Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a very good PC emulator. It runs very fast. It uses Intel virtualization so it is able to run at near native speeds. I have run many of the Microsoft Office products as well as Developer Studio on it, it works great. A few things you should keep in mind:
** You Need a Copy of Windows
You will have to have your own copy of Windows to make use of this program. I thought I was going to use an upgrade CD that came with one of my computers that I no longer use. But Windows Genuine Advantage flagged it as an illegal copy of Windows, I guess it was licensed only for my old computer. Anyway, I bought a new copy of XP(an upgrade) and it worked just fine.
** Special Drivers
Parallels comes with some special drivers that they recommend that you install on whatever operating system you are using. This is not required. You can run the operating systems just as you would install them on any other computer. However installing the Parallels drivers increases performance. One really nice feature is the mouse driver. When the mouse driver is installed it allows you to simply drag the mouse over Parallels and click on things. Otherwise, you must click on the window first and switch your focus to the virtual machine.
** Games
I have run into some problems where the game will install just fine, but it will refuse to run saying that you must put the game's CD-ROM in. I assume this is because the virtual CD-ROM driver used by Parallels is not supporting the CD-ROM down to a low enough level to support the game's copy protection. One game that has this issue is the Sim's 2.
Also the 3d graphics are NOT virtualized. So any sort of 3d game will run as if you have no 3d acceleration hardware. Which is slow. Overall, the best way to run a game is "boot camp".
** Versions of Windows
I have used several versions of Windows on Parallels and it works great. I have tested both Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
** Other Operating Systems
I have also used several flavors of Linux. It works very well. It really simulates a virtual computer, and you can install anything on it you like.
** You need RAM
Running this with less than 1gig of RAM can be painful. If you want to run several virtual machines I would suggest up to 2 gigs. However, one gig ran very well.
All in all this is a very good PC emulation and is quite fast. I have uses other emulators, that are just deadly slow. This one is quite usable. If you don't plan to use this for games, you will be very happy with this product. If you do want games its a little more hit and miss. Better to use Boot Camp.

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Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been a Windows user for 25 years and I have made the leap and replaced my Dell laptop with a MacBook. I am an application developer on the PC and Unix platform, and thus I run a lot of industry strength development packages and tools. I use Virtual PC to host different server environments on my Vista desktop, and on my laptop I run all kinds of server applications, from a Sybase database to a WebLogic web server. So when it came time for me to move to a Mac as my mobile platform, I needed a virtual environment for environment. With the adance of hardware assisted virtualization, now is the time.
I tried three virtualization packages - the Sun VirtualBox, VMWare Fusion, and Parallels. After hours experimentation and testing, I have decided on Parallels. Here are my findings.
VirtualBox is just not for prime time, lots of graphics corruption right out of the box. For instance, when you switch from full screen Windows to the OS X desktop, some of the Windows desktop would be left on the screen, obscuring the OS X screen. The interaction between the Windows desktop and the OS X desktops is not as seamless as that provided by Fusion and Parallels, and numerous other little things that detract from the overall user experience. So even though VirtualBox is free, it's not worth what I need to put up with.
VMWare Fusion and Parallels are actually very similar in how they work, and I don't see any difference in terms of performance. But after extensive usability testing I have found that Parallels gets more of the little things right. And it's the little things, the attention to details, that differentiates the excellent from the merely good.
For example, when you maximize a Windows application in Windows full screen mode under Fusion, the application would maximize to cover the Taskbar. Under Parallels, however, the application correctly maximizes to cover only the client area of the desktop not cover by the Taskbar. I know VMWare must know how a correct Windows application should behave, and I attribute this behavioral error to either that they were lazy or that they hoped people don't notice. Neither speaks well for the code that runs underneath the surface.
Another example, when you task switch using command-tab in OS X, you can tell which applications are Windows native applications because Parallels would superimpose the two vertical bars Parallels logo over the Windows application icons. Parallels gets credit for extra effort. Fusion on the other hand not only does not show you which applications are Windows apps, but cmd-tab is simply not implemented correctly in virtual Windows and thus task switch is almost impossible when you're not in unity mode (Windows and OS X apps side by side). Very bad.
Yet another example, you can access the entire collection of Mac applications right from the Windows desktop because Parallels sees fit to create shortcuts to all the Mac application right on the Windows Start menu and you can of course duplicate those short cuts anywhere in the Windows environment.
Example number four, you can control the boot sequence of the virtual machine using the Parallels application menu, while with Fusion you need to get in to the virtual machine's BIOS to do that - and the BIOS screen flashes by so fast you need to manually edit the configuration file to slow down the welcome screen so you can actually see which keys to hit to enter Setup or choose the boot device. This is another example of lazy application development.
And not to belabor the point, example number five, VMWare only emulates multiple processors, NOT MULTIPLE CORES, so that Core 2 Dual you got there is useless if you run XP Home which only supports a single processor.
Now I don't know about you, but speaking as a developer, I think thoroughness and thoughtfulness on the part of the user interface is a good indication of the amount of effort that has gone under the surface to make the application work right.
As far as Parallels' performance is concerned, this is what I found. Now I can't speak for gamers, as I don't play games on my laptop. But Parallels is able to run industrial strength servers and development environments on my 2.0GHz, 2GB dual core MacBook faster than my 1.7GHz, 2GB single core Dell. So it definitely does what I want it to. And if you only run Office or Quicken, then you have nothing to worry about.
If you have made a transition to OS X and need a virtual environment to run your Windows apps, I encourage you to go download the trial versions of both Fusion and Parallels and do the testing yourself, using the applications that you want to use. Give it some time and don't get too excited by the initial wow factor of seeing your Windows application and your OS X application coexist side by side. Be thorough and dig deep, and you will find the choice you really want to live with day to day. And mine happens to be Parallels.

