Mar
28
2007
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Posted by luna6 21 Comments
Now that Parallels Desktop for Mac has finally released a stable 1.0 version, I thought it was as good as any time to check out this very slick OS X virtualization solution for the Mac. For people who have never used or heard of the program before, Parallels allows Intel Mac owners to install and run other operating systems inside of OS X. This is a significant difference from Apple’s own Boot Camp software, which can run other operating systems only by rebooting. If you use programs often in other operating systems, rebooting will quickly become a time consuming nuisance.
Although there has been emulation software in the past for the Mac, most suffered from a variety of faults. The biggest drawback with emulation programs like Virtual PC would have been the huge performance hit the user would feel because of the software emulating instructions from their PowerPC hardware to their virtual x86 operating systems. Now that Apple has completely switched their computers over to the x86 platform this performance issue has been greatly alleviated. Furthermore, Parallels efficiently uses Intel’s Virtualization Technology (VT-x) to enhance the speed of the guest operating system, thus taking it well beyond the slower emulation modes of the past. With Parallels you rarely have to worry about the guest operating system slowing your computer down to a crawl.
One of the best features with Parallels Desktop for Mac is that you can install just about any operating system : MS-DOS, Sun Solaris, OS/2, FreeBSD, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. Even though all these different operating systems work within Parallels, it does not necessarily mean that they all are supported equally. Clearly, Parallels has been optimized for Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista. Most of the gee whiz features built into Parallels are for Windows only.
As an example Parallels Transporter & Parallels Coherence works only in Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista. Also, Shared Folders and Drag N Drop are available only in Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista. Other features like Parallels Compressor and Parallel Tools works in all flavors of Windows. Unfortunately none of these features are available for Linux as of yet. Also it should be noted that Parallels does not work with any 64-bit guest operating systems.
Windows Vista
Installing Windows XP or Windows Vista inside of Parallels is downright easy and problem free. With Windows Vista in particular and the Express Installation mode there were only a handful of boxes to click before Vista was completely installed.
Actually using Windows within Parallels feels no different than using Windows on a standalone computer, albeit with one minor caveat. Parallels uses VGA drivers only, so any type of 3d acceleration is out of the question. The company has stated that they are working on 3d acceleration for their next release of Parallels (future updates are free for purchasers of Parallels). In the meantime 3d video games and 3d applications will not work in Parallels or work only in a minimal way. Personally, I don’t play games or use any 3d rendering programs so this caveat did not bother me much. It would have been nice to have the Aero features available in Vista but this really didn’t effect my productivity in any appreciable way. Other than that, all the Windows programs you normally use can be used with Windows & Parallels. Parallels does offer three distinct viewing modes when working with the guest Windows operating system : Window, Full screen, or Coherence modes. Using the window mode is probably the most familiar method, but on my 13″ MacBook that would have been the least desirable method out of the three. In full screen mode, it really does feel like you are running Windows on a PC.
If you install Windows in Parallels make sure to install Parallels Tools. Parallels Tools installs special drivers in order for you to access special features like Coherence, Drag-and-Drop Tool, Favorite Applications Tool, and Shared Folders. The Drag-And-Drop Tool allows the copying of files between the guest operating system (Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista) and the host Mac OS X system via the drag-and-drop method. The Favorite Applications Tool allows applications running in the guest operating system (Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista) to appear on the Applications menu and in the Dock. Shared Folders is enabled via the Configuration Editor. Simply check the box for “Enable Shared folders” then click the + button and the directory you want shared within your guest operating system (Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista). All these features worked very well.
Parallels Coherence
When you select Coherence mode, Parallels is basically hidden from view and you can either place the windows task bar somewhere on your desktop or have the task bar completely hidden as well. You can switch between these options by selecting View –> Customize –> Coherence tab. If you chose the latter method (which I did) then you will get the familiar Windows Start Menu placed on the OS X dock and then you can launch your Windows programs from there. Furthermore open applications in Windows are shown as icons on the OS X dock as well. Basically, Coherence mode integrates Windows non-obtrusively within OS X. For the uninitiated they may never know that there are two operating systems running in Coherence mode.
