Parallels Desktop released
After numerous betas (and a couple of release candidates) Parallels has finally released their virtualization application, Parallels Desktop. In case you haven’t heard of it already, Parallels Desktop allows you to run any x86 operating system virtually, in much the same way that Virtual PC ran on PowerPC Macs. The big difference is that there is no emulation taking place, so the experience is much closer to the real thing. While not a good option for 3D intensive games, Parallels is a great tool to run just about any other software intended for Windows/Linux on your Mac.
We’ve been using Parallels Desktop since it’s first beta, and it is a great program. We run both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux, and both run quite fast. You can cut and paste between Mac and client evironments, and run your client in a Window or full screen.
Parallels should pat themselves on the back for delivering such a high quality first release. During the beta phase, Parallels engineers were very visible in tracking down bugs with the publics help. I’m hoping this level of committment remains. If it does, Parallels will remain the virtualization solution to beat on the Mac.
Parallels Desktop is available now for an introductory price of $49 for 30 days. After 30 days the price will revert to it’s standard price of $79.
Category: News
