So August 15th is the alleged "cut-off" date for a free upgrade? I needed Parallels 8 to run a windows-based computer course I took in July and now I don't qualify? Come on, Parallels! Where's the love?
In terms of speed comparison between Parallels and VMWare there is NO comparison. Parallels trounces VMWare.
Let's put it this way. I am running Eve Online from Windows in a Parallels VM because the Mac client is rubbish at the moment. It performs flawlessly and just as fast as in Bootcamp for the most part. VMWare can't even run it.
Parallels is the king of Bootcamp support by the way. It supported Bootcamp before any of the others although the annoying thing is that with Windows 7 and Windows 8 it will keep saying the machine needs to be activated based on the fact the drivers are completely different. This will be the same with VMWare and VirtualBox if it supports Bootcamp now.
I've tried all the big three VM applications but I ALWAYS keep coming back to Parallels because it is in my not so humble opinion the most feature rich and most powerful VM app out there.
I decided to spring for Parallels 9 and I must say the Parallels Access feature is pretty slick. I'm not a huge fan of leaving "open" ports for sharing due to their security risks but I can just turn it on and off when needed. Parallels Desktop 9 seems a tad "snappier," too.
Parallels 8 (or 9, for that matter) just works. I'm amazed at how little "overhead" I see running two virtual machines (Windows XP, Windows 7) on top of my iMac. Granted I have a quad-core i7 but it's a somewhat vintage machine (Fall of 2009) and it still flies. Just zoom!
... and if you wait a few months they'll be begging you to buy a copy with a much reduced price, or you'll be able to snag it in a macupdate bundle for even cheaper.
Not so much. I had my eye open for the last year on P8, waiting for the $40 upgrade incentive or a bundle. They don't start bundling until 9 months in get people on board before a new version is release. Maybe I missed some incentives, but that is what I noticed.
Yes, you can boot a Mac from an external hard drive. I've done it.
The simplest way is to make the drive internal, install OS X, then boot camp, then WIndows. Then make the drive external and you will be able to boot from it.
However, using USB, it will be slow.
Thanks for the tips, although I won't actually be swapping drives internal vs. external. I'll keep an eye open for what can officially be done, and make do with the best I can!
Still like VirtualBox. Once I switched from Parallels to VBox I've not looked back. Its free and works great.
If all you need is a basic VM to access a Windows app periodically then VirtualBox is an awesome product.
If you need to work between Windows and Mac all day every day then Parallels leaves VirtualBox in the dust.
I personally use Coherence mode all the time because it allows me to quickly switch between Mac and PC copying and pasting with ease between the two. Virtual Box has some issues with copy and paste mostly in the keyboard shortcuts realm but also that it doesn't have a Coherence style mode just either window or fullscreen which I don't like.
It all comes down to needs and power. For you VB works great and that's awesome, for me Parallels is the only answer, especially for playing Windows games.
... and if you wait a few months they'll be begging you to buy a copy with a much reduced price, or you'll be able to snag it in a macupdate bundle for even cheaper.
I got VMWare in a MacUpdate bundle that I never use. What is your point?
Incidentally there is clearly more development work for Parallels than VMWare which received it's last update last year but never really bought anything to the table.
Parallels is released each year with massive improvements over the previous year and new features and the like.
Oh and no I'm not a representative of Parallels although if they wish for pay me to be so then I'm all in. I just love this product because it's the only one that lets me do what I need and want to do easily. I have no problems with the other VMs and the more that are out there the easier it is to rescue people from Windows.
When I tried VMWare a year ago it was very buggy compared to Parallels so I didn't switch. Since then I've had to use Parallels phone support once and they were able to work with me right away and resolve the issue I was having. The Parallels updates seem to keep making the application better. I'll stick with Parallels even though I think the upgrade price is a little high.
Very buggy? What bugs? I use it every day for both Windows 7 and OS X Server and never had a single problem. What am I missing?
I got VMWare in a MacUpdate bundle that I never use. What is your point?
