearly laid out and there are tons of options although it is a bit buggy when switching back to the desktop as it tends to leave remnants of the Java menus on your screen. Also, it's a bit annoying having to download all the separate translations although since most users will probably only need one or two, this shouldn't be a major problem.

Bible-Discovery is an interesting and complete Bible study package.

Download Bible-Discovery 2.4.3 in Softonic

Speed Freak is probably one of the more unfortunate names to give an application, but from a developer called Big Fat Stinking Software, it's clear that branding and marketing is not a priority.

Speed Freak is actually a very useful tool for prioritizing certain applications to receive more CPU power in order to make them run faster and with more stability. At specified intervals, Speed Freak reprioritizes applications so that the the most active applications get more processor time than background applications. It has a Basic and Advanced mode. In Basic Mode all you have to do is specify a percentage of resources to allocate to front end applications. In Advanced Mode, you have control over how much to allocate to front end, back end and the frequency you want it to check.

This is useful because by default, all processes in OS X have equal priority, which is a bit illogical when you think that some applications - such as Firefox and Parallels, are obviously going to need more than small apps like Adium or Skype. Speed Freak overides this limit using the Unix 'renice' command.

The developer highlights that Speed Freak does not affect graphics card performances, and will show little or no increase in 3D gaming speeds. Download speeds from the Net won't improve either but the time pages take to load could be sped up by giving more resources to your browser.

Since OS X is not designed to re-balance your system like this, you may experience some instability issues with Speed Freak, but overall it seems like a remarkably effective application in the short term.

Download Speed Freak 2.8 in Softonic

If you're addicted to Furcadia then you'll be a member of one of the oldest role-playing communities on the net.

Furcadia has been going since 1996 and now you have this client for Macs. All you need to get going is a Furcadia account and this MFurc client to play online. The mFurc client allows you to connect to the Furcadia server, play online and download content created by other players and even chat with your friends for games.

This client is a rebuild of the Windows one but with lots of great new features thrown in such as support for Unicote, Growler, Spotlight, DBS files, Core Image, patches and there's a spam blocker. You mighty find that the sever is heavily oversubscribed at times according to users on the forum but that's not the clients fault. It would have been useful however for the client to feature a reconnect tool in the event that you can't log on immediately

mFurc is the only way for Mac fans to get online in the Furcadia community unless of course you run the Windows client in Parallels.

Download mFurc 5.11 in Softonic