An update to Parallels Desktop for Mac, a software solution that allows running other operating systems on one’s Macintosh in virtual machines was released last week. The latest release, version 3.0, allows for one key thing that I was hoping to see—the utilization of an Apple BootCamp Vista partition as the Parallels image. Beyond my now realized wish there are several other new features in this release including:
- The ability to set a default program to open files in OS X or Windows based upon the file’s extension
- Hardware accelerated 3D graphics (hmmm… we’ll see how that works out…)
- The ability to access Windows systems without launching Windows
While the last updates to Parallels were free, this update costs $49.99 for existing users. If it was free, I’d be reviewing it as we speak. At $49.99, I’m again rethinking how much I use Windows on my Mac and if the fifty bucks is worth it for the new features.
Apple also released its latest version of BootCamp Beta. Notable in this release (version 1.3):
- Updated graphics drivers
- Keyboard backlighting support (for MacBook Pro laptops only)
- An improved driver installer
Boot Camp Beta is a free download from Apple.
UPDATE: I got the Parallels update, and went ahead and did my ‘ultimate setup’ using Vista on Boot Camp with Parallels pointing to that partition. I’m loving it. And, if you’re looking to try Parallels, I noticed that Amazon offers specials on Parallels Desktop for Mac
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