Parallels 3.0 RC announced
If Windows is the new Classic, then Parallels Desktop for Mac is the Classic Enabler of the new millennium; there's no easier way to get XP running on your Intel Mac, should you wish to do something as antithetical to the Macintosh way as that. Virtualization heavyweight VMware has been sneaking up, though, releasing early betas including preliminary 3D support. Now Team Orange is leaping back to the front of the pack with a release candidate announcement for version 3.0 and upgrade pricing ($40 before June 7, $50 after that).New features in v3 of PD include:
- SmartSelect -- set your preferred application handlers cross-platform. Want to open URLs in IE7, mailto: links in Mail.app, or .xls files in Excel 2007? You can now.
- 3D acceleration -- DirectX and OpenGL support will allow 3D gamers to play Windows games at some modicum of acceptable speed
- Snapshot -- back up or roll back your virtual machine
- Parallels Explorer -- copy files into or out of your virtual disk images or your Boot Camp partition
- Enhanced Boot Camp support, better USB, better printer sharing, shiny Coherence 2.0
Thanks to everyone who sent this in
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Goobimama said 5:51PM on 5-31-2007
Parallels truly deserves to be #6 at that PC world's list....
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Daniel said 5:50PM on 5-31-2007
looks like the servers already are overloaded and you just posted this 3 minutes ago!
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Jenny said 5:56PM on 5-31-2007
I use virtual pc to emulate multiple operating systems (XP & several other linux distros
This one definitely deserves premium rating.
Jenny
http://www.spaml.com
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Quix said 6:06PM on 5-31-2007
So why does the discounted upgrade pricing end before the software is even available??? How can I know if I even want the upgrade before I have a chance to try it?
I'm dubious that 3-D PC gaming through virtualization will be a pleasant experience unless you have a Mac with a killer processor and killer video card...
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XGM said 8:38PM on 5-31-2007
bow chika bow wow :P
Sweet now to try out 3D accelaration, since im getting tired of playing Counter Strike source on my mac with crossover...
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CarbonFree said 6:18PM on 5-31-2007
Hold it. I just bought Parallels about three weeks ago. They don't seriously expect me to throw another frickin' $40, do they? They're joking.
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ryan said 6:21PM on 5-31-2007
CarbonFree
The upgrade is free for anyone that bought it after May 1st (which means you)
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CarbonFree said 6:29PM on 5-31-2007
ryan:
Does that include those who bought it through Apple's online store?
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Mark S said 6:32PM on 5-31-2007
Hmm, most of these are features that VMWare Fusion already has. I can't wait to see how things stack up against Parallels once it is out of beta. I am holding off until it is done before I decide which to buy. The latest Fusion beta is pretty good. I am using it for Solaris and Ubuntu.
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Thayne Miller said 6:32PM on 5-31-2007
I've been more and more impressed with VMWare's fusion than with parallels... my biggest complaint with parallels is how it handles the boot.ini file. For instance, if you are using your boot camp partition, and parallels crashes, you must re-open parallels, then shut down the VM **BEFORE** you try to reboot into boot camp else your machine won't boot into windows... I also like how fusion has support for dual processor/core machines while parallels does not.
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Bob said 6:32PM on 5-31-2007
Does this mean we'll finally get Aero Support for Vista?
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Thayne Miller said 6:37PM on 5-31-2007
#9 @Bob - According to the main page, "Vista Aero coming soon"
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digitalintrigue said 6:38PM on 5-31-2007
VMWare Fusion beta has been working better for me than the release of Parallels. I deleted it, in fact...
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Thayne Miller said 6:43PM on 5-31-2007
another note for VMWare Fusion: it is completely compatible with parallels... i.e. you can use a boot camp partition with parallels AND VMware without each app muddling up the other. After I tried VMWare, I deleted parallels. It seems a little bit slower, but it's vastly more stable, especially with how it handles plug-and-play devices.
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Michael Rose said 6:48PM on 5-31-2007
#14: Ah, Bang, I was wondering how long it would take you to show up. You must keep the TUAW feed constantly refreshed so you don't miss an opportunity to hawk and spit on your moral inferiors.
Thanks for being consistent. You're exactly what PC users think of as the stereotypical 'real' Mac user: an arrogant, self-important, elitist prat.
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Thayne Miller said 6:50PM on 5-31-2007
@14 - "Who's "we"? If you mean switcheurs... then perhaps, yes, but why on earth would any real Mac user need or want to use Windows?"
If you are so daft that you can't see the value of being able to run windows on your mac, then keep your inane comments to yourself. Mac is a great platform, but for me, there are several apps and games that just AREN'T MADE on the mac. For instance, at school I have a license for MATLAB, but the mac version totally blows because of its extensive use of X11. Having it run in windows is a godsend. I can thank paralles and VMware for that. Do I wish I could just scrap windows completely? Yes, of course, but is it nice to be able to run anything I want no matter what? Obviously....
speak for yourself, "real mac user" because I consider myself one as well and I am thrilled about this piece of software, as are a vast majority of other mac users given evidence that parallels.com is being slammed right now... now be quiet or I'll /me slaps you with a fish ;)
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blessingx said 7:39PM on 5-31-2007
I'm not within the May 1st deadline, but haven't had it long enough to fork over another $40. Have they had enough development to warrant an even 2.0 release, let alone 3.0? This will likely send me VMWare way. I should have waited for them to begin with. Anyone know how much WMWare is going to be?
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Anthony Rocket said 7:48PM on 5-31-2007
I'm a switcher. Yeah. I've been using Windows since it's been 2.0. I've using Commodore C64/Amiga before. And now I'm using MacOS. Am I a lower human being now?
I guess it depends on your usage profile whenever you need some Windows or you don't. I don't work in the media world. I use Outlook (no Entourage is not as goog as Outlook), Visual Studio and Visio, frequently. I like Media Players media library management features better than iTunes (because it lets me manage my videos which are not in the MOV format). And then there're some other apps. But I like a lot of Mac stuff too. That's why I spent some extra money on my mac and use MacOS as my primary OS and not the other way around.
It may be like in the PC/Apple ads. But almost everyone of us has sometimes to wear a suit. And Parallels/VMWare Fusion do that for you as bearable as possible.
Sorry #14/#18. But you are a stereotype of snotty Mac only user. The earth is not flat, it's not the center of the universe, some good apps are not from Apple or do not run on MacOS.
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hank cazorp said 8:13PM on 5-31-2007
! is a PC user.
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Stall said 10:23PM on 5-31-2007
still going to be too freakin slow
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