The Ins-and-Outs of Vista Support

If you'd like to learn more about the impact of Vista on the virtualization market, and how our Workstation and Desktop products are easing the migration to Vista, check out my recent podcast interview with Brian Ducharme of Virtual Strategy Magazine.

All I want for Christmas is Parallels Desktop for Mac

Gearing up for holiday shopping? Check out some great ideas (which include Parallels Desktop for Mac, of course!) from MacObserver and ThinkMac.

• "What I want for Christmas", by Vern Seward of MacObserver
• ThinkMac's "Holiday Buying Guide", featuring editor's picks and all around cool Mac Stuff.

"Ask Ben Anything" is taking off for Thanksgiving

In obervance of Thanksgiving (which in my house means eating until the point of illness), "Ask Ben Anything" won't run this Friday. The column will be back next week.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Run Vista in a VM, or run VMs on Vista, with the new Parallels Workstation update

As most of you know, Microsoft announced its RTM ("release to market") version of Vista last week. In response to this, we're releasing a new version of Parallels Workstation 2.2 that allow you to either run Vista - with a full Parallels Tools package - in a virtual machine, or run virtual machines on a machine using Vista as a primary OS.

In addition to primary OS support for Vista, and a complete Parallels Tools package for Vista VMs, we've also substantially improved performance for Vista running in a virtual machine. Internal testing shows that Vista under the Workstation update is up to 200% faster than under pervious versions!

XP running virtually in Parallels Workstation on a Vista-powered PC

So, What's this all mean? It means that migrating to Vista just became less of a headache. If you're a power user, you can upgrade your "real" box to Vista, and still have XP in a virtual machine to deal with any lagging hardware or software compatibility issues. If you're looking to give Vista a try, but aren't sure that you're ready to make the plunge, you can run Vista in a Parallels virtual machine, kick it's proverbial tires, and see if its the right OS for you. All without compromising your XP box.

As always, this update is FREE to registered customers, and new customers can get a free 15-day trial. If you have auto-update enabled, you'll get the update automatically as the name implies. If not, you can get the update, or your free 15-day trial, at the Parallels Workstation Download Page.

Remember that upgrading to the new version of Workstation won't require you to re-install any operating systems or applications, but that you will need to upgrade Parallels Tools once you've completed the upgrade.

If anyone has screenshots or stories of how they're using Parallels to migrate to Vista, email them to me at brudolph@parallels.com, and I'll post them, along with my thanks and your URL (if you want) on the blog.

Happy Vista-ing!

Using Bonjour to print in a Windows VM

If you'd like to print in your Windows VM using Parallels Desktop for Mac, without having to connect/disconnect your printer manually (or if you're having trouble connecting a printer to a VM via straight plug-and-play), I recommend you try Bonjour for Windows, a free Apple-developed networking tool that effectively lets you share a printer between Windows and OS X.

Step-by-step instructions on how to make it work are below. All of the Windows screenshots you see here were taken in Parallels full-screen mode, with me switching back and forth between OSes using Virtue Desktops.

On your Mac, open System Preferences, then click "Sharing" and enable printer sharing by checking the "Printer Sharing" box.


Download Bonjour for Windows here. It's a 14.2 MB file. Use the Parallels Shared Folder utility to share the file between OS X and Windows, or enable Shared Networking and download it straight in Windows.


Install Bonjour for Windows on your XP virtual machine.


Select the printer you want to share from the list of available devices.


Bonjour will ask you to configure this device from a drop down list of devices; I've always had good success with "generic postscript", but you can also try to find your specific printer.


Open a document and hit print. You'll see the printer appear in the drop down list.

This is a very easy process that shouldn't take you more than 5-10 minutes. Good luck!

Ask Ben Anything - multiple NICs, sending keys, cloning VMs

Will you possibly be supporting multiple ethernet interfaces?

- Lasse Kim C.

We sure will. It's been on our roadmap for the next version for a while now. Support for multiple NICs means tha you can pass a LAN line straight into a VM, giving it direct access to the 'net with no bridging. Great for heavy VM users!


Hey Ben -

I needed to reboot my Windows virtual machine the other day, but couldn't hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete to do it. So, I had to do a hard restart. How do I Ctrl+Alt+Delete in a virtual machine so I don't have to do a hard restart?

Thanks!
Caroline B.

Click "VM" in the menu bar, then go to "send keys". You'll see a number of common keystroke combinations there; just click the one you want and you'll be good to go.


Do I have to use the "Clone VM" function if I want to copy a VM?

