Petr Šourek Mac OS is a great operating system, but there may be times when we need to use MS Windows applications and Wine or its paid alternative Crossover will not be enough for us. At this moment, the problem of virtualization arises and which program on the market to choose. After trying the alternatives, I chose Parallels Desktop and it now comes in version 6. Let's see what it brings or does not bring us new.
I personally use MS Windows only for work and I have an old Windows XP, which is not the most modern scream, but it is more than enough for what I do. I use Parallels Desktop only for working with the SAP system, because the Java frontend does not meet my requirements. Regardless of working with users who are used to the MS Windows environment and may be very scared of OS X.
Parallels Desktop 6 currently only supports Leopard and Snow Leopard, so OSX Tiger owners are out of luck this time. However, this was reflected in an improvement in the speed of the hosted systems. Parallels promo flyers promise up to an 80% increase over its previous version and increased speed when playing games in a virtual machine. Here I would like to dwell on the fact that I have no way to test the speed of playing games. I use an iPhone or the already mentioned Wine to play games. I have had quite bad experiences with virtualization in this regard, even in the case of Parallels Desktop 5, where I tried one game (Rose Online) and unfortunately it was not the right thing.
In the new version, the icon and appearance of the window with virtual machines have changed at first glance. Anyway, upon closer examination of the virtual machine settings and the program settings, no major differences in the settings compared to the previous version of PD can be found.
However, when running virtual Windows XP, a change occurs. Windows XP starts a few seconds faster than in the previous version (counting the login screen) and full login is faster by about 20-30 seconds (starting the antivirus, switching to "coherence" mode, etc.). Working with applications is faster, including launching them. It's quite sad to think that I have a HP EliteBook 4880p Core I5 laptop at work with the same OS, Windows XP and on my 2 year old MacBook Pro in a virtual machine on PD6, Sap Netweaver Developer Studio starts up in about 15 -20 seconds faster than at work (in PD5 NWDS started slower). So is Sap Logon, and working with it is also more nimble.
Newly, this version is also able to run the following newer systems:
- Ubuntu 10.04
- Fedora 13
- OpenSuSE 11.3
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Core
- Windows Server 2008 Core
If you are running Parallels Desktop 5 and older and using virtualization like I do, ie. for productive applications or to try out new operating systems like Chrome OS, or for any *NIX like operating system, I fully recommend upgrading to version 6. All system things will be faster. If you're using PD for gaming, I can't fully recommend the upgrade as I haven't tested, anyway if anyone using PD for gaming does, I'd appreciate it if they could share with us in the discussion.
Update: As for the price range, the new PD version costs 79,99 Euros, while the update from version 4 and 5 costs 49,99 Euros. However, users of older versions are not cheated. Until the end of September, these old versions, which are no longer supported by the manufacturer, can be updated for the same price, i.e. 49,99 Euros.
In contrast, the competition, and by that I mean VMware, of course, set off. VMware is offering its product at a 30% discount for new customers, and for existing customers it offers an upgrade for just $9,99. This bargain is also offered to users of any version of Parallels Tools and expires at the end of 2010.
I've been using PD every day for over a year and I usually have 2-3 vms running. Can you confirm that the system is indeed 64 bit? I would be happy if it used the 8 GB of RAM really to its full potential. Thanks for the reply.
PS When I upgrade, do I have any time to get a new serial number? Does the 30-day trial license apply?
The only thing I miss on the Mac is the ability to use interactive CD-ROMs from Cambridge to teach English. But I don't want to install Parallels and Win. However, this will probably be the only option, because I could not separate it under Crossover.
And haven't you tried the Rosetta Stone program? I know it's a different software, but it could help...
I recommend installing something newer than XP on the EliteBook 4880p with a core I5 processor..!!!:D When this system was equipped with the latest SP 3, some i5 was science fiction... that system simply cannot use the potential of that hardware...
It's clear to me, the signs on it too... Hell, our IT department somehow doesn't understand :)
Otherwise, I have an unfair comparison, but home vs. work... Unfortunately, I don't use benchmarks and I had no way to verify the performance increase, in any case, all the drivers for the virtual machine were overwritten (which doesn't interest users, that's why I didn't mention it) and the final effect is that where I was waiting before, now everything runs solidly fast.
