sick of paying parallels for upgrades, especially for features they promise in previous version or say will be part of a free upgrade, and then backtrack, or time so that the majority of the customer base that purchased the previous version does not qualify for the upgrade.
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Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac Released
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Yes, for whatever reason it seems I've shelled out a lot of money to Parallels. I use it minimally and I don't use a lot of the 'advanced' features. I've also paid for iLife and OS X updates, but I get a lot of new stuff for my $$$ with those. I see Parallels as a "wrapper"... it is the tupperware of the dinner table. And it has done some things on my computer that I despise, which makes it even worse.
Also, in regard to the VMWare story being page 2, I think MR gets a kickback from Parallels. Remember one of those software bundles that was being commercially promoted on MR- it contained Parallels. Hey, I don't mind advertising, I'll take it over having to pay. But, it is also nice to know what is an advertisement and what isn't.
Also, in regard to the VMWare story being page 2, I think MR gets a kickback from Parallels. Remember one of those software bundles that was being commercially promoted on MR- it contained Parallels. Hey, I don't mind advertising, I'll take it over having to pay. But, it is also nice to know what is an advertisement and what isn't.
VMWare Fusion 3 got a page 1 article when it was announced, I don't see why people take issue with Parallels Desktop 5 getting one when it is announced. The reason that the VMWare Fusion 3 launch is page 2 news is because we already had been given the release date; the Parallels Desktop launch was not announced ahead of time so it was given a page 1 news item for the announcement, just as VMware Fusion 3 was.
My day job is a VMware system engineer, lots of ESX, Virtual Center, SRM, etc.
I have both Fusion 3.0 and now Parallels 5.0. I have had every version of Fusion and Parallels 4.0
Parallels 4.0 in Cohesion is faster than any version of Unity. Both work but when dragging windows around Unity will glitch bad, lots of tearing..but when you stop all is ok.
Fusion 2.x would spike CPU at odd times when nothing was going on. Fusion 3.0 is better but still does this at times.
Parallels 4.0 and 5.0 have VMware workstation for the PC features like Clone or Clone to template to name a few. Fusion is oddly missing these.
Fusion 3.0 would NOT convert my Parallels 4.0 VM's, all of them gave an error (after and hour) that the VM was not shut down properly, which is wrong. I un-install the current version of each product and reboot before installing the other.
Parallels 5.0 converted my Fusion 3.0 Windows 7 VM with out a hitch.
Parallels IMHO is the leader right now on the Mac. Fusion 3 is not bad, but lags feature and performance wise behind Parallels.
I have both Fusion 3.0 and now Parallels 5.0. I have had every version of Fusion and Parallels 4.0
Parallels 4.0 in Cohesion is faster than any version of Unity. Both work but when dragging windows around Unity will glitch bad, lots of tearing..but when you stop all is ok.
Fusion 2.x would spike CPU at odd times when nothing was going on. Fusion 3.0 is better but still does this at times.
Parallels 4.0 and 5.0 have VMware workstation for the PC features like Clone or Clone to template to name a few. Fusion is oddly missing these.
Fusion 3.0 would NOT convert my Parallels 4.0 VM's, all of them gave an error (after and hour) that the VM was not shut down properly, which is wrong. I un-install the current version of each product and reboot before installing the other.
Parallels 5.0 converted my Fusion 3.0 Windows 7 VM with out a hitch.
Parallels IMHO is the leader right now on the Mac. Fusion 3 is not bad, but lags feature and performance wise behind Parallels.
I've been using Parallels 4 to run Windows 7 RC. Worked not bragging great but good enough. Bought the Parallels 5 update yesterday and it works very very well with Windows 7 RC. Now that I've tested this and am convinced of the stability and speed of Windows 7 via Parallels, I want to load the Released Windows Ultimate.
Now, my inexperience brings on a problem. I have a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade. . How in the heck do I get the Windows 7 Ultimate Update on my MacBook Pro using Parallels and have it accept registration? Do I have to dig out my very old Windoz XP disks and upload them on the MacBook first?? This is confusing and crazy.
Now, my inexperience brings on a problem. I have a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade. . How in the heck do I get the Windows 7 Ultimate Update on my MacBook Pro using Parallels and have it accept registration? Do I have to dig out my very old Windoz XP disks and upload them on the MacBook first?? This is confusing and crazy.
This is so annoying. Aero was supposed to work in version 4. I've been waiting for them to do something about it and instead they just release another version with a $50 upgrade fee?? Screw them, frankly.
WARNING: Parallels 5 deletes your Dock Icons
It will delete all your folders, stacks, files, aliases etc tot he right of your App icons.
Further, if you run XP, it will BSOD until you realize you have to set the CPUs to 1.
They don't provide any support unless you pay $20 per question. The company is crap. If you are lucky...you may be able to sue the software without issues for a little bit...but that surely won't last and you'll wish you didn't buy it.
