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Final version of Parallels Desktop released as free update

arstechnica.com — The beta tag has been lifted from Parallels Desktop and is a free update for existing users, or $79.99 for everyone else.

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  • Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -35/+33Free for me then, woot.
    • pixelbender, on 10/12/2007, -28/+3That kind of ***** really hurts your anti-MAFIAA/DRM argument when you can't even pay for the one software worth paying for.
    • halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17@pixelbender

      If you'd read the blurb and the article you would have seen that Ireland is saying he /she already has a license, and thus gets the upgrade for free.

      Nothing about piracy had been implied.
    • Ireland, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Thanks for the defence 'halley'. He indeed has a licence. So that's AppZapper, ViddyUp and now Parallels I've got for free. And that's all without breaking one law or messin' with my karma, great!
    • kutza, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2A FREE update for a piece of software that runs on an Apple?

      I can see why this is newsworthy.
  • wageslave1, on 10/12/2007, -61/+4For comparison, Virtualization on GNU/Linux is free. Please see KVM. A kernel based virtualization technology.



    • Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Yeah....not really the same thing at all. Sorry.
  • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -10/+8Would someone be so kind as to confirm whether this final release is able to boot Vista from a Boot Camp partition? That's ultimately the deal-breaker for me. Thanks...
    • maclaxguy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13The second bullet on the article:
      Windows Vista as a guest OS

      While Parallels supports it, I don't know that Boot Camp does.
    • GraceMolloy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2it "should" work.
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@maclaxguy: Boot Camp supports Vista (not officially, but it works flawlessly), and Parallels supports it as a guest OS, but there's no mention of it being able to boot from a partition.

      I might see if I can figure it out... I just don't want to screw up something if it doesn't work (I've heard the boot camp features of parallels can go badly wrong).
    • Tobark, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Isnt running Vista as a virtual machine against Microsofts EULA?
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Only the Home versions, and even then, there's no technical limitation to doing so, just a line in the license saying 'you can't do this'. Up to individuals whether they ignore it or not.
    • sparks2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I can confirm that running parallels on the bootcamp partition works flawlessly. Haven't tried Vista.
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Ok, I tried creating a new VM in Parallels, and in the wizard, selecting Vista as my OS. The 'Use BootCamp' option is greyed out if you select Vista though, so I went back and chose Windows XP, and then selected 'Use BootCamp' for the hard disk option.

      The VM tried to start, it asked me for my OSX password a couple of times, but then it just bombs with an error. So, no luck so far. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated, I'm pretty new to Parallels :)
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3NOTE: I've noticed since posting that my Boot Camp partition has disappeared lol. Don't follow my instructions! ***** :D
    • Stirk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@tobark

      It is only against the EULA if you are not using Vista Ultimate
  • dssstrkl, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Where exactly is this "final release?" The Parallels website is still offering build 3170, which is RC3, not the final version. Vista and Leopard compatibility were RC3's big deal.
  • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Parallels has been a really good company as far as customer support goes, they deserve a lot of respect for what they have gotten done since they launched the product.

    Still waiting to see improved DirectX support though...
    • nodnod, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Parallels level of support depends entirely on your point of view. I as a licensed Linux user, think their support sucks because all of my money has gone to mac development instead of fixes and enhancements for Linux. Likewise for Windows users. Parallels has totally dropped the ball on everything but mac. That may be fine but they should be up-front and admit they no longer support Linux and Windows. They haven't said that, therefore their support sucks.
    • cromer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Is the lack of 3D support in Parallels the reason why I can't run World Of Warcraft? I keep getting this error when I try to open it:

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/71092198@N00/404986363/

      Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
    • halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@cromer

      Most of the time, a "Memory could not be 'Read'" error indicates bad RAM.
    • cakestick, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@cromer: Just a question from a casual WoW player, but why can't you use the Mac client? It's working fine for me even on the Macbook @ 1280x800, and comes on the same discs.
    • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I second that thought, just run the Mac client instead of the Windows client. It will work much, much better.
  • kevnaca, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I thought they would have DirectX support in the final version :(

    Didn't they say that they are looking forward to this when it's out of beta?
    • Eccles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Crazy thought -- read the article. They quote a Parallels PR person regarding 3-D acceleration.

      Or, if that's too much work for ya, or the link is down: "We're working on 3D graphics acceleration—we know it's really important to our users. But we wanted to get Coherence out there as a final version as soon as we could, because running Windows apps seamlessly on the Mac desktop is just so cool."
    • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I agree with them about getting Coherence out.

      And when they do come out with an update that includes real DirectX support, I would not mind paying a small fee for that upgrade (which is I think another reason they wanted to separate out the releases).