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Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac makes it easy to run Windows, Linux, and more side-by-side with Mac OS X without rebooting. With Parallels award winning virtualization technology, you can run Mac OS X and critical Windows applications such as Outlook, Access, QuickBooks, Internet Explorer and more, all at the same time. This new release of Parallels Desktop for Mac comes packed with 50+ new features and enhancements including the ability to drag-and-drop files between desktops, run Windows programs like native Mac applications and migrate your existing PC to your Mac. And with the Installation Wizard to help you get started, youll be up and running in just three clicks of the mouse!

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VMware Fusion 3 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)4th Update in review of version 3.1:
You may have read that upon upgrading to version 3.1 I was elated by the apparent performance boosts. However, after using the Windows 7 virtual machine more extensively, I have to say that the performance increase is only superficial. Upon a fresh install of Windows 7 32 bit, the virtual machine runs beautifully and aero works great. BUT, once you install other programs and begin to run them, VMWare shows its true face (at least on my computer). Programs hang the virtual machine and my Mac OS constantly. I think the performance is actually worse than before, and I have some friends that also think the performance went down with the upgrade. I would say that both Parallels and Oracle's Virtual Box have the edge. But as usual, I recommend that you download the trial from their websites and see which programs runs the best on your computer. I think that computer configurations matter heavily when it comes to running virtual machines, so see which one works best for you and your needs.
Also, no matter what version Amazon ships, know that the new version can be downloaded for free. (If you want it.) All 1.x to 1.x upgrades are free for both VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop.
And here are the specs on my computer: MacBook Pro Early 2008. Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5 GHz. Snow Leopard 10.6.4. 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. 512GB nVidia GeForce 8600M GT.
---
Version 3.0 Original Reviews:
VMWare Fusion 3 has been hit and miss so far this morning. Running Windows Vista Enterprise 32bit is wonderful. It is much smoother and faster than it was in Fusion 2. However, Windows 7 Professional 64bit runs very choppy. Opening any program takes a few seconds, and it is much slower than when I run Vista. (And this is with a clean install of Win7 with a new Fusion 3 virtual machine.)
Here is what I have found really surprising: for the past month I have been using Parallels Desktop 5 beta. With Parallels' new beta you can also run the aero interface, but I found it to run much better with both Vista and especially with Windows 7 than it does with Fusion 3. The overall Windows Experience Index was much better for both Vista and 7 in Parallel Desktop 5 beta than in Fusion 3 now. Currently, I am getting a rating of 2.9 in Vista and I got a rating of 2.1 in Win 7. Within Parallels 5 beta, I was getting an overall experience index rating of 4.5 and 4.9, and that was with a beta copy!
If you are running Windows Vista with VMWare Fusion 2, then you may wish to upgrade for the added speed increase. It feels a lot faster for me. However, 64bit Windows 7 is very slow and clunky. Even with the enhancements off, the OS still ran slow. I might suggest waiting for Parallels 5 to come out if you will be using 64bit Windows 7, as the current beta ran that OS much, much better.
Another issue that I would like to point out is this: the promo video says that you can now play full HD videos with the new updated graphics engine. I tried this out in the 64bit Win 7, and it was extremely choppy. However, my Windows Vista virtual machine plays videos very smoothly.
I recommend you download the trial from VMWare's website and test it out before you decide to buy.
Update:
