I hear it over and over from die hard Mac users. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it my self. “Why would you ever want to run Windows on your Mac? Are you crazy?” Knowledge is power, people! It pays to be “multilingual” in the computing world. Whether it is to experiment and learn from an academic viewpoint, or to run that one piece of “niche” software you just HAVE to use, virtualization is your way to have your Mac and eat it too. Well, maybe not literally, although Apples are quite tasty.

We have many options at our disposal. And I have used some of those. There was a PowerPC option that…well, it worked, sort of. Now that we have an Intel platform on the newest models a myriad of solutions are available. The one I am focusing on is Parallels by SWSoft. It has been a front runner and previously our only true virtualization solution.

I had been a steadfast user of “another solution” until I had the opportunity to review this product. I take this from the standpoint of a brand new Windows user. Imagine a pure and simple Mac, without Windows to complicate things…yet. But my MacBook Pro is tough, so tough I heard it can run Vista faster than any other laptop on the market (see for details.) The install of the Parallels software was seamless (once I completely eliminated all traces of a prior installation.) I had a Windows XP license laying around unused, so I used that for my installation. Parallels users must calculate into the cost of running an alternate operating system the outlay for the operating system being installed (Windows Vista Home Basic, $150.99, amazon.com). Prior users of a PPC partition have the ability to import that image, but I simply used the disk to create a Windows XP install disk and effortlessly installed XP. This is a wonderful thing, indeed. What about drivers? No problem, Parallel Tools takes care of the system hardware, leaving only proprietary devices to install.

I use one application that requires Windows, and it is a doozie (graphics intensive design software). So I installed that. What’s really cool is my partition size can be dynamic, so I don’t waste space that I don’t have to in my Windows, leaving more room for my Mac. This application is a hog, but I had no trouble. It even found my hardware associated on it via USB. Also, I put on a copy of free AVG antivirus just in case (you’re in the cruel world of Windows now). Brilliant. I couldn’t be happier with the installation. However, on reboot I experienced some minor flakiness, which is to be expected in virtualization.

Unique features of Parallels include Coherence, an option to merge both desktops in one display. Windows and applications from each operating system can run side by side on the desktop.

 

 

This allows for easy utilization of files in your choice of ALL application available in either system. SmartSelect allows editing of file associations to serve your needs. Using the “Open with…” menu item will allow a selection of ALL applications available, no matter on which platform it is run. These features allow a quality of operations management that far exceeds any virtualization product I have used. A perfect marriage not usually seen in the computing world let alone the human world. 

 

 

Speed and intensive graphics support are somewhat lacking. In any virtualization these are always issues. I have seen them handled better, however. Now Parallels has 3D support when gaming, but that feature is not that compelling if a Boot Camp partition is available.

Another feature touted by Parallels is the ability to run a virtual machine that points to a Boot Camp partition. This is useful for those users who desire Windows to occasionally run natively on their hardware while having the option to run a virtual machine in OSX for the ease of integrating the experience of computing in both worlds. In practice I find this feature to be unstable, difficult to manage, and intensive in time spent in repair of both the virtual machine and the Boot Camp partition. I had to draw extensively from my knowledge of Windows system management to keep things running at a marginal level. With the issues I have experienced, tech support was certainly helpful. I had troubles connecting with the resource person at SWSoft (now Parallels,) but within a week a particularly knowledgeable tech helped to alleviate some of my troubles. Kudos!

Overall, the interface in Parallels is elegant and feature filled. It has a true feel of OSX visually. Running optimally, its potential exceeds that of other solutions for the average Mac user. However, I find its stability somewhat limited, especially in the Boot Camp option. USB support is still fickle at times, and networking using NAT has had its pitfalls. I am running Leopard, and Parallels has been catching up to the nuances the 10.5 distribution has introduced. Builds recently have been introduced almost weekly to keep up with Leopard issues. The most recent at this writing, the 5582, did in fact make a leap in the stability of the application.

In summary:

Concept: 5

Ease of installation: 4

Delivery: 3

Boot Camp support: 1

Efficiency: 4

Documentation/support: 4 iv>