Virtual globe applications are, with the exception of Google Earth, Windows-only, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them on a Mac. Back in the PowerPC Mac days we had Virtual PC, which ran Windows inside an emulation window: there was a performance hit, but it ran. On Intel Macs, you have several options: reboot directly into Windows using Boot Camp, or use an emulator like Parallels. Boot Camp is the better option for performance reasons, but an emulator is more convenient. The latest version of Parallels adds 3D graphic support; Stefan tried it out to see how well it ran ArcGIS Desktop, Skyline Globe, Virtual Earth 3D and World Wind. All of these apps run well using Boot Camp; did they work under Parallels? “Alas, in a word: No. Despite trying all possible configurations for RAM and graphics memory, most of these applications either won’t run at all or run unstably.”