Parallels, oh, Parallels!

In case you don’t know, Parallels is …

“the first solution that gives Apple users the ability to run Windows alongside Mac OS X in a secure, isolated virtual machine.”.

In other words, you can run Windows (or other OS), in a window, on your Mac desktop at near native speeds. Very nice.

Parallels runs the installed OS from a partition (virtual machine or VM), which is just a big file on your Mac hard drive really. It also offers you choice to compress this VM – so if you have setup say a 10gb windows install, all the free space is compressed so it might only take up around 2.5gb. This is pretty neat, but the really cool thing is that Parallels itself runs faster this way!

The other beauty about Windows (or any other OS) being installed in the this single file VM means that when you upgrade your computer you just copy this one big file over and, bingo, you’ve just moved your windows installation!

Another great feature is that Parallels can install Windows automatically for you so you don’t have sit by the damn PC for an hour or so while windows chugs away and asks pointless q’s every 15mins. Give Parallels the info at the begining and let it get on with it.

I’ve used Parallels for a while now and been impressed by the quality of the product and development rate (all free updates so far). However, it’s the latest Parallels beta has prompted me to write this upsum. Windows in your OS X desktop is handy, but how do you fancy this…

• One-click Virtual Machine Aliases
• Resizable Main Window with Auto-Adjusting Screen Resolution
• Drag and Drop files and folders between Windows and Mac
• Read/Write BootCamp partition

• Coherency. Show Windows applications as if they were Mac ones.

  And this is just some of the improvements in the latest beta – which will become a free upgrade shortly. Incredible!

  On a personal level I especially love to see Windows relegated to an ‘emulated’ OS – kind of reminds me of Spectrums, VIC 20s, BBCs and all those others we’ve left behind. Of course, I look back at those old 8bit computers fondly, I’ll miss Windows like I miss double glazing salesmen.

  Parallels costs about $80, at the current exchange rate that’s about £3.20 (unless you shop at apple.com in which case it’s £79.98) – I mean really, what are you waiting for.

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