Parallels Transporter
Parallels Transporter is a convenient new tool to migrate the information from a remote PC into a guest operating system within Parallels. As an example, if you would like to install Windows XP but keep the same settings, applications, and data that resides on your Windows desktop computer over to your Parallels guest operating system then Transporter can make this happen with ease. The program actually comes in two parts : Transporter which is built into Parallels and the Transporter Agent which is a program you install on your standalone Windows computer. To use Parallels Transporter you need to follow these 3 easy steps :
1.) Install Transporter Agent on the Windows computer you want to copy from. Transporter Agent can be downloaded here.
2.) Run Transporter Agent on the Windows computer you want to copy from.
3.) Launch Parallels on your Mac Computer and select File –> Import.
From there just follow the easy wizard migration tool to walk you through the installation. The Transporter Agent notifies Parallels of all the information that is needed, so you don’t even have to input the ip address or the hostname for the computer you want to copy from. Very well done Parallels! Another cool feature with Parallels Transporter is that you can actually migrate from another virtualization disk image. As an example if you have a VMware image file, Parallels Transporter will convert that image so it will work with Parallels Desktop for Mac.
Parallels Compressor
Since my Macbook comes with only a 80 gig hard drive I did have an interest in the Parallels Compressor feature built into Parallels. Basically the way Parallels Compressor works is that the tool deletes unnecessary files in the guest os, defrags and cleans up unused space, and compacts expanding disks. The user can select to use either the automatic or manual mode. I chose the automatic route. Using Parallels Compressor is very simple. Start up the guest operating operating system and make sure to login with a user with administrator rights. Then select Actions–>Run Parallels Compressor from the Parallels menu. There are only a few windows to click through if you choose the automatic compressor mode.
Linux
Parallels had no problem installing Ubuntu’s Edgy Eft. If you have never used Linux before, Parallels is a great way to get your feet wet with Linux but not having to completely commit yourself to the alternative operating system. Although Parallels doesn’t feature all the bells and whistles for Linux guest operating systems as they do for Windows, nevertheless Parallels ran Linux great.
One of the first things that I wanted to change was the default aspect ratio. On my Macbook with its native resolution of 1280×800, the available resolutions were 1024×768 (height was to tall) or 800×600 (width was to small), which were not ideal for my needs. In order to change the resolution two steps were needed. In the “Configuration Editor” I selected “Video” then clicked the “Enable custom screen resolutions” box and then added 1024×600. Next step was to boot up Ubuntu. Then add custom settings in xorg.conf. Under the “Screen” section next to “Depth 24″ I added “1024×600” and then under the “Monitor” section I added this line :
# 1024×600 @ 60.00 Hz (GTF) hsync: 37.32 kHz; pclk: 48.96 MHz
Modeline “1024×600_60.00″ 48.96 1024 1064 1168 1312 600 601 604 622 -HSync +Vsync
From there things worked quite nicely, but as I said before, you don’t get all the features that are available for Windows guest operating systems. I was surprised that Parallels did not have a “Shared Folders” option available for Linux. Since I have used VMware in the past on my Linux desktop (as the host OS) and they have shared folders available for Linux I thought it was strange you could not do the same for Parallels and Linux. Needless to say that was disappointing. Nonetheless, I was able to share folders between OS X and Ubuntu via NFS. A nicely utility to setup NFS shares in OS X is NFS Manager which can be downloaded here.
If you are planning to purchase Parallels for Windows on your Mac, you should take advantage of the opportunity to download and try the free open-source Edgy Eft from Ubuntu. I would venture to guess that after you use Ubuntu a few times, you may just want to wipe out that Windows partition on your home PC and install Ubuntu.
Conclusion
Parallels Desktop for Mac has come along very nicely in only a short of amount of time. The software runs very smoothly and is priced reasonably at $79.99. Parallels has stated that in their next version, they will finally include 3d acceleration. Although the lack of 3d acceleration did not bother me, I did wish that they would have included more features for alternative operating systems like Linux. There’s no reason why “Shared Folders” could not work in Linux, but perhaps Parallels were simply devoting their resources for Windows working as smoothly as possible in their 1.0 release. Hopefully for their next version some of these features will be available for other operating systems.
Coherence mode would definitely have been the star of the show in Parallels. By enabling Coherence mode and placing the Windows Start Menu on the OS X dock, Parallels became even more convenient to use (not to mention giving off a wow factor from launching Windows programs from the OS X dock). After using Parallels for a few weeks, I find that the application is an indispensable tool for testing and using other operating systems. Not only does Parallels give OS X a more feature friendly feel, but it also makes using OS X a whole more fun to use as well.
