I know partial discussions have been made about this topic throughout the boards but I don't think we have had a topic created about this very subject. To all those people who have tried all three which method gives you the most success?
Well IMO the best would be a USB boot up. Reason, when you are using a USB boot-up you are directly accessing the resources of a PC and not a Virtual environment, which is limited to virtual components defined by a Virtualization platform. And if I had to chose between VB(VirtualBox) and VMware I would go with VB as VB is Open Source and has more updates. ~Aby$m.
However, IMO i would choose VMware that's because i could listen to music while using xiaopan for example or i can watch a movie or browse the web and a lot more.
I tend to like Vmware although version 6 is giving me grief. I agree with @Fantastic. Also you have no choice on a mac but to run in VM.
If i use vm i use virtual box because it's free and does the job also boots persistence usb drives, but mostly i boot from usb. Sorry to disagree Mr. Penguin but i always boot from usb on the mac with refit, you will find a lot of the developers in the tiny core forums mac users.
Can I get a tutorial or point me in the right direction. Tried this ages ago with Reaver Pro and failed
You could try this guide http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-boot-a-linux-live-usb-stick-on-your-mac/