A recent problem that I have discovered is that while Fusion 3 "allows" me to expand or reduce the size of my Windows partition hard drive, the changes are not apparent once the OS is booted. I originally set Windows Vista to 20GB, and now I only have 47MB of space left on the drive. After expanding the drive to 40GB, it still only shows up as 20GB in Vista and says that the drive is full. I will have to contact VMWare to find a possible solution. - The problem is solved after running the "Extend Volume Wizard" in Vista. With Parallels 4 I never had to do this. Thanks to Evan H. Appelman for posting a link to a help article for me. It would be nice if VMWare had included a popup or some form of instruction telling you to run the EV wizard after changing the virtual machine hard drive size.
2nd Update:
Today Parallels released Desktop 5. To me, I see a performance increase in using the same virtual machines within Parallels 5 than Fusion 3. Parallels 5 also give me a better overall Windows Experience Index. In Windows 7 64bit, I am getting an overall experience rating of 4.5. Win 7 also feels more responsive in Parallels 5 than Fusion 3. I like Parallels so much better in fact, that I have removed VMWare Fusion 3 from my computer. For me it is Parallels Desktop 5. I recommend, as always, for you to download the trials from both VMWare and Parallels, and see which you prefer. Also, if you already have VMWare Fusion 2, then I would say save some money and just upgrade to 3; the same goes to those who have Parallels 4.

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VMware Fusion 3 is the best way to run Windows on your Mac. Run the most demanding Mac and Windows applications side-by-side at maximum speeds without rebooting. With over 80 new features and a new ultra-fast Migration Assistant for Windows, it's never been easier to run Windows on your Mac.VMware Fusion 3.1 is now available as a free downloadable update for allVMware Fusion 3 users via the Automatic Update feature. Get more than20 new and enhanced features, up to 5x faster 3D graphics and up to 35%better end-to-end application performance compared to VMware Fusion 3.0.




VMware Fusion 3 is the Best Way to Run Windows on Your Mac. Using a Mac doesn't mean abandoning your Windows applications and devices. Ditch your PC and safely run your favorite Windows programs alongside Mac applications, while continuing to use your Windows-only devices on your Mac.


Move Your Entire PC with Ease
Effortless Migration--No Cable Required Wouldn't it be great if you could use your new Mac, yet have access to your old Windows PC, without the clunky hardware? Wouldn't you like to make the most of your Windows software investment on your new Mac? With the built-in Migration Assistant for Windows, VMware Fusion 3 can convert your entire PC and bring it over to your Mac in a few easy steps, giving you access to your Windows applications, documents and other files--whenever you need them. Just install a simple application on your PC, connect it to your Mac with a cable or wirelessly, and VMware Fusion will guide you through the rest. You can now recycle your old PC and still have access to your old applications and files, directly from the Mac you love.



Windows with Mac Simplicity
The Mac Way Designed from the ground up for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard, VMware Fusion lets you run your Windows applications--side-by-side with your Mac applications--the Mac way.

Seamless Integration Instantly launch your favorite Windows applications directly from your Dock or the Apple menu bar at any time. Easily switch between apps and minimize them to your Dock--just like you would with Mac apps.

More Mac-like than ever VMware Fusion comes preloaded with new powerful built-in features to help you run Windows applications even more like Mac applications. The new always-on applications menu lets you access your Windows apps with a click--directly from the Apple menu bar, and the new resizable preview window lets you keep an eye on your virtual machines. The new full screen menu bar gives you complete control over your virtual machine and can be moved to any side of the screen to make guest user interfaces--such as taskbars and menu bars--more accessible.