I have almost the same problem. The only thing that forces me to Parallels (or any virtualization tool) is the mega-old reservation management system. I'll think about what to do with it. It runs in a DOS window and because of this I don't want to pay for the license for Win and Parallels... I solved everything else...
And does it have dos or windows loader? If dos, it could be solved via DosBox...
Windows xp is no longer very current, so for people who want to solve vista or w7, this article is useless.
The main contribution of the article is, at least as I hope, to draw attention to the newer version of PD... If I were to write an article on w7/jehovist solutions, it would be compared to PD/Fusion
"Parallels Desktop 6 has been rewritten to support Intel Macs, so PowerPC owners are out of luck this time."
Sorry????!
Since when did Parallels or Fusion work on PPC architectures OMG!
The only SW that could support Windows on PPC Mac was Virtual PC (until it was bought by M$ and the development was arranged).
@Kichi; Thank you for the correction. The article has been edited to reflect the actual situation.
I'm probably writing off topic now, but I can't help it. I've been thinking about switching from a PC to a Mac for a while now. Today, a friend who works for Apple told me that he has to do part of the work on Windows. And now I'm reading here that it's actually not unusual. Somehow I would like to have only one computer at home for work and entertainment. I didn't expect that I might run into the problem of needing windows for a certain job in the future. It puts me off a bit.
Don't think of it as a rant. I just didn't know this and now I have to take it into account and find out what I can do on a Mac and what I will need a crutch for.
What part of the job? It would be good to state what it is specifically about. Some programs are only for Windows and therefore their virtualization is used. But there is often a version for Macintosh or software from another manufacturer. You can only have one Mac at home and run Windows games on it, for example.
No one will probably consider it a rant.
At home we have several computers from Apple and one normal one from Siemens with XP.
This one was bought when he went to gympl, because of computer science, so that I could work in exactly the same programs and then also because at that time (4 years ago) the Mac was even less widespread, which sometimes led to problems. The only thing I can think of is that I only play games on the PC with XP because I have it in my room, so I'm too lazy to go to the next room to play on the Mac.
If you go to Apple, you don't have to worry that you won't be able to play games - there are plenty of games for Mac and, of course, there are also games for PC - there is no problem playing on the Internet.
Yes, but more games are for Windows (but don't think that there are 20 games for Apple and shit - look here: http://www.apple.com/games/ )
If you have a job that requires windows or you won't do it or something like that, I don't think you should have a problem with needing to switch from Mac to Win often.
Of course you win there. you can use bootcamp, for example, and start the computer directly in windows, so you wouldn't emulate anything = more speed, less load. But that's up to you.
PS, for almost every program that is on Windows, you can find an alternative on Mac.
EDIT:
I missed a letter there - originally the last paragraph should read like this:
If you DON'T have a job that requires windows or you won't do it (or something like that) then I don't think you should have a problem with needing to switch from Mac to Win often.
Of course you win there. you can use bootcamp, for example, and start the computer directly in windows, so you wouldn't emulate anything = more speed, less load. But that's up to you.
And what programs for windows do you use besides games? If there are substitutes, I believe that someone here will definitely answer what to use on osx.
I ran into that :)
I use classic office programs for work. There certainly won't be a problem there.
I have two games, I don't see a problem here either.
My hobbies are animation, image and sound editing, music. And here I don't know if there are programs for video editing and music creation. (I definitely don't mean vacation video editing programs)
Thanks for your patience. I'm weaned on Windows and struggle hard with prejudice. However, when I see Mac and see the cleanliness and order everywhere compared to my mess in Win, I am blown away. Stupidly written, but that's how it works for me :)
There are many programs for animations, video editing, music (whether for professional or semi-amateur processing). Previously, music and video were mainly worked on the Mac. This changed only in the mid-90s - Windows 95 appeared.
If you buy a new or second-hand Macintosh, you get a DVD with a whole range of programs for free: iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, iPhoto...
Hold on, we are preparing an article on this topic.
As for graphics: Photoshop, Pixelmator
I can't see the animation
As for music, I was looking for it once, and there is a really good professional application for that, but one has to learn to search and know where to look. Warez is also full, but that's beside the point, we didn't talk about that.