I tried the Macintosh Boot Camp and like being able to run Windows on a Mac, but the dual boot setup is painful. Can I get a virtual machine package that lets me run Windows in a window on an Intel MacBook?

Try Parallels Desktop. A 15-day trial version is available after you register on the Web site. After you install the software, use the virtual machine configuration editor to add your CD/DVD drive and a virtual hard drive to the default virtual machine configuration, then install your guest operating system.

Insert the Windows installation CD in the drive, then start the virtual machine you just configured. Windows setup should launch from the CD when the virtual machine starts up. Follow the prompts to install Windows as you normally would.

Initially I forgot to add my network adapter(s) to the virtual machine, and had to add them after Windows was installed by shutting down Windows, going back to the configuration editor and picking out the wireless adapter to use with Ethernet bridging.

After restarting the virtual machine, DHCP picked up an address under Windows, and the Mac happily runs a fully networked Windows installation in a window on the Mac desktop.