Incidentally there is clearly more development work for Parallels than VMWare which received it's last update last year but never really bought anything to the table.
Parallels is released each year with massive improvements over the previous year and new features and the like.
Oh and no I'm not a representative of Parallels although if they wish for pay me to be so then I'm all in. I just love this product because it's the only one that lets me do what I need and want to do easily. I have no problems with the other VMs and the more that are out there the easier it is to rescue people from Windows.
Have you looked into VMWare as a company? They have quite the portfolio and long time experience. To just state off the cuff you believe they have less development work than Parallels seems a bit unfounded to me. However I am always open to learning more, so please tell me what you'd like to see in VMWare. I always used both Parallels and VMWare but ended up dropping Parallels in favor of VMWare a year or two back as I didn't have the time to continuously compare them and there wasn't all that much difference and VMWare seemed more solid to me at the time.
Very buggy? What bugs? I use it every day for both Windows 7 and OS X Server and never had a single problem. What am I missing?
I agree. I have owned multiple versions of both and watched them evolve over time. Despite the many changes, there have been 2 constants: Parallels has faster graphics and VMware has fewer crashes.
Have you looked into VMWare as a company? They have quite the portfolio and long time experience. To just state off the cuff you believe they have less development work than Parallels seems a bit unfounded to me. However I am always open to learning more, so please tell me what you'd like to see in VMWare. I always used both Parallels and VMWare but ended up dropping Parallels in favor of VMWare a year or two back as I didn't have the time to continuously compare them and there wasn't all that much difference and VMWare seemed more solid to me at the time.
Yes I have and it's not an off the cuff thing. VMWare 5 didn't really add that much to VMWare 4.5 and there was about a 3 year gap between the two.
VMWare is an awesome company but they don't have the resources on the Mac side. They are a Windows shop and Mac development is clearly not a high priority when compared to Parallels who is a Mac shop with some Windows development. It's just the nature of the game.
I'm not saying VMWare is a bad product. I'm saying compared to what Parallels does it's development is miles behind.
Comments
So August 15th is the alleged "cut-off" date for a free upgrade? I needed Parallels 8 to run a windows-based computer course I took in July and now I don't qualify? Come on, Parallels! Where's the love?
Let's put it this way. I am running Eve Online from Windows in a Parallels VM because the Mac client is rubbish at the moment. It performs flawlessly and just as fast as in Bootcamp for the most part. VMWare can't even run it.
Parallels is the king of Bootcamp support by the way. It supported Bootcamp before any of the others although the annoying thing is that with Windows 7 and Windows 8 it will keep saying the machine needs to be activated based on the fact the drivers are completely different. This will be the same with VMWare and VirtualBox if it supports Bootcamp now.
I've tried all the big three VM applications but I ALWAYS keep coming back to Parallels because it is in my not so humble opinion the most feature rich and most powerful VM app out there.
I decided to spring for Parallels 9 and I must say the Parallels Access feature is pretty slick. I'm not a huge fan of leaving "open" ports for sharing due to their security risks but I can just turn it on and off when needed. Parallels Desktop 9 seems a tad "snappier," too.
I guess it's time to upgrade to Parallels 9 (on 7 now). Student license is $39 and it is the full version not an upgrade.
Parallels 8 (or 9, for that matter) just works. I'm amazed at how little "overhead" I see running two virtual machines (Windows XP, Windows 7) on top of my iMac. Granted I have a quad-core i7 but it's a somewhat vintage machine (Fall of 2009) and it still flies. Just zoom!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NasserAE
I guess it's time to upgrade to Parallels 9 (on 7 now). Student license is $39 and it is the full version not an upgrade.
The upgrade is a full version as well. It all comes down to whether or not you have an existing license.
That's what I mean. However, you need parallels desktop 6 or above to upgrade to 8 or 9. http://kb.parallels.com/en/114623
Having Windows print to a PDF on the Mac desktop is a good idea.