- Anoynmous

No, but it makes your life easier, as it will let you copy the .pvs and .hdd file directly from within Parallels. Doing it manually by going into your library will accomplish the same thing, but will take more clicks.

I recommend cloning or copying your VM before expanding your hard drive and before running Compressor. It'll give you a back-up copy in case there's an error with either process.

Parallels in Japan

Great shots of Parallels Desktop on sale in Japan. Photos courtesy of our Japanese distribution partner, Proton.

Ask Ben Anything - CAD, iSight, deploying Parallels across a network

Dear Ben:

I have read a review on the Apple Website which says that Desktop for Mac is
not very good with graphics programmes only basic. I use CAD applications a lot. Will they run as quickly as they would on my PC?

Regards,
Andrew M.

If you're using CAD to draft blueprints and other basic 2D tasks, you should be fine. If you're looking to do complex 3D rendering, you may have some problems, as Parallels does not yet support hardware accelerated 3D graphics. However, as I've mentioned before, we're in development for this feature now, and should have a working beta in a few months.


Will my iSight camera work in XP under Parallels?

Thanks,
Randy A.

Not yet. Getting the iSight working in Windows is related to USB 2.0 support, which we're working on for our next version. Hang tight for a few more weeks!


Hey Ben -

I've got about 40 Macs in house, and I want to roll out Parallels to all of them. What's the easiest/fastest way to do this? Please keep in mind that we're not very techie over here - that's why we're on mostly on Mac, not Windows! :)

Cheers,
Jason K.

We get this question a lot. Fortunately, we've made installing Windows really, really easy. Here's how to get started:

• Have each employee download install a copy of Parallels Desktop to their local machine
• Arm them with XP. Use our new Installation Assistant to install Windows with a single click, so they don't have to worry about messing up the install. All they'll need to do is enter their Windows Product Key, name, and company, and click "finish". In about 30 minutes they'll be ready to roll with XP.
  
• Install applications and get to work!

Ask Ben Anything - Sharing VMs, USB 2.0/3D graphics, Tools for Linux

Can I share one VM between 2 users on Mac OSX?

- Aly

You sure can. However, keep in mind that if one user is logged in to a virtual machine, the other user won't be able to. You'll have to use it one at a time. Alternatively, you could clone the VM, and each user could have their own copy.


Can you give us an update on USB 2.0 and 3D graphics?

- doszens of Anonymous readers

We're still working on both and are still planning on including these in our next version of Parallels Worktation and Parallels Desktop. Beta launch for these products are still slated for around the turn of the year.


Will there be Parallels Tools for Linux? I use PD to test Ubuntu distributions, so mouse & clipboard synchronization would make my life a lot easier.

- Mike

This is something that we've recently received a lot of requests for, so we're in the process of evaluating the best way to make this happen. Its in the works, and I'll update you with a release timeframe when I get one from Development.

Installing Windows on a Mac is now Easier than Installing Windows on a PC!

As of today, its now easier to install Windows on a Mac than it is to install Windows on a PC! That's due to the inclusion of our new Installation Assistant into today's build of Parallels Desktop for Mac.

Here's how it works:

1. Click the "Install OS" button on the main configuration screen and select "Express Windows Installation".
2. Select which version of Windows - XP or Vista - you'd like to install.
3. Enter your personal information and Windows Product Key and click "Finish".

That's it! The Installation Assistant will complete the entire installation process for you - you won't have to select any configurations, answer and questions, or make decisions about partitions or options. Just sit back, relax, and wait for the Assistant to finish.

The Installation Assistant also automatically installs Parallels Tools, a useful set of add-ons that enable file sharing, cutting/pasting/copyings between OSes, syncs your mouse and system clock, and improves networking, video and sound performance.

This is one of the coolest new features that we've included in a while, and its included FREE in every copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac!

The new build also includes a great new "Shared Networking" mode that enables you to get your virtual machine online, regardless of what type of internet connection you're using. Shared Networking works by hiding your virtual machine IP addresses behind your Mac's IP, meaning that even connections like DSL or Cable modems that only allow 1 IP to register will work with virtual machines. In short, it means that if your Mac is connected to the internet, so is your virtual machine. No manual configuration required.

If you're a customer, your copy of Parallels Desktop for Mac will auto-update. If you have auto-update disabled, or if you're new to Parallels and want to try our free 15-day trial, you can download it here.

If you're already a user, remember to manually change your networking option to Shared Networking, and be sure to reinstall Parallels Tools!