Pro’s :
-
The coherence mode, transporter, compressor and shared folders works well within Windows.
If you have at least 1 gig of ram and an Intel Core Duo chipset then Parallels runs smoothly.
You can install just about every operating system known to mankind within Parallels.
Con’s :
-
Does not have 3d acceleration (Aero does not work in Vista nor does Beryl or Compiz work in Linux).
Coherence, Transporter, Compressor, Shared Folders, Drag N Drop works only within Windows.
Does not have a snapshot mode to easily revert back to an earlier installed stage (as an alternative “cloning” is available but uses more hard drive space).
Users Rating: 9.67 
(3 votes)
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Comments
21 Comments so far
This is a HORRIBLE program. I have not been able to get it to run and there is NO SUPPORT. I could not return it and finally had AMEX cancel the charge.
Chuck B :
To install Ubuntu 7.04 in Parallels, when creating new virtual machine…select “Solaris” rather than Linux (this is a problem with the current version of Parallels and the detection of 7.04). After selecting “Solaris” rather than Linux …you wont have the problem of not being able to find boot disc and you can then do the normal installation of Ubuntu 7.04.
Once installation is finished, shut down the virtual machine, go into “Edit –> Virtual Machine –> Option” and change OS Type from Solaris to Linux and OS Version to Debian Linux or Other Linux and it works nicely.
Cheers…
Good Morning Luna6,
First, can you explain the Parellels setup to get Ubuntu working, I seem to have a program with loading the drivers.
Second, I agree with your March 30th. posting. Computers are tools and need to be used as such. Winston Churchill did not like the government in Russia. However this did not keep him from asking them to be a tool for the destruction of Hilter. I used several different Mac & Windows (& Linux too when I get it working) to do my work and pleasure. I look for what works best, Mac and OX ten for the computer, and various programs that, in one case, is only on Windows and I make that work.
Thanks for the review and I am gald to see that Parellels is coming out with a newer version.
Chuck
Ricardo, Dan,
Google searching for “snapshot vmware patent” turns up only a few claims similar to yours, but no proof. Even if this supposed patent exists, VirtualPC has had Undo and Difference disks for a while and they sound a lot like snapshots – explain how they can get away with this.
It’s true.Search google.
‘“Snapshots” are patented by VMWare.’
I don’t believe one word of it. Can you please send a link to this alleged patent?
The current Parallels build, 3188, is actually version 2.5 (not 1.0). I can’t find a reference right now, but 3D acceleration isn’t planned until 3.0, which will not be a free upgrade.
malignedtruth :
“That’s nice, another Microsoft centric article…”
When discussing Parallels, the majority of users will want to use the software to run Windows and then a smaller portion for Linux. Perhaps you didn’t read the article clearly, but in fact, the article advocates better support for other operating systems like Linux and using Parallels to try out alternative operating systems like Linux.
Zealotry in any group always gives me the creeps. I think readers are generally smart enough to discern what would be best for them by reading the positives and negatives of a particular subject matter. Patronizing sermons are counter productive.
Also on a similar note. A good friend of mine runs a business – building and installing custom cabinets and other interior modifications. Recently he bought a 24″ iMac and called me for advice on a problem he was having. He needed to use AutoCad for work but was surprised that AutoCad was not available for OS X (or Linux for that matter). He only needed to use AutoCad for the basic 2d stuff, basically to open up files and review layouts. Anyways under your premise I probably should have told him “No! Don’t install AutoCad. Its not open source source software and runs under the patent offending Windows operating system run by those monopolistic mongrels known as Microsoft. I don’t use Windows and you shouldn’t either. If you can’t open the files that your client sends …then don’t take clients, quit your job, support open source.”
What I actually told him was that you can either reboot into Windows with Boot Camp or use Parallels and run AutoCad within a virtual environment in OS X. He decided to try out Parallels and seemed pretty content.
Only 200 windows? I’ve seen more than that on Exposé demos. (Why would you need so many windows open at the same time anyway?!)
Fifty times faster? On the same hardware? Um, no. Faster? Yes.
I do congratulate you on not using Micro$oft products.
That’s nice, another Microsoft centric article…
Look folks, I run my 8 Macs on FREE GNU/Linux and *BSD code built for their quality hardware.
