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Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac [OLD VERSION] | List Price: $79.99
Discount Price: $31.90
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Platform: Mac OS X Intel
Brand: Nova Development US
Binding: CD-ROM
Release Date: 2006-07-17
Features: - Run Windows and Mac OS applications in a single integrated environment, or mount Your Windows File System and access its files and folders directly from Mac OS
- Windows Start Menu Integration--Click the Parallels icon in the Dock to show the Windows Start Menu
- Support for OS X Leopard--Full support for Apple's next generation operating system when it ships
- Open documents in Mac OS or Windows using any available Mac OS or Windows application
- OpenGL 1.5 / DirectX 8.1 Support--Run supported games and 3D applications at native speed in Windows
Requires Windows!!! [Posted on 2008-10-14]
Please understand that this product requires you to also purchase Microsoft Windows for it to work, making the whole idea of running Windows programs on your Mac much more expensive.
Save your money, get VMWARE FUSION instead! [Posted on 2008-11-11]
I purchased Parallel 3.0 for mac, I installed and was never able to use it once (I must premise that I am not a novice with regard of both macs and PCs). I repacked the install disk and useless manuals back inside the product's box and it's all sitting unused. Parallels it's not a tool, it's a STOOL! I bought VMWARE fusion, I installed it, and in about 1/2 hour I had WINXP up and running on a virtual machine! By the way the 1/2 hour includes the time it took to install WINXP. In conclusion Parallels just stinks, save your money and purchase VMWARE fusion for mac.
Parallels 4 a hit! [Posted on 2008-11-11]
I have been a saisfied Parallels user for about two years. I am participating in the Parallels 4 beta review and am pleased to report that this new software is great! Stable, very fast, new user interface, 3d directx 9.0, open GL, DirectX shaders, 32 and 64 bit operating systems, 256 video,8 gb ram, partition resizing FAT 32 support, are just some of the improvements. I think that this version will be available to the public within a few days.0
The install procedure is much improved and should go smoothly (occasionally Windows install acts up, but that is usually a Windows problem). (Follow the instructions exactly!) Parallels Tools take a while to install but should work well. If you have problems installing, rebooting the Mac seems to solve most of the problems.
I think that many more games will now work in Parallels (my Roller Coaster Tycoon now runs flawlessly and fast compared to several problems before). Other beta users reported a lot of applications that will now work. I still do not think that every game will work, so don't be disappointed if your doesn't.
The configure tab is much improved over previous versions and there are lots of things you can configure. My computer worked well with the default settings. You can right-click on the mouse and configure the menu bar on the startup screen.
I use Windows for Quicken, EWallet (synching with Iphone), Microsoft Publisher (all 2007 products work well), and several Coffee Cup web applications, and several other applications that aren't available in Mac versions. All of these applications work well. If you sync with Ewallet, be sure you use default networking.
I particularly like the Coherence mode. It has been improved over Parallels 3 and integrated fine with Mac. I have lots of clip art on the windows side and I can access it on the Mac side as fast as Mac files (was much slower in previous version.)
The integrated help user manual is great -- and explains most that you need to know.
The supporting applications (Compressor, etc.) are much improved and there are lots of ways to back up -- including an automatic one similar to time machine.
I have also beta tested a new iphone application which will eventually integrate with Parallels 4. As of now it will turn on and off, suspend, and pause the VM. I think the uses will eventually be expanded.
I am using this in my Imac 2.16 gb 4gb memory machine with Windows XP home. I would recommend that you use Windows XP (less problems than Vista) and with the coherence mode you really don't need to see an interface -- use the superior Mac one!
I only have one minor problem with the application. Commercial videos will not display in Coherence mode but work fine in Windowed mode and Full Screen mode. Hopefully, this will get fixed in an update.
I think they will still have a 30 day free trial (so no cost to give it a try). You won't be sorry.
And, no, I am not connected with Parallels in any way. Just like the product.
Virtual Machine - Yes - Virtually No Techncal Support - Beware of 4.0 Upgrade [Posted on 2008-11-14]
Have had Parallels for six months. Love my Mac but just based on reviews of Quicken for Mac, I decided to try Parallels so that I could keep Quicken for Windows (over a decade of use and files). Parallels installed fairly well but I never could get Coherence to work so I powered up Windows separately from MAC when I needed it - a few times a week. Not ideal, but my Windows programs loaded and worked fine. I had a few issues with Parallels after install and discovered (Buyer Beware) that they provide ZERO free phone support even for installation problems. Parallels telephone incident support is $29.99 per incident. That puts even Quicken's lack of technical support to shame. I would wait for days for an email from Parallels technical support. Sometimes I would get multiple emails from different techies for the same issue. All with tortured syntax (I believe tech support is in Russia) and rarely helpful. I found better help crawling through the forums and Googling.
November 14 2008 - I've upgraded to Parallels 4.0 based on rave reviews (I should really know better by now to wait a little while before installing new release software - sigh...) and alas - it won't install to virtual machine. I cannot launch Windows and thus cannot access my Windows programs. I'm grateful the installation did not affect my MAC OS. I sent a trouble ticket through the Parallels support website (the Website states that they are working night and day to help with customers with the new release - wish I'd looked at that before purchasing and installing) and now I wait....and hope..... I see an additional $29.99 charge coming in the near future.
My advice - wait until 4.0 SP1 comes out before purchasing.
Parallels Constantly Crashes my MAC/NO tech support for their product [Posted on 2008-11-16]
I've had Parallels 3.0 for about a year now. I would NOT recommend this product to anyone.
Not only does running my Win XP virtual machine constantly crash my MacBook Pro (I have to do a hard reboot), but I also frequently get out of virtual memory Monitor PE error messages. I have 4GB of RAM!!!! I have to reboot my MacBook and restart Parallels to get it going again. I emailed Parallels' tech support when I first got the product and NEVER heard back from them. Finally, various manufacturers' drivers CD auto installers will not run in Parallels. I had to manually load printer drivers, etc.
I got so sick and tired of Paralles crashing that I finally tried VMWare Fusion 2 for the past couple of weeks and so far, so good. I've been able to use CDs' auto installers, and so far, I've had no errors - that's after loading 3 VMs (XP, server 2008, and Ubuntu).
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