Parallels Officially Releases Desktop for Mac

[admin]

Parallels Officially Releases Desktop for Mac
Thursday, June 15, 2006

Parallels today released the final version of its Desktop for Mac virtualization software, following the conclusion of a Beta program that generated more than 100,000 testers from 71 countries. According to the company, "Parallels Desktop is the first solution for Intel processor-based Macs that enables users to run Windows XP – or any other operating system – simultaneously in isolated virtual machines directly on a Mac OS X desktop, giving them the ability to use Windows programs at the same time as their favorite Mac applications. This is different from Apple's recently announced Boot Camp dual boot solution, in which users are forced to work in either Windows XP or Mac OS X, and must completely shut down one to access the other." As a special incentive to new customers, the company will make the product available for $49.99 for 30 days following today's announcement.



http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/489.html

[xyzzy]

I know this is a noobish question, but what's the difference between Parallels Workstation and Parallels Desktop products?

[scooper]

I think they changed the name from workstation to desktop for the Mac version. The workstation version is for Windows and Linux.

[FastEddy]

Did I read the .pdf properly?
It only recognizes \ emulates a drive up to 128 gigs and only emulates USB 1.X not 2.X.

Anyone here running it on a mini?
Speed or lag time?

[iMav]

I preordered this product and participated in Beta program. I've ran several flavors of Linux, Solaris x86, and FreeBSD. This product (even in its beta form) is excellent!
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-=iMav=-
http://geekhack.org

[g5g5]

It will be interesting to see if Apple includes virtualization in Leopard. If they don't, I'm going to be all over this app when I get my first Intel Mac.
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1.25GHz Mac Mini / 1.8GHz iMac G5 / 2.0GHz C2D Mac mini (2009)
4GB iPod mini / 2G iPod shuffle / 16GB iPhone 3G
Apple TV 2
iLife's a Bitch!

[DellApple]

I'm confused. Does this replace boot camp? If we did the boot camp thing; do we now need to upgrade to this?

thanks
Pat

[Fox]

Pat, it's an alternative to Boot Camp, a way to run OS X and Windows simultaneously (vs. one at a time in Boot Camp). When you run Parallels virtualization software, it runs as a program on Mac OS X.

Now that it's officially released, the price is now $50 but according to their website, it will go up another $30 in 30 days. It would have been nice to wait and see whether Leopard would provide virtualization before investing in Parallels, but since Leopard isn't due out for at least 2 months, you either gamble $50 now to save $30 later or you wait and gamble the extra $30. What's the inside scoop on this; will Leopard have virtualization?
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Mini 1: 2.3 ghz Core i5; 8 gb RAM, Corsair 240gb SSD, 500 gb Seagate XT
Mini 2: 2.26 ghz Core 2 duo, 8 gb RAM, 500 gb Seagate
Also a Cube, 13" MacBook Air, 20" 2.66 ghz iMac & 11.6" Acer 1810TZ running Ubuntu, Mint & openSuse

[g5g5]

[hairyneanderthal]

I am a little biased towards Parallels but that is mainly because of my own needs...

Parallels and Bootcamp are very different ways of approaching the same problem... How to run Windows on Mac Hardware

Bootcamp lets the Mac machine dual-boot into an XP compatible environment... You have to set aside some of your harddisk space to function purely as an XP system boot disk, and you have choose to boot to XP. This is ideal if you want a perfect XP machine from time to time. Apple have done a reasonable job (still some gaps) of providing drivers for most of the Apple hardware.
Parallels is a program that takes advantage of the fact that it is running on a Intel machine and provides a virtual environment to run Intel OSes. This runs at the same time as the user is running OSX. The OS and applications in most cases run as fast as they would do on a native machine however as this is a virtual environment there are many problems with applications that rely too much on hardware.

Bootcamp
Problems:
You have to reboot to switch between OSX and Windows.
You are restricted to XP Service Pack 2.
Advantages:
Whilst you are booted into XP you are using an XP machine.
You have 3D games support. (one of the main reasons Mac users still use XP )
You have full hardware support if drivers are provided (isight isn't for example).

Parallels
Problems
No 3D.. so recent games etc.. won't work.
USB is 1.1... and doesn't work as expected on many USB devices....
Advantages:
No reboot. You launch Parallels and then your OS... . Once your OS is running you can even cut and paste between them.
Much more support for different OSes...
If your software needs are purely.. Office, Visio, etc... without hardware dependancy this kicks ass...

In conclusion..
If you want to run games or need XP hardware compatibility your only option is bootcamp.
If you want to use serious software (that doesn't have too much hardware dependancy...) Parallels is an excellent option.


Parallels have created an excellent solution in my opinion.

[zuzu]

I don't understand the fuss about Parallels considering Q (as in qemu for OSX) has been available for awhile, is Free Software, and virtualizes Windows as well (or as badly, depending on your point of view) as Parallels.


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[iMav]

[devo]

I restored my hard drive to a single partition today with the Boot Camp Assistant. I really want to give Parallels a look-see before I go installing a new 120GB hard drive. I ordered a Seagate ST9120821AS off Buy.com yesterday and it should be here in 5-7 days.

[iMav]

[devo]

That was a good deal then. I paid $174, but combined it with two other items. What are you going to use the drive in? Did you go out and buy an Intel mini? I saw that you were selling your iMac and iBook.