You can run multiple OSes, limited by the design, to two on the drive, so why not run Open Source OSes? Drop all DRM restrictions! It’s MY data, MY hardware, and MY choice!
NOT to be limited in any way by Mac, felon Microsoft, with their proprietary needs to grab my money, and to control my Digital Rights!
Also, felon Microsoft makes a sloppy code, a crappy ‘toy’ system, extremely broken and riddled with vulnerabilities, that is keyed towards the gaming market.
Never intended to network, Microsoft’s products are a kludge of stolen and broken code, with no links to who actually owns copyrights, other than the acknowledgement that much of the network stuff is actually Open Source code, royalty paid, after 6 years of court battles!
Shame on YOU felon Microsoft, cheating all the Universities of their royalties until the Courts cases ruled you a pirate!
Running any Microsoft product only destroys the security Macs now enjoy, due to the superior build of the protective facets of the many OSes built and tested to run so aptly on the Mac hardware!
I don’t go back into the dark alleyway to offer my remaining pocket change to the mugger who just robbed me, and for the very same reasons, I won’t have any dealings with multiple convicted felon and pirate Microsoft Corporation.
If you are willing to run “un-supported” Parallels and Microsoft, then what is your objection to the fully supported FOSS?
Also, all my PCs run GNU/Linux, upto 50X faster, with 20 desktop environments, in a genuine concurrent multi-processing system that allows upto 200 open windows on each.
Yes, faster than a Mac! http://pclinuxos.com
Find hundreds of FREE Mac PPC/Intel, and PC capable OSes, at: http://livecdlist.com http://distrowatch.com
“Snapshots” are patented by VMWare. There is nothing that parallels can do about it, thanks to the US Patents Dep. for allowing software patents! bah
Cons:
No support. If you have a problem Parallels won’t give you any support at all – even if you’re suckered into paying extra for their phone support (surprise, noone picks up!).
CHeck the Parallels Forum, full of paying customers left up shit creek without a paddle.
I dont understand. The website still offer RC 3188. Where is the link to the 1.0?
..not that I care so much as 3188 runs great already on my MB but hey, I wanna know.
Amit : The macbook I used for this review was the first generation variety (2 ghtz Core Duo, 1.5 gigs of ram…everything else stock). Also you bet you’ll be reading up on VMWare Fusion when it comes out of beta. Cheers..
Could you provide the specs for your MacBook? Specs such as RAM and processor speed/type (Core Duo/2 Duo).
Reason I ask is I ran Parallels a while back on my 1st gen Core Duo MacBook (before it got stolen) and the performance was good but not great.
Maybe also a comparison with VMWare Fusion? ;)
Thanks.
Marc : thanks for your constructive criticism. parts 1&2 were noted and changed. I like to keep a few flaws in there just for the heck of it. One day I’ll get an editor!
Scott : I don’t believe Parallels supports multiprocessers like VMware. The guest operating system will only use one cpu core, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you prefer to have the host os running optimally. You don’t have the option to pick between single or multicores for the guest operating system like VMware. Also if your computer can handle running two guest operating systems simultaneously then each guest os would have their own cpu core, while the host throttles between the two. I find the responsiveness of parallels to be very good – as good as VMware in Linux running with a guest operating system using two cores. Only drawback would be if you want to multi-task a lot in the guest os.
Does Parallels support multiprocessors like VMware?
This is pathetic:
Coherence Mode, Transporter, Compressor, Shared Folders, works great within Windows.
If you have 1 gig of ram and at least a Intel Core Duo chip than Parallels runs ultra smooth.
You can install just about every operating system known to mankind within Parallels.
Try this:
The coherence mode, transporter, compressor and shared folders works well within Windows.
If you have at least 1 gig of ram and an Intel Core Duo chipset then Parallels runs smoothly.
You can install nearly ever operating system currently available, within Parallels.
VMware is also working on virtualization software for the Mac and they have 3d acceleration working.
http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion/
It might be worth mentioning that if you have windows (or any other OS supported by boot camp) installed using bootcamp, you can also use this in parallels and run both OS’ together.
I downloaded the trial version of Parallels for Mac and really impressed so far. I installed Windows XP with no problems what so ever. I tried Transporter method and once the installation was finished, I had a mirror image of my Windows desktop on my MacBook Pro. I will be trying Ubuntu as well. Thank you for this awesome review!