Windows Powerhouse
Maximum Performance With a highly optimized 64-bit engine, advanced memory and CPU management technology, run the most demanding Mac and Windows applications side-by-side at maximum speeds.

Advanced 3D Graphics Play Full HD videos and run your favorite 3D Windows games better than ever with best-in-class OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 graphics support--all without rebooting.

Ultimate Windows Experience Get the ultimate Windows experience on the Mac and make the most of Windows 7 with Windows Aero and Flip 3D animations.

Displays Galore Display Windows and Mac OS X applications any way you want: side-by-side on your main display, in full screen, or across multiple displays connected to your Mac.



Peace of Mind
Protect your Windows Investment Make the most of your Windows software investment and Windows-only devices by continuing to use the applications and devices you need on the Mac you love.

We've Got You Covered Automatic snapshots allow you to roll Windows back to a safe state if something goes wrong. For added protection, we've included 18 months of free email support (English only) and a 12-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus.

Company You Trust Built by the undisputed virtualization leader, VMware Fusion has won over a dozen awards for its unparalleled excellence.

Features

Optimized for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard
Highly optimized 64-bit engine, advanced memory and CPU management for maximum performance
Advanced 3D graphics with support for OpenGL2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3
Support for Windows Aero and Flip 3D animations to get the ultimate Windows experience on the Mac
New ultra-fast Migration Assistant for Windows to transfer your entire PC to your Mac wirelessly or using a cable
More than 80 new features

What's differentiates VMware Fusion 3 from other solutions VMware Fusion is designed from the ground up for the Mac and preloaded with powerful new features to help you run Windows applications even more like Mac applications. Engineered in California, VMware Fusion is the best way to run Windows on your Mac.

VMware Fusion 3 is recommended for: Home users, students and business professionals who are looking for the fastest, easiest and most reliable way to run Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on their Mac without rebooting.

Technical specifications

Windows Aero support
DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3.0 support
OpenGL 2.1 3D support
Over 140 guest OSes supported: Windows XP, Vista and 7, Red Hat Linux 9.0, Ubuntu 9.04 and more!
64-bit Native
Multilingual software (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese)

What's in the box?

VMware Fusion 3.0 Software CD
Link to over 10 Video Tutorial
Quickstart Guide
VMware stickers
18-months of free email-support (English only)
12-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus.

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VMware Fusion Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Usage: I'm a web developer and graphic designer. My workflow involves using a number of tools that are specific to Windows and others that are specific to the Mac. I also use virtual machines for remotely controlling computers and supporting asp and [...] websites.
Experience: I'm an owner of Parallels 2 and, as released, upgraded to Parallels 3. I was also involved in the Beta testing of VMWare Fusion. I have to acknowledge that the Beta versions of Fusion were not stable, however the release version was a tremendous step up from the Beta and significantly faster than Parallels. Parallels is fine if all you're running it for is IE6/7 browser support for IE specific website (i.e. quickbooks online). If you own Parallels and use it sparingly switching to Fusion is a waste of money. If you use audio, video, and graphic editing programs in your virtual machines you WILL notice huge performance gains running Fusion over parallels. There are numerous *free* appliances available from VMWare you can download, which work immediately and seamlessly with Fusion. Very nice.
Summmary/Recommendation: If you're in the market for a Virtual Machine application VMWare Fusion is my recommendation. If you already own Parallels and use it sparingly there's no need to switch. If you use Parallels with processor intensive programs I recommend switching to Fusion as it is much faster.

