On a Mac: Apple posts have a new home

September 5, 2007 at 12:05 am · Filed under On the Web, Hardware, Applications

The popularity of my posts regarding the Mac, Apple, Parallels Desktop and the iPhone kept me blogging on those topics. That chatter has in turn been diluting the conversation that should be taking place here.

So, I’ve carved out another space on this big series of tubes, and this time it is just for those Apple topics. Please visit On a Mac for a continuation of the conversations which started here as well as new Apple-related content altogether.

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Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0 Beta 2 - Upgrade to be free

August 27, 2007 at 9:32 pm · Filed under Hardware, Beta, Applications

On my last stop at the official Parallels Desktop for Mac blog I saw a new post regarding another update to Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0. The latest beta build, 5120, is being called Beta 2 (you guessed it, it’s the second one), and like its predecessor, it is a free download to anyone with a valid 3.0 key. The free doesn’t stop there either. Straight from the blog posting:

With all of the new improvements we’re introducing (Coherence with minimize and Expose support, new Shared Folders and more), this is shaping up to be one of the best updates ever. The best part? It’s COMPLETELY FREE to all Parallels Desktop 3.0 users!  

Great news! And, the Beta 2 build brings more new functionality to the table. Some New Features in Parallels Desktop 3.0 Beta 2 - Build 5120:

• Visually, windows minimized to the dock now have the same transitions and behavior as windows minimized with Mac’s OS X
• You can now share folders much more seamlessly between OS X and Windows running under Parallels Desktop. In fact, you can set them up to mirror each other. Your Documents folder on the Mac is your Documents on the PC. It can be enabled for the Desktop, too! Before you ask-no, there are not two copies of the files being mirrored! Both the Mac and PC will be accessing the same file!

If you’re ready to buy the public release of the 3.0 version (or download the free trial version) as opposed to this beta version, visit the Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0 page on their web site. For more details on this Beta 2 build, read the entire post on the Official Parallels Desktop Virtualization blog. There is also a link to download the beta in that article.

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Free Parallels Desktop 3.0 beta

August 4, 2007 at 8:18 am · Filed under Hardware, Beta, Applications

I’ve been running Parallels on my Mac Book Pro for quite some time now. I’m very satisfied with the product. And, when it was announced a few days ago that anyone with a valid 3.0 license key (including trial keys) could try a beta version with some upgrades, I couldn’t resist. The installation experience (upgrade) was seamless, and I’ll report back on performance and the new features in a few days. A little about the 3.0 beta build:

Parallels Desktop for Mac (beta, build 5060) features:

• Expose for Coherence windows
• True stacking support for applications running in Coherence mode
• An improved version of the Image tool
• An enhanced version of the Explorer application, allowing browsing of virtual machines which are suspended
• iPhone support for Windows XP and Windows Vista

You can read more about the 3.0 beta on the official Parallels Virtualization blog as well as get the link to the features update information page and download.

Even before my testing started, I did have one thought: Please tell me this is a free upgrade for existing customers. After spending the initial $79, then $49 for an upgrade soon after, I’m not intending to spend more money on a Parallels update. I hope the smart folks over at Parallels aren’t expecting us to either.

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Parallels Desktop - thumbs up

March 27, 2007 at 1:16 pm · Filed under Beta, Applications

I’ve been running Parallels Desktop for Mac for about a month now; how’s it been? Great.

First off, why Parallels? My setup is so I can run Mac OS X and all of its applications as my primary OS, but to still have the ability to run the following Windows applications: Internet Explorer (for viewing web pages on projects our company is working on), and Microsoft Office. My last setup used Mac Office 2004, but I always had issues here and there, not with Word and Excel, but with Entourage. Boot Camp is nice, but I don’t want to access one OS at a time; it’s simply not realistic for my work habits.

The Setup:

• Build: Parallels Desktop build 3188
• Hardware: MacBookPro with a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo and 2 GB of Ram
• Parallels OS: Microsoft Windows XP
• Installed PC Software: Office 2007, Internet Explorer, Firefox

I run Parallels in Coherence mode, which allows you to have one desktop with both a “Start” menu for Windows and the standard OS X dock. Windows for either OS just sit atop one another as they would if you were just using OS X.

I’m thoroughly impressed with Parallels. My only gripe would be that when in Coherence mode I do get some occasional lag with the graphics card repainting underneath where a window has just moved from (when minimized or dragged). To minimize the effect (when what is below during the rendering is the Mac desktop), I set both the OS X and the XP desktops to run a background color only (no image). Insofar as performance, I was expecting the Office Applications to lack responsiveness, but they seem fine.

Side note: I had to get in touch with Parallels Support to get my Authorization Key resent to our office. It was slightly more complicated than that as we were ‘deauthorizing’ one Mac, and ‘authorizing’ another. The wait to talk to someone was about 10 minutes, at which point I got a motivated, positive Tech Support Representative who solved our problem and stayed on the line until it was all sorted out. Kudos to the Parallels support team-great customer service like this is awesome, and further impressed my take on Parallels as a company.

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