Mac to Windows to Linux with only a click
Parallels runs Windows in a window.
(Credit: CNET Networks)With all the news this week surrounding the new Safari beta for Mac and Windows, it seems like a good time to bring up a program that strongly (and literally) links the two. The Intel-powered Macs have been running Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux for some time now with Apple's Boot Camp (updated recently). But one of the best programs on the market for switching between operating systems just got a full-point upgrade with Parallels Desktop 3.
Parallels Desktop allows you to switch seamlessly between operating systems without the need to reboot your Mac. Even better, regardless of which system you're running at the time, when you open a file type that's for the other system, Parallels automatically recognizes the file type and makes the switch for you. But what some people are most excited about is the newly added support for 3D graphics, allowing you to play Windows games using the full power of your Mac's video card--gamers rejoice!
Another feature in the new version is Snapshots--these days a fairly common feature addition to virtual machine software. It allows you to take a snapshot of your Windows system when it's in a healthy state, so if you encounter any viruses or spyware while surfing, you can effectively rewind to your previously saved snapshot. I've used features like Snapshots before for testing purposes, and I'm happy to see it was added to Parallels Desktop.
What do you think? What program do you use to switch between Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X? Are you happy about the support for 3D hardware? Let me know in the comments!
I would exclusively use Parallels but I didn't see where they support 64-bit OS's yet and Vmware does. I can't believe w/version 3 that they didn't support this feature. I have version 2.x of Parallels because I had some issues w/the trial key for version 3.x not working. So, I gave up & reverted back.
Another extra by Vmware Fusion is I believe that you can share virtual images between Windows and Mac. Parallel's allows you to import from Vmware but it can take quite a bit of time to convert.
I use both products for testing and learning various OS's as well as troubleshooting those poor Windows users (grin).
In any event, I love the fact that Parallels can expand my primary partition (C: ) instead of having to add another virtual drive. So, in a Windows environment...you only ever need C:. I haven't tried or tested this in Vmware.
Vmware is nice in the fact that it supports 64-bit OS's. Since I support clients using 64-bit, server version of Windows, this is nice because I don't want to have a separate physical Windows machine just to simulate their environment.
I have found that using shared folders in Parallel's 2.x is extremely slow from the virtual session to my Mac even if the virtual session is stored on the internal hard drive. I don't know if this has been improved in 3.x nor have I tested this in Vmware yet.
On a geekier note, Vmware's recent announcement to allow users to install Vmware ESX (their Linux-based, premier virtualization product), users can install ESX using Fusion for testing or learning purposes!! This is major because ESX only supported "bare metal" hardware so unless you had high-end hardware at home, you couldn't even test it.
I would recommend that anyone using either product to ensure they have plenty of memory and diskspace. I have 2GB on my Intel duo iMac and I bought an external firewire 500GB drive. So, I can support multiple virtual sessions simultaneously with large virtual drives on my iMac pretty well.
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I personally started out as a Parallels user but am now running Fusion. Even though it's only in beta, Fusion is definitely more stable than Parallels. Parallels has more features than Fusion, but Fusion is definitely catching up, especially now that they have a Coherence-like feature. The best thing is that you can try the beta for free and pre-order it for 1/2 price if you like it.
Interesting to note that Download.com's listing for VMware Fusion is seriously out of date...they list Beta 2 and it is now in Beta 4...forgetfulness or favoritism?
Either way, I will be more impressed when Parallels and Fusion add support for the new features in Leopard like Spaces and Time Machine...will also be interesting to see who builds better DirectX support for playing Windows games...currently VMware has the edge in that department. However, it seems like the Parallels developers are giving VMware a run for their money...it's like David vs. Goliath.
- great program
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by hexd00d
August 29, 2007 12:18 PM PDT
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