If you own a newer-model Mac laptop with an Intel processor, the machine has a bonus you may not know about: That Mac can actually be a PC—meaning it can run PC-based charting and navigation software.

In the old days, Mac users had to run an emulation application such as Virtual PC. But, as anyone who used these applications knows, they were slow and expensive. Now that Apple has switched to Intel processors, Macs can be configured to run other operating systems such as Windows or Linux.

Apple’s dual-boot system, called Boot Camp, lets you boot up your Mac in either Windows or OS X. Two newer products, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion (see links below) let Mac users run Window applications without having to reboot their computers. This is done by partitioning the processor, giving it access to multiple operating systems.

These virtualization tools let you have a shared folder, such as a folder of chart files, that can be accessed from two separate operating systems. For example, an Intel Mac running Mac OS X and Windows XP could run Maptech Chart Navigator Pro. Configuring such a setup is straightforward and may provide an option for computer-savvy boaters to have the best of both worlds.