Parallels—best known for software that lets you run Windows on your Mac—has come out with a product that does the same thing for Mac-based servers. Parallels Server for Mac 4.0 Mac mini. Parallels Desktop for Mac is the first solution that gives Apple users the ability to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system and their critical applications at the same time as Mac OS X. Parallels Desktop 14 for Mac was released a few hours ago. Since version 1 in 2006, Parallels Desktop has been a staple on many Mac users’ computers. Year after year, it’s been back with. Feb 20, 2013 I bought the base 2012 Mac Mini last week and I need to use parallels for Sony Vegas and capture software via Xbox/PS3. It keeps lagging constantly. I am looking to return the Mac Mini and upgrade to a different desktop option.

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For many Mac users, running Windows applications is a necessity. Perhaps your employer uses software that’s available only for Windows, or requires use of a Web site that relies on some Windows-only technology. For years, these users haven’t had many options. Microsoft’s Virtual PC was the best choice, but even on the fastest Macs, it provided a less-than-speedy Windows experience. Download calibri font mac open office.

Apple’s switch to Intel CPUs, however, means that running Windows on a Mac is suddenly much easier—there is no longer a need to emulate an entire CPU, as new Macs now use the same CPU as their Windows counterparts. This means that, in theory, running Windows on OS X should be both simpler and much faster than it was with Virtual PC.

Apple’s Boot Camp program allows new Intel Macs to boot directly into Windows XP (Pro or Home versions) and run it natively, with full support for accelerated graphics and hardware devices (other than the built-in iSight camera, that is). But rebooting is time consuming, and Mac users would much rather stay in OS X and just run Windows when needed. Plus, Boot Camp only supports Windows XP.

Enter Parallels Desktop for Mac, an OS X solution for running “guest” operating systems within OS X. Parallels utilizes the Intel chip’s hardware virtualization technology (VT). Although that’s a mouthful of buzzwords, what it means is simple: VT lets an Intel CPU act as if it were several distinct CPUs, which in turn enables guest operating systems to run much faster.

What it really means to you, the user, is that you can run a wide variety of operating systems, including multiple versions of Windows—from 3.1 to 2000 to XP—as well as multiple versions of Linux, at very good speeds, and without ever rebooting your machine.

Installation

Installing Parallels is no different than installing any other OS X program that uses an installer. Double-click the installer, follow the prompts, and wait for it to finish. After installation, you’ll find the program in the Parallels folder in the Applications folder. Behind the scenes, Parallels has installed quite a few things on your machine, including a kernel extension (a low-level tool that modifies the core of OS X) to enable its magic. An included uninstaller worked well when I tested it, removing the program and its associated parts.

Setting up

As noted, Parallels can run many different operating systems. After launching the application, the first thing you must do is create a virtual machine (VM), specifying which OS you’re planning to install. You do this by answering a few questions in an easy-to-use setup wizard. Based on the OS you choose, Parallels appoints values for the hard drive size, CD-ROM, video, RAM, etc. (You can customize these settings, if you wish.)

Parallels For Mac Reviews

Once everything’s set up, the next step is to install your chosen operating system. Parallels doesn’t include any operating systems, so it’s up to you to supply them. In the case of Windows, you’ll need the actual installation CDs. For Linux distributions, you may have image files (.iso) or burned CDs, depending on the source of the Linux distribution you’re using. (Parallels can handle both formats, though you’ll need to specify that you are using an image file during the setup process.) You simply insert your installation CD, press the Play button in the Parallels interface (see screen shot), and the virtual machine will “boot,” which begins the actual OS installation process.

At this point, the guest operating system really has no clue that it’s being installed on a machine running a virtual version of a computer under OS X. To the installer, the machine looks like a dedicated, Intel-based computer system, with all of the appropriate hardware and software support. Depending on which OS you’ve chosen to install, you’ll spend anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes completing the installation. Using Windows XP, for instance, I was able to install a fresh copy in about 30 minutes—basically the same amount of time it takes to install XP on a “real” computer.

After installing Windows, you should make sure you boot the new operating system and run through the Parallels Tools installation. This toolkit will make your mouse work seamlessly between OS X and your virtual Windows machines, and it will enable more graphics resolution choices, among other features. This tool is also available for a few of the other supported OSes, such as OS/2.

You can create as many VMs as you wish, assuming you have the drive space available to hold the image files.

Usage

Proxima nova bold free download mac. After you have your guest OSes installed, using them in Parallels is essentially the same as using them on a standalone machine—with a couple of key exceptions.

The first, and the biggest letdown for diehard gamers, is that Parallels can’t presently handle accelerated 3-D graphics. So, while you can play Windows Solitaire just fine, you’ll have to use Boot Camp if you want to try out Half Life 2.

The second limitation is that not every hardware device in your collection will work perfectly, if at all. For instance, if you have a Windows Mobile 5 smartphone, you’ll need to install a free, third-party tool to successfully sync the device. You also might have trouble with some phones, media card readers, Webcams, scanners, and so forth. Some devices work perfectly, while others don’t work at all. While this situation will probably improve with future releases, if you need 100-percent hardware compatibility, then a reboot via Boot Camp is your best bet. But, if you don’t require 3-D accelerated graphics or full hardware support, then Parallels delivers solid results.

To test Parallels’ performance, we ran WorldBench 5, the official PC World testing tool, on both a 20-inch 2.0GHz Intel iMac and a 15-inch 2.16GHz MacBook Pro, and we compared those results with the same machines running Windows XP Pro natively via Boot Camp, and with a few actual PCs.

Parallels Desktop Benchmark Results

Test System	Processor	WorldBench 5 Score	Mulititasking Test	Windows Media Encoder 9	Roxio VideoWave	Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1	Microsoft Office 2002 SP-2
20-inch Apple iMac Core Duo (Boot Camp)	2.0GHz Intel Core Duo	96	423	294	267	320	541
20-inch Apple iMac Core Duo (Parallels)	2.0GHz Intel Core Duo	67	1142	517	396	415	577
15-inch Apple MacBook Pro (Boot Camp )	2.16GHz Intel Core Duo	98	419	280	259	305	535
15-inch Apple MacBook Pro (Parallels)	2.16GHz Intel Core Duo	67	915	369	392	382	588
HP Compaq nx9420 (laptop)	2.16GHz Intel Core Duo	*101*	444	*279*	259	311	575
Ajump NBP1105 (desktop)	2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+	97	518	307

Parallels For Mac Mini