Parallels Beta 3036

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Parallels => Parallels Desktop for Mac Build 3036 Beta is available for download.

It’s with great regret that I say that I have to use Windows XP for my work. There simply isn’t any Mac way to do a few of the thing necessary. To remedy that problem (so I don’t have to tote around a second laptop) I use Parallels Desktop, which I’ve reviewed previously.

Yesterday they released a new beta version of the upcoming (free upgrade) release. It’s looks pretty darned impressive. They’ve added the ability to drag and drop between OSX and Windows (both ways), which will be a real time saver for me. They’ve also implemented a new operation mode.

Previously, you could work in either windowed mode, in which your entire Windows desktop resided within an OSX window, or you could run the Windows session full screen on the Mac. I must say, seeing a full screen version of Windows running on my MacBook never fails to unnerve me. The new mode allows the Windows desktop to disappear, leaving the Windows task bar at the bottom of the screen (or where ever you keep it) and the Windows windows float and mix freely with the OSX windows.

It’s a little rough around the edges, but the promise is amazing.

I have an exact bootable duplicate of my Macbook on an external drive, so I booted to that, installed the beta over the version on the external drive and had no problems with the upgrade whatsoever. The software did show a couple video glitches which I’ve not encountered in the production version, and the mixed windows mode doesn’t cross monitors if you’ve got two hooked up.

This is a compelling piece of software for someone is stuck running some Windows programs.

Major complaint – Windows emulation only supports USB 1, so if you want to use a USB device from Windows, it’s dog slow. Luckily, drag and drop will help alleviate that problem. Parallels also does not support 3D graphics in Windows. Not a problem for me, but others might be impacted by it.

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6 thoughts on “Parallels Beta 3036”

  1. Do you have a Boot Camp partition? I’ve been reading up and it appears this release allows Parallels to boot your Boot Camp XP installation, which seems very cool. The best of both worlds – Windows apps floating in and out of OS X, and when you need it (say, for 3D gaming) use Boot Camp, whilst only having to maintain one installation. I haven’t tried it, largely because I’m not convinced I actually want to spend money on a copy of Windows, but I’m curious.

  2. Do you have a Boot Camp partition? I’ve been reading up and it appears this release allows Parallels to boot your Boot Camp XP installation, which seems very cool. The best of both worlds – Windows apps floating in and out of OS X, and when you need it (say, for 3D gaming) use Boot Camp, whilst only having to maintain one installation. I haven’t tried it, largely because I’m not convinced I actually want to spend money on a copy of Windows, but I’m curious.

  3. No, I don’t use Boot Camp at all. My logic was that the Mac Book’s graphics aren’t really good enough for cool Windows 3D gaming anyway and I hated the idea of making a partition of mostly wasted space. (120GB drive, 8GB free 🙁 ) At least I can remove my Parallels virtual disk when not in use.

    I saw that new feature in the Parallels beta, but I was also looking through the bug feedback and lots of Boot Camp users were reporting that “converting” the boot camp partition to operate under Parallels was causing Windows to detect a drastic enough hardware change to require re-activation of Windows every time the hopped back and forth.

    They had rapidly run out of activations.

  4. No, I don’t use Boot Camp at all. My logic was that the Mac Book’s graphics aren’t really good enough for cool Windows 3D gaming anyway and I hated the idea of making a partition of mostly wasted space. (120GB drive, 8GB free 🙁 ) At least I can remove my Parallels virtual disk when not in use.

    I saw that new feature in the Parallels beta, but I was also looking through the bug feedback and lots of Boot Camp users were reporting that “converting” the boot camp partition to operate under Parallels was causing Windows to detect a drastic enough hardware change to require re-activation of Windows every time the hopped back and forth.

    They had rapidly run out of activations.

  5. Hmmm, fouled up by Windows again. What a ruddy brilliant system that “let’s penalise our paying customers with activation hassle while the pirates have not bother” is. I have to say I can’t think of anything I need the 3D graphics for (unless I get tempted to buy Half-Life 2) and I’m still happily playing about with CrossOver Mac to run a couple of Windows apps.

    I just think the whole virtualisation thing is cool, so I want to find a use for all these new features…

  6. Hmmm, fouled up by Windows again. What a ruddy brilliant system that “let’s penalise our paying customers with activation hassle while the pirates have not bother” is. I have to say I can’t think of anything I need the 3D graphics for (unless I get tempted to buy Half-Life 2) and I’m still happily playing about with CrossOver Mac to run a couple of Windows apps.

    I just think the whole virtualisation thing is cool, so I want to find a use for all these new features…

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