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From the proven leader in desktop virtualization comes VMware Fusion--the most seamless way to run Windows applications on your Mac. VMware Fusion combines a clean and intuitive interface that Mac users expect with a virtualization platform trusted by millions of users today. VMware Fusion allows you to launch your Windows applications from the Dock and switch between Windows and Mac applications using Expos . With the industry's most advanced virtualization technology VMware Fusion is ready for the future and lets you leverage all the hardware available on your Mac to simultaneously run 32 and 64-bit operating systems, use two processors at the same time, run select 3D games and utilize USB 2.0 devices. Access the widest range of USB 2 devices, allocate up to 8GB of memory to virtual machines, run over 60 guest operating systems from DOS to Microsoft Windows Vista, Linux, Solaris, Netware and FreeBSD.Run your Boot Camp partition side-by-side with Mac OS X without any additional setup.Run any of the more than 550 virtual appliances available from VMwareVirtualize your existing PC with the free VMware Converter Starter Built Exclusively for the Mac -Built with features such as customizable toolbars, easy-to-manage virtual machine packages, and much more The powerful Unity feature transforms your Windows applications and gives you a seamless Mac experience Requires Any Intel Mac computer with a 1.5GHz or faster Intel processor; 512MB of RAM (1GB or more recommended)

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VMware Fusion 2 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Overview:
App Performance: A+
VM states suspend and resume seamlessly and quickly.
Windows Performance:A+
The windows users in my office are using fairly new PCs and laptops, but with crappy graphics cards. My Macbook Pro (early 2007 version) runs windows "faster" than any version of windows in the office. Is it really faster? There's no way to know without running benchmarks, but it seems faster, and that's something.
Interface: A -
Accessibility to Windows and Windows apps is simple, as are installation and configuration utilities. Windows apps are still bound to a single screen when using spaces - even in 'unity' mode. This is a major gripe I have with VMs in general, as I use multiple work spaces. For those who use a single screen, or who run the VM in a dedicate screen 'space', this isn't a problem. It keeps me out of 'unity' mode and in full screen though.
Mac/PC sharing: A
Your home folder on your Mac shows up as an attached drive (Z:), making navigation to mac directories and files simple and easy (and fast!)
Networking: A+
Fast networking, with setup so easy I almost forgot to review it :-)
Overall: A+
Details:
I'm a long-time Windows-on-Mac user, starting back in the day of Virtual PC, and most recently using Parallels (I currently use Parallels v3.0). I want to start this review by saying that, for many casual PC users looking to run Windows on a Mac, there probably isn't a need -- most everything I do day to day (at work and home) can be done on either OS, and if you own mac hardware, you'll be happier running Mac apps as well. UNLESS you have that "one application" that isn't supported natively.
In my office, we:
1. use Microsoft exchange for email and scheduling, and so I needed to run Windows
2. use one of those large printer/copier/scanner/collating/faxing monstrosities, and it lacks a working mac driver
Of course, there's a slew of word and powerpoint files to deal with as well, but these can be handled with Office for Mac or OpenOffice. Of course, once running Windows anyway for the two reasons above, I prefer to use native Office apps, because that way I'm 100% the files will be compatible (and plus, I end up having to open them on the Windows side to print them anyway).
My initial impressions of VMware Fusion 2 were very positive. It was easy to install, and the interface is very clean. While it's not 100% fair to compare VMware Fusion 2 to the older version of Parallels 3.0 in terms of performance, it is fair to compare things like interface and usability -- and in these areas, VMware wins, in my opinion. I'll give the blanket caveat up front: Parallels may have fixed some of these things in newer versions ... I'll try to get a copy of Parallels v4.0 and do a follow-up review.
VMware's 'unity' puts windows apps side by side with Mac apps (much like Parallel's 'Coherence'). When in 'unity' mode, you have the option to show the windows task bar, which plunks the ugly windows bar behind the Mac's dock. My dock fills the center 70% of my screen, so the Start Menu and the goofy windows tool tray are nice and visible on the far-left and far-right of the screen. However, because I use virtual screens (Mac's "spaces" feature), and because VMware is bound to one of those screens, I run in full-screen mode -- if I have to switch spaces to get to my PC apps anyway, I don't want the ugly conflict between taskbar & dock.
Networking was so clean I almost forgot to include it in this review: it just worked, piggy-backing my Mac's network connections without requiring any action on my part. Digging in, it offers direct network connections as well as private networking (the PC is only available to the Mac). Nice options, but what's even nicer is I didn't even notice they were there.
Performance is amazing for a VM ... even before enabling access to both processors and boosting the default 512MB of memory to 1GB. The only slow-down on the Mac side occurs during a windows boot (or re-boot as is more often the case) ... otherwise, Windows can sit, used or ignored, running on the mac without any noticeable performance degradation to Mac apps.

