I’ve been a big fan of Parallels ever since I started using a Mac. The software allows you to run Windows inside your Mac operating system and each release of the software has a number of great improvements that help blend your Windows and Mac environments together quite nicely.
I’ve also used VMware to do this, but found that the team at Parallels are really focused on coming up with stuff I didn’t realize I needed until they wrapped it into their software – much more so than what VMware offered.
Their latest version (4) is no exception. The user interface has been much improved with all new controlls/icons that really look nice (albiet a bit VMware-esque).
In addition, they have a new control panel area that allows you to see a somewhat live thumbnail version of all of the virtual environments you’re running. This is a great example of something I would probably have passed on if I saw a feature request for it and were in charge of development – but now that I’ve seen it, I think its REALLY handy!
Finally, they have an all new set of “status” icons at the bottom of the screen with lights that appear below the icons showing you exactly what’s going on with your machine. Again, very handy!
Beyond the UI improvements are a number of new features, stability improvements, etc. If you use Parallels, I’d highly suggest doing this upgrade. One note: the first few times it loaded after the upgrade, it took quite some time for Windows to actually be usable. I threw more RAM at my VM instance and the problem went away completely. I’m not sure if that was conincidence or some background tasks – but I thought it was noteworthy.
Tags: mac, parallels, user_interface, vmware
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