Parallels is a great product, and no doubt. If you need windows on a mac and it needs to work - this is the app.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pooch
... and if you wait a few months they'll be begging you to buy a copy with a much reduced price, or you'll be able to snag it in a macupdate bundle for even cheaper.
Not so much. I had my eye open for the last year on P8, waiting for the $40 upgrade incentive or a bundle. They don't start bundling until 9 months in get people on board before a new version is release. Maybe I missed some incentives, but that is what I noticed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Yes, you can boot a Mac from an external hard drive. I've done it.
The simplest way is to make the drive internal, install OS X, then boot camp, then WIndows. Then make the drive external and you will be able to boot from it.
However, using USB, it will be slow.
Thanks for the tips, although I won't actually be swapping drives internal vs. external. I'll keep an eye open for what can officially be done, and make do with the best I can!
(I'll probably use USB3.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by NasserAE
That's what I mean. However, you need parallels desktop 6 or above to upgrade to 8 or 9. http://kb.parallels.com/en/114623
But you have version 7 which definitely works because I've only bought upgrades since version 3.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erpx
Still like VirtualBox. Once I switched from Parallels to VBox I've not looked back. Its free and works great.
If all you need is a basic VM to access a Windows app periodically then VirtualBox is an awesome product.
If you need to work between Windows and Mac all day every day then Parallels leaves VirtualBox in the dust.
I personally use Coherence mode all the time because it allows me to quickly switch between Mac and PC copying and pasting with ease between the two. Virtual Box has some issues with copy and paste mostly in the keyboard shortcuts realm but also that it doesn't have a Coherence style mode just either window or fullscreen which I don't like.
It all comes down to needs and power. For you VB works great and that's awesome, for me Parallels is the only answer, especially for playing Windows games.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pooch
... and if you wait a few months they'll be begging you to buy a copy with a much reduced price, or you'll be able to snag it in a macupdate bundle for even cheaper.
I got VMWare in a MacUpdate bundle that I never use. What is your point?
Incidentally there is clearly more development work for Parallels than VMWare which received it's last update last year but never really bought anything to the table.
Parallels is released each year with massive improvements over the previous year and new features and the like.
Oh and no I'm not a representative of Parallels although if they wish for pay me to be so then I'm all in. I just love this product because it's the only one that lets me do what I need and want to do easily. I have no problems with the other VMs and the more that are out there the easier it is to rescue people from Windows.
Very buggy? What bugs? I use it every day for both Windows 7 and OS X Server and never had a single problem. What am I missing?
Have you looked into VMWare as a company? They have quite the portfolio and long time experience. To just state off the cuff you believe they have less development work than Parallels seems a bit unfounded to me. However I am always open to learning more, so please tell me what you'd like to see in VMWare. I always used both Parallels and VMWare but ended up dropping Parallels in favor of VMWare a year or two back as I didn't have the time to continuously compare them and there wasn't all that much difference and VMWare seemed more solid to me at the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
Very buggy? What bugs? I use it every day for both Windows 7 and OS X Server and never had a single problem. What am I missing?
I agree. I have owned multiple versions of both and watched them evolve over time. Despite the many changes, there have been 2 constants: Parallels has faster graphics and VMware has fewer crashes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
Have you looked into VMWare as a company? They have quite the portfolio and long time experience. To just state off the cuff you believe they have less development work than Parallels seems a bit unfounded to me. However I am always open to learning more, so please tell me what you'd like to see in VMWare. I always used both Parallels and VMWare but ended up dropping Parallels in favor of VMWare a year or two back as I didn't have the time to continuously compare them and there wasn't all that much difference and VMWare seemed more solid to me at the time.
Yes I have and it's not an off the cuff thing. VMWare 5 didn't really add that much to VMWare 4.5 and there was about a 3 year gap between the two.
VMWare is an awesome company but they don't have the resources on the Mac side. They are a Windows shop and Mac development is clearly not a high priority when compared to Parallels who is a Mac shop with some Windows development. It's just the nature of the game.
I'm not saying VMWare is a bad product. I'm saying compared to what Parallels does it's development is miles behind.