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Who says you can't have it all? Get the best of both worlds and seamlessly run your favorite Windows applications on the Mac with VMware Fusion. Instantly launch Windows applications from any Mac file, the Dock, and more. Run Windows side-by-side with Mac OS X without rebooting, and quickly switch between Windows and Mac applications with Exposé. Use Windows-only USB devices on your Mac including GPS receivers, cell phones, PDAs, and iSight cameras. Run 3D games, design software and graphics-intensive apps with support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 3D. You can even bring your entire PC along, virtually, using VMware Converter. Windows really is better on the Mac.

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Parallels Desktop 5.0 for Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I used this and used VMWare Fusion 3. Both have issues. But Parallels has fewer deal breaking issues. So I chose Parallels. I use a 13" MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard. I run Windows 7 in the VM. Here are my findings:
Parallels 5
Pros: Fast, rock solid
Cons: Windows Manager (which manages the Aero interface) keeps crashing under 2 CPU configuration. So Aero is really usable under 1 CPU configuration. Windows 7 cannot even run all the tests to calculate the Windows Experience Index with 2 CPU configuration due to video issue.
VMWare Fusion 3
Pros: It runs
Cons:
Aero exhibits random missing tile effect. That is, random patches of square of the user interface would "lag" and appear missing for a fraction of a second. DirectX implementation apparently isn't that good.
The share OS X folders with VM implementation is retarded. All shared folders appear under one virtual drive in the VM. What it means is the root of the virtual drive is not writable.
It is not fast. I ran a time consuming task in Parallels, it took about 10 minutes to finish. I ran the same task in VMWare, I lost patience after maybe 15-20 minutes. I went and took a shower just to give it enough time to finish.
I highly recommend getting the trial versions of both software and see which one works for you. For me the speed of VMWare and that dumb shared folder implementation are the deal breakers for me and so I went with Parallels.
Parallels gets 4 stars out of 5 because of the Aero problem under 2 CPU configuration.
---------- Update 1/5/2010 ----------
Parallels has released the first update to Desktop 5.0 for Mac, which has fixed the Aero problem under 2 CPU configuration. Aero is rock solid now. While I did not try to find every supposed improvement in this update, I did notice one big improvement in the area of shared folder access. Access of Mac files from within the VM is very much faster than before. I can actually use file access intensive program on a Mac folder mounted in the VM as a network shared drive whereas before doing so would impose a speed penalty. Considering the fix to Aero, I have updated my previous four stars rating to five stars.
---------- Update 2/23/2010 ----------
I have installed Windows 7 using Boot Camp on a separate partition of my MacBook Pro. This gives me the option of running Windows 7 natively on the hardware in addition to running under a virtual environment provided by Parallels. I did a Windows Experience Index comparison between the two. Now note that Windows 7 has full access to my MacBook Pro's 4GB of RAM under Boot Camp but only 2GB under Parallels. Here are the results:
Boot Camp
Processor:5.9
Memory: 5.9
Graphics: 5.3
Gaming graphics:5.5
Primary hard disk:5.9
Parallels
Processor:5.8
Memory: 5.5
Graphics: 4.8
Gaming graphics:3.9
Primary hard disk:6.5
The results are very competitive, especially if you don't play games on your Mac. It validates my previous impression that Parallels indeed provides a very fast virtual environment.


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With more than 2 million users worldwide, the award-winning Parallels Desktop for Mac is easier than ever to use with its brand new Mac user interface and lightning-fast performance. This new version is packed with over 70 new features that make running Windows programs on a Mac completely seamless.

Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac delivers brand new features plus performance enhancements including full support for Aero in Windows Vista and 7, faster virtual machine performance, expanded USB device compatibility, enhanced 3D graphics and optimization for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. New Features in Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac include:
Run Windows up to 3 times faster than previous version.
Support for Aero in Windows Vista & 7: Get the complete Windows experience with Aero animation.
Smart Copy and Paste: Easily move formatted text and images between Windows and Mac Applications
Coherence Mode: Seamlessly run Windows programs alongside Mac applications.
3D Graphics Support: Run 3D applications with DirectX 9Ex and OpenGL 2.1
Optimized for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Take advantage of Apple's latest operating system.
Plus additional performance and general enhancements, such as:
Runs Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and more
Improved USB device connectivity and performance
Use Multi-touch gestures, Spaces and Exposé
Up to 7 times faster graphics performance than previous version
Full support for Mac OS X Server, 8 virtual CPUs and 64-bit Windows


Run Windows on Your Mac the Easy Way. Right Alongside Mac OS X. Parallels Desktop for Mac makes it possible to run Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Linux and more side-by-side with Mac OS X 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! Launch Windows applications like Mac applications--right from your Mac's dock.
Parallels Desktop for Mac 5 is the biggest upgrade ever with over 70 new features. It also comes with a complete suite of essential tools you need to run Windows on a Mac. Parallels Desktop now ships with $175 in bonus software including Kaspersky Internet Security, Acronis Disk Director and Acronis True Image.
Lightning-fast performance Parallels Desktop takes advantage of Intel Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors and Intel VT-x2 hardware accelerated virtualization, for near-native speed and rock-solid performance. With support for up to 8 GB RAM and up to 8 CPUs, Parallels Desktop for Mac delivers maximum performance.
Unmatched Compatibility Enjoy all the benefits of having a Mac and keep running the Windows programs you can't live without. Parallels Desktop for Mac runs thousands of Windows applications and is compatible with your favorite USB devices including mobile phones, printers, scanners and GPS devices. With Parallels Desktop you can run any version of Windows, including 7, Vista and XP, as well as Linux, FreeBSD, even MS-DOS, at the same time as OS X! Parallels also supports running Mac OS X Leopard Server in a virtual machine.
Comprehensive Protection and Privacy Parallels Internet Security by Kaspersky protects your Windows programs from virus and spyware threats and even includes a firewall and anti-spam tools. Parallels Desktop also includes SmartGuard instant "snapshots" which make backup and recovery easier than ever.
Additional Features
Advanced virtualization engine with lightning-fast performance
Use Windows on your Mac without rebooting
Install Windows XP, Vista or 7 in 3 easy steps
Run literally thousands of Windows apps, like Outlook, Access, Project, Quicken and QuickBooks--all at near-native speed.
Easily share files between Mac and Windows
Launch Windows apps directly from the Mac Dock.
Run more than 60 different OSs, including Linux, BSD and more.
Run Mac OS X and Windows on multiple monitors.
Migrate your existing PC to your Mac. Even import Boot Camp partitions and VMware Fusion virtual machines.
Use iPhone to manage virtual machines
SmartGuard's instant "snapshots" make backup and recovery easier than ever.
Unmatched Ease of Use

Includes $175 in Essential Windows Software
Parallels Internet Security by Kaspersky protects against virus and spyware threats, plus firewall and anti-spam. $79.99 value
Acronis TrueImage Home backup and recovery software for Windows. $49.99 value
Acronis Disk Director Suite disk partitioning software for Windows. $49.95 value

With more than 1 million users worldwide, the award-winning Parallels Desktop for Mac is the #1 Mac System Utility.*
90 Day Money Back Guarantee If you are not completely satisfied with Parallels Desktop for Mac for any reason, you may return the software directly to Nova Development within 90 days of purchase for your money back.
*No. 1 claim based on NPD Techworld Reports for the period 8/1/06 - 9/30/09. Reviews and awards cited may be for previous versions of Parallels Desktop for Mac. Windows operating system sold separately.

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Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Parallels Desktop 6 continues to improve on an already stellar product through a full 64bit implementation bringing enhanced performance, expanding PC Hardware support and simple ease of use.Parallels sets the standards for virtualization software and pushes the gap even further apart from other virtualization solutions. In this video I discuss the user interface, new features to version 6, and overall performance and perspectives on their latest version.

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The award-winning Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac is the # 1 choice of millions of customers worldwide to seamlessly run Windows applications on a Mac -- without rebooting

Just because you need to work with PC programs doesn't mean you have to do it on a PC. Parallels, the company that originally gave users the flexibility to work any way they want, introduces Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac, the most talked-about, award-winning way to seamlessly run Windows applications on a Mac.

Seamlessly run Windows applications on a Mac -- without rebooting. Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac

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