  • wizardElite, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6Does anyone know if the new update supports the Aero glass features for Vista?
    • darreln, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7No. that would require hardware acceleration and DirectX 10, which Parallels does not support.
    • Combat247, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4oh well aero is pointless
    • bmobile, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As far as I know, they (the Parallels team) has said that 3D acceleration support is coming soon. This support would, of course, enable Aero.
  • the_snitch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6This is great - I just bought a retail copy of parallels 2 days ago, and was concerned whether they would charge me over the upgrade. I figure I may as well support the parallel dev team, they have been working so hard on ironing out bugs and new features.
    Imagine if MS acquired parallels (like they did Connctrix Virtual PC), and then we had to sit and watch the software rot until final withdraw from the mac market *shudder*
    • Quix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"Imagine if MS acquired parallels"

      I agree, not a good prospect. Apple should acquire this product before Microsoft snatches it and kills it.
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3SWSoft already acquired it...
  • nonokiaboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I could never get the Coherence button to work in the betas I tried. Is that because I used a trial key?
    Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!!
    • tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Worked fine for me, and I'm using the trial (European user). Coherence is an amazing feature, I must say.

      [edit]Make sure you've installed Parallel Tools in your guest OS, I think they're needed for Coherence.
    • nonokiaboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3just googled and found an old digg comment from : http://digg.com/apple/Parallels_Coherence_Screencast

      if anyone runs across this, for future reference, what needs to be done is this: go to actions> install parallels tools... then , if nothing comes up, go to "my computer" in the virtual machine and double click on the emulate drive that has the parallels tools mounted. This should bring up the screen to install them.
  • jackmaninov, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2How new is the transporter feature? Today is the first I've heard of it, and it sounds pretty sweet. Not for a power user of course (who want's their crust old windows install) but if it's easy for a basic user to use (like copying everything over a network or somesuch) it would be great.

    Especially if it will pick up your existing windows license :)
  • Kwipper, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1You see, this is where me and Apple software collide. You gotta pay for it.
    • mikev, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Oh yes, I hate hard working developers who provide an astounding product as well as superb customer service. If the awesomeness of Parallels doesn't get you to pay for it, your support for these guys should.
  • mrfx2, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3"We're working on 3D graphics acceleration—we know it's really important to our users. But we wanted to get Coherence out there as a final version as soon as we could, because running Windows apps seamlessly on the Mac desktop is just so cool."

    He is stalling for sure i dont think they can do it!
  • thesoze, on 10/12/2007, -21/+0Vista is soooo awful WHY are programs like this to run it?

    and why are Apples running INTEL microprocessors which ran Windows for a long time now?

    and why Apple fans losers?
    • hifiDesign, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7And why is your grammar and punctuation so goddamned horrendous?
  • scotty588, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Any mirrors of the build? Site is very slow for me.
  • hypermatt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Coherence is nice to make seamless editing with Vis studio ;) but the lack of 3d is dissapointing
  • fuzzywitman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Looks like the server just went down. It was loading slow before but now it's completely kaput.
  • Stark, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1The server is hosed. Any mirrors?
  • Stark, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1update: check out forums.parallels.com for a list of mirrors.

    :)
    • Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I can't get to parallels.com at all...
  • BabyGotMac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Mirror: http://babygotmac.com/a/173
  • reedjohnson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Actual Direct Download link: http://download.parallels.com/GA/Parallels%20Desktop%203186%20Mac%20en.dmg
  • BabyGotMac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hmmm...looks like this version includes a full version of 'Kaspersky Internet Security'. Let the bundling begin!
    http://babygotmac.com/a/173 (screenshots and download)
    • KrocCamen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Strange... Is there a limit on it? (Like Norton 90 day trials on new machines). I highly doubt they're going to give away a $60 program to every Parallels user for unlimited machines.
    • abeg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1From the User Guide:
      Now, you have the opportunity to install Kaspersky Internet Security program in your Windows XP/Vista guest operating system. Click Actions ->Install Kaspersky Internet Security in the menu. Half-year free subscription for antivirus database updates.
  • paradexes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2They may have SOME cool features but how trustworthy are they when they say this http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/2006/08/wwdc-wrap-up-part-2-vmware-is-in.html

    And have not delivered on it all. They talked about 3D and they have that so release out now. Note the date of the post. Oh and this was a month ago

    http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/2007/01/ask-ben-anything-linux-resolution.html

    Parallels 2.5 IS a major upgrade version. So where is 3D? They said 3 times in the next release. That release is here and 3D is nowhere to be found.
    • KrocCamen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Gosh, have some patience, really. 3D is difficult to do and takes time. I'm not that impatient waiting for desktop linux to arrive.
  • superal1394, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think parallels website died...
  • Syndrome, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1:( My activation key cannot be used with the current version of Parallels Desktop. Probably my own fault for buying off Amazon, all I can hope for now is if the devs do an automatic update and I can pick it up that way.
  • jocamero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Here's a link to a fast mirror: http://parallels.nfshost.com/

    I was getting > 1 MB/sec just a few minutes ago...

    It's now installed and running great!

    FYI: It appears that the Parallels site has died. =(
  • RomeyRome, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Still can't boot from a native Windows HD? Still a hel-of-a bang for the buck though.
  • efree58, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I really think that Parallels team is doing a great job, at least from my perspective as a mac user, but I can still live without it. I will wait to buy it until I can play some games without having to use bootcamp. Once they do that they will earn my $79.99
  • TheRealDeal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Parallels is working fine for me on my MacBook. I heartily recommend it!
  • AimTech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I installed it in 15 minutes. It found book camp and everything works perfect.
  •  

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