Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac - But Does It Work?
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Ever since Apple decided to dump Big Blue processing power in favor of Intel, one of the interesting parts of this entire scenario is the ability to run Windows on a MAC. Not being a MAC user myself, I have no knowledge of how this should work but some of the readers had mentioned Parallels to handle the task. So I took a look-see at the software which seems to be reasonable priced. On the Paralells site they claim that:
Parallels Desktop for Mac enables you to run Windows, Linux, and more side-by-side with Mac OS X on any Intel-powered Mac, without rebooting. With Parallels’ award winning virtualization technology, you can run Mac OS X and your favorite Windows applications at the same time. You can even drag-and-drop files between desktops!
They also state:
With the latest version of Parallels, you can:
- Use Windows and Mac OS X at the same time…without rebooting
- Run Windows programs like native Mac applications with Parallels Coherence
- New! Open Windows files with Mac programs and Mac files in Windows programs with Parallels SmartSelect
- Share files and folders between Windows and Mac OS X
- New! Browse through Windows folders and access files without launching Windows with Parallels Explorer
- New! Run today’s most popular PC games on a Mac with support for 3D graphics
- Achieve maximum performance by leveraging Intel® Virtualization Technology
- New! Protect your Windows with Parallels Snapshots
- Migrate your entire existing PC to your Mac with Parallels Transporter
What I find interesting about this is that some people are saying that you could actually run Windows XP on the MAC by transferring your license over. This would be very interesting if true. Plus being able to run Windows and associated software from the MAC without a reboot, sounds like a great idea as well.
More information on Parallels can be found here.
So my question to you MAC users is this. Has anyone tried this software? If so what have your results been? How does it function?
Comments are welcome. I would appreciate your valuable input.
8 Comments
marc klink
June 11th, 2007
at 11:23am
More interesting to me is the idea that since XP depends on hardware to generate its signatures for ‘Genuine’ certification, and license compliance, that it would be easily fooled by a houseful of Macs of the same model, right down to the MAC address of the ethernet adapter, as someone seems to be able to either alter the address or easily spoof it.
Ron Schenone
June 11th, 2007
at 11:29am
Hi Marc,
Thanks for the comment.
Ron
Maciej Hrybowicz
June 11th, 2007
at 1:55pm
Yes it works. I use Parallels to test websites in 98 & XP on a 2GHz MacBook across 2 monitors. Laptop’s monitor for OS X and the other for the ‘guest’ os. Seeing a cursor change from white Windows to black Mac when you move your mouse between monitors is extraordinary when you see it first time. A godsend for web developers. Cheers - Maciej
Chris Pirillo
June 11th, 2007
at 2:03pm
Remember, I can get people an exclusive discount:
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/06/07/parallels-30-download-and-coupon/
Ron Schenone
June 11th, 2007
at 4:01pm
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the link.
Ron
Ron Schenone
June 11th, 2007
at 4:07pm
Hello Marciej,
Thank you for your comments and sharing your experince with us. It is very much appreciated.
Regards, Ron
Stan Kossen
July 21st, 2007
at 11:27am
I have a MacPro with Tiger and Win XP on them. I use Parallels, and it does everything that the company advertises. I am completely satisfied with it.
Having been a PC and Windows person since the their beginnings, I have many Winows apps that I like being able to continue to use.
However, I usually don’t access the WWW on the Windows partition for security reason.
Stan Kossen
Ron Schenone
July 21st, 2007
at 1:43pm
Hi Stan,
Thanks for the information. It appears Parallels is working very well for most folks.
Ron