It will delete all your folders, stacks, files, aliases etc tot he right of your App icons.
Further, if you run XP, it will BSOD until you realize you have to set the CPUs to 1.
They don't provide any support unless you pay $20 per question. The company is crap. If you are lucky...you may be able to sue the software without issues for a little bit...but that surely won't last and you'll wish you didn't buy it.
Thank you for being the one sensible person who actually rubbed more than two brain cells together on this one. All it took was (a) understanding that Page 1 and Page 2 are different sections of the site, and (b) looking at the list of old articles and seeing that VMware had 2 articles, one in each section, while Parallels only had one.
If anything, that shows a bias towards VMware, not Parallels. However, in all my years reading MacRumors I've never once seen any sort of evidence of bias or underhandedness.
Apple does the same thing. With hardware AND software. Aperture, Final Cut Pro etc. Buy for the the use at moment. If an upgrade comes. Ok. Tough luck and bad mood by the lost upgrade to the latest software/hardware but is it really such news. Just saying...
Or £35 if you live in Rip-Off Britain. That's $68 !
Not it's not.
£35 at the current exchange rate is $58. Take off the VAT because the US price doesn't include sales tax and it's $50.50 which is $0.51 more than the US upgrade price shown on the Parallels site.
Parallels Customer Service is GREAT!
I made some earlier posts bitching about the update and the fee. I mentioned that I had written an email to NovaDevelopment to make my point and got a flip response. Today, I got a phone call from their tech support (NOVA's). They looked at my account and did mention that I was outside the limit for a free upgrade but offered to make me eligible anyway. Wow. Don't recall that happening before.
Anyway, the techie said NOVA was taking over Parallel's tech support and that things would look better in the future. They're in transition now.
Jon
I made some earlier posts bitching about the update and the fee. I mentioned that I had written an email to NovaDevelopment to make my point and got a flip response. Today, I got a phone call from their tech support (NOVA's). They looked at my account and did mention that I was outside the limit for a free upgrade but offered to make me eligible anyway. Wow. Don't recall that happening before.
Anyway, the techie said NOVA was taking over Parallel's tech support and that things would look better in the future. They're in transition now.
Jon
Save your cash
I started my virtual experience with Parallels 3 about a year ago with a Macrumors software build package. I had XP with Office 07 and it was ok, I didn't know any better. I accepted that it was a bit slow, and the dealt with the mouse doing the busy swirl. When Parallels 4 came out I jumped on it, because of the 22-30% Speed boost! Sorry to say, it was even worse. To the point I would be adding data to Excel 07 and data would slowly populate. It was horrible. About two months ago I did a trial of the Fusion 2.0.6 beta pre Fusion 3 build, it was a night and day change. I didn't have any busy swirls except during program startup. Once the trial ran out I just bought the version 3, since it was now officially released. Do the trial on both platforms for 30 days and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I've been a longtime lurker, but I just had to say something.
I'm running both these on a Macbook Pro old school core 2 Duo with Snow Leopard.
I started my virtual experience with Parallels 3 about a year ago with a Macrumors software build package. I had XP with Office 07 and it was ok, I didn't know any better. I accepted that it was a bit slow, and the dealt with the mouse doing the busy swirl. When Parallels 4 came out I jumped on it, because of the 22-30% Speed boost! Sorry to say, it was even worse. To the point I would be adding data to Excel 07 and data would slowly populate. It was horrible. About two months ago I did a trial of the Fusion 2.0.6 beta pre Fusion 3 build, it was a night and day change. I didn't have any busy swirls except during program startup. Once the trial ran out I just bought the version 3, since it was now officially released. Do the trial on both platforms for 30 days and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I've been a longtime lurker, but I just had to say something.
I'm running both these on a Macbook Pro old school core 2 Duo with Snow Leopard.
This is different. Nova Development KNEW many people would have just bought Parallels 4, since they were forced to after they went to SL. That's inexcusable and, quite frankly, criminal.
So now that I've gotten a chance to test both, I'd clearly say that Parallels is ahead on some features. It's got slightly better 3D performance than Fusion 3. It's got some cool features like Crystal, etc. But I find that stability wise, Fusion is out ahead. I find that Fusion runs smoother overall.
Okay, isn't that a little extreme?
It would be one thing if they didn't report on Fusion at all...
yep - upgraded twice now too expensive...
I'm making a trial of virtualbox - it runs ubuntu 9.1 already no problems, but I have to reinstall windows as I can't easily convert from Parallels3...
I'm making a trial of virtualbox - it runs ubuntu 9.1 already no problems, but I have to reinstall windows as I can't easily convert from Parallels3...
OK, this is not true. I have updated to v5 (trial for the moment) and have had zero issues. I have Windows 7, Windows 7 embedded, XP Pro, Vista Business, and Ubuntu all with no issues.
Don't scare people. You may have something on your system that needs addressing...
All very well, but the process of translating the VM from parallels 3 format to virtual box is far from smooth.