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Parallels Desktop 3 (Mac/Leopard)
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| List Price: | £49.99 |
| Price: | £31.41 |
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Dispatched from and sold by easylaptopshop
14 new or used available from £29.95
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #28 in Software
- Brand: Avanquest Software
- Model: Parallels-avanq
- Released on: 2007-08-30
- Platforms: Mac OS X, No Operating System
- Dimensions: 19.68" h x 19.68" w x 19.68" l, .26 pounds
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Product Description
Run Windows, Linux, and more operating systems side-by-side with Mac OS X on any Intel-powered Apple Macintosh without rebooting. With Parallels Deskop for the Mac, critical software packages and games for Windows function on your Mac as if they were native applications. The 3.0 release comes packed with more than 50 new features for improved efficiency, file sharing, reliability, and performance.
In Coherence mode, Windows applications can run directly on the OS X desktop.
Out of Coherence mode, Windows applications must run in an emulator window.
Enjoy the benefits of Windows and OS X operating systems without managing two desktops. In Parallels Desktop 3.0, Coherence mode has been enhanced to make running both operating systems simultaneously even easier and more user-friendly. You can almost forget that you're running two operating systems.
- Navigate Windows using the Windows taskbar directly on your Mac desktop, or hide the Windows taskbar until you need it.
- Launch your favorite Windows applications and access the Windows Start menu straight from your Mac Dock.
- Use your Windows applications right on your Mac desktop, without resizing Windows itself.
- Drag-and-drop files and folders instantly between Windows and Mac OS X.
Smarter File Selection
Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac's new SmartSelect feature enables Mac users to open any Windows or Mac files with whatever application they choose--regardless of the OS where the file was created. Double-click a text file in Mac Finder to open it with Microsoft Office Word in Windows. Or synchronize your digital life by playing all the MP3s in your music library with Mac iTunes, even if the files are located in Windows. SmartSelect frees you to choose the best software for the job, without interrupting your workflow.
- View and edit a file with any compatible Windows or Mac software available on your Intel Mac.
- Click a hyperlink and launch either Apple's Safari or the Windows-based Web browser of your choice.
- Set SmartSelect so that file types always open in specific Mac or Windows applications, or choose your applications on the fly.
Snapshots for Reliability
Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac's new Snapshots feature enables you to recover your virtual machine from system crashes with the click of a button. In the event of a virus or a Windows system crash, you can conveniently restore your virtual machine to a prior snapshot with all of your data and software intact. Snapshot Manager enables you to view all your snapshots, revert back to previous snapshots, delete snapshots, and edit description information for each snapshot.
Parallels Desktop 3.0 supports Windows games that require DirectX 8.1.
Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac now supports DirectX 8.1 and OpenGL.
- Play select Windows-only games on your Mac.
- Render in complex 3D CAD programs such as AutoCAD 2008.
- Work with CPU-intensive video and sound editing software such as Sony Vegas.
Easy Windows Migration
Transporter is a powerful tool in Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac that enables you to transfer your entire PC--including the operating system, applications, files, and personal settings--without losing data or reinstalling any software. And now you can convert VMware Workstation/Server and Virtual PC virtual hard disks to a Parallels virtual machine and migrate directly to your Mac using FireWire.
Personal Installation Assistant
With a powerful, easy to use "Express Windows OS Installation Mode" for Windows Vista and Windows XP, the Installation Assistant completely automates the virtual machine setup and installation of Windows--with almost no user interaction. The Installation Assistant also provides improved and setup for other versions of Windows, MS-DOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, and eComStation.
Technical Requirements
Primary Operating Systems Supported: Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later
Hardware Requirements: Support on any 32 or 64-bit Intel-powered iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro & Mac Pro Tower.
Processor: Intel Core Solo, Intel Core Duo, Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Dual-Core Xeon. Full support for Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x).
Memory: Minimum memory requirements of 512 MB RAM. Recommended to use 1 GB RAM. Use ANY RAM configuration (up to 16 GB) without modifying your host system.
Disk Space: 70 MB of available hard drive space for Parallels Desktop installation plus sufficient space allocated for the virtual machine. 15 GB of free hard drive space is recommended.
Display: 16-bit or 32-bit display adapter recommended
Guest Operating Systems supported: Microsoft Windows: 3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, 2003 and Windows Vista. Linux Distributions: SUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora Core, Mandriva, Xandros and more. Other: FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, Solaris, MS-DOS, and OpenBSD 3.8.
Customer Reviews
Don't expect miracles.
This is a very frustrating product if, like me, you migrated to Apple Mac on the basis of its claims. Despite loading it onto the most powerful iMac available, it is very slow and struggles with Windows Explorer, while higher end graphics programs simply plod along. USB ports appear and disappear for no apparent rhyme or reason. Printing becomes an exercise in watching paint dry and even with the assistance of Apple's (free download) Bonjour add on, not all printer drivers are capable of being installed. I finally went the Boot Camp route which partitions your disk between Windows and Leopard and Windows now works as it should.
Great after slow intitial install
I found this software loaded extremely slowly onto my brand new iMac. I think it took over eights hours installing from the CD (there is an encouragement in the instructions to create a disc image instead of using the CD). However, once it was installed it has worked like a dream and I have become very fond of its versatility and usefulness. Every Windows program I have tried in this software has worked not only beautifully but also faster than on my two year old Dell laptop. I would now give it 5 stars if I could change the review rating system.
Excellent - with XP and Solaris already running.
Parallels is easy to install and run. Loading in operating systems is also very easy - select the OS, insert the disk, follow the instructions in the installation window. I found that was all there was to it - for both XP and Solaris.
The speed is very good - I'm running an iMac Core 2 Duo - 2GhZ. Its the lowest spec iMac as of Jan 2008. But, I have a lot of memory (4GB), even so, there is loads left when running up either of these OS's. You'll be 'very' comfortable with only 2GB. There's no hanging or pausing.
With OS X Leopard, its much better. You can run an OS in each virtual desktop - full screen. Excluding the mouse and keyboard, you can easily forget your using a Mac.
I haven't used it intensely, but no crashes so far. There are nice features - like automatically sharing your Mac documents folder with Windows (which is optional).
With this software - the Mac becomes a true platform. This means there's no more excuses to convert.
But, there are a couple of issues:
1) After installing Parallels, it tries to get an update straight after. This hung the application. But, after stopping the process, I updated manually - and it was fine.
2) The manual could be more extensive. Its a quick start guide, but the box is huge for what is in side it - so it could have been filled out with a bigger manual.
3) To buy this directly from the producers is more expensive! Charging extra for a CD version and for updates! Also, the pro version has additional 'Windows' software! NOT, mac software! They don't state this very clearly! Lucky I explored these extra packages to find this out - otherwise it looked very attractive. So, in a word, your better off getting it from here.
