New Update for...wait for it...Parallels Workstation for Windows & Linux!

Following this week's announcement of the Parallels/Intel Workstation Collaboration and our rockin' keynote demo of Parallels and Intel TXT at the Intel Developer Forum, I thought that we'd keep the whole workstation vibe going by releasing an update for Parallels Workstation 2.2!

This update, which is 100% free to Parallels Workstation users, includes a number of the core engine improvements that we introduced in Parallels Desktop 3.0, as well as a few new features, like Parallels Tools for Linux guests, official support for Ubuntu Linux as a guest OS, and much improved support for AMD Virtualization Technology (AMD-V).

Before the questions start, no, this does not include features like Coherence and SmartSelect...those are still planned (along with a bunch of new, never before seen stuff) for the major Workstation overhaul in a few months, but I do hope that it shows that we haven't forgotten about our non-Mac users. You're still an important part of the Parallels family, and we're cooking up something really great for you.

Speaking of cooking up great stuff, I should remind everyone that Parallels Server, due in beta VERY soon, will be ready for Windows, Linux and Mac users, so everyone will have something new to tinker with!

When we release the new, upgraded Workstation in a few months, all of our products will be completely equal, which means that when you see an update in one product, you'll see it in the others in a few weeks, not a few months.

You can read about what's new in the Workstation Update (build 2204) and get the code at the Main Workstation Page.

Also, a heads up that I'll be galavanting around Europe next week, meeting with the press and hitting the Apple Expo in Paris, so I may not be able to post as regularly as normal.

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SWsoft/Parallels & Intel join forces on major workstation initiative

Today we announced that SWsoft, Parallels' parent company, and Intel have joined forces on a major collaboration to make desktop virtualization an accepted and mainstream technology, specifically by engaging our engineering teams to accelerate the development and implementation of key workstation and desktop technologies, including Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (Intel® VT-d) and Intel® Trusted Execution Technology (Intel® TXT).

There's a lot of technical jargon in that short sentence, so let me answer the real question...why does this collaboration matter?

Collaborating with Intel on TXT, which is a new processor-level technology that ensures that the boot process is secure, meams that Parallels can offer the world’s first truly secure VMM, one in which we can guarantee that the Parallels hypervisor and VMM have not been compromised by any kind of malware (think Blue Pill).

This collaboration also makes us the first desktop virtualization vendor to use VT-d, the second generation of Intel Virtualization Technology, to assign network and graphics cards directly to a virtual machine, resulting in better performance, and also allowing customers with multiple network/graphics cards to dedicate a single device to a specific use. For example, this means you could use a VOIP virtual appliance with a dedicated network card (to ensure high quality of service) while running your business apps in another virtual machine that's connected to a separate network card. Another potential situation where VT-d becomes critical important is with technical workstation users. Imagine if you're a developer who works with 3d modeling in multiple environments....with Parallels + VT-d, you could run a Linux-based graphics intensive simulation on one screen in one VM while simultaneously running a Windows-based graphics intensive design application on another screen in another VM, each with their own graphics cards.

If you're going to the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) this week in San Francisco, you can see the fruits of our proverbial labors at the show. We'll be demoing our TXT support in the vPro Zone, and showing off how the next version of Parallels Workstation (see, I told you that it was coming soon!) will use Intel VT-d at booth #434 in the Virtualization Zone.

And if you're at IDF and just can't get enough Parallels, you can join us at the following sessions:

• Thursday 10:30am: VT-d Session, hosted by our Business Development Director, Bryan Goode. Bryan will be explaining in-depth how Parallels is taking advantage of VT-d in its Workstation-class products.

• Wednesday 9:30 am: VP of Marketing Corey Thomas presents at the Intel Safer Computing Initiative session, where he'll discuss virtual machine security and TXT at the hypervisor level.

• Corey's back on stage for the Intel Security Technologies Chalk Talk at Wednesday 4:40pm. This is an open forum, Q&A style session. I ran one of these last year on Parallels and VT-x, and it was a blast. Definitely hit this one if you're in the mood for an interactive no-holds-barred session.
  

Almost forgot...you can read the full press release on the collaboration here.

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Parallels Desktop 3.0 Feature Update is LIVE!

Hello from VMworld in San Francisco!

I wanted to let everyone know that after weeks of very successful testing, the Update for Parallels Desktop 3.0 is LIVE and ready for download!

Even though we consider this a "minor update" and we're giving it away for free, there's a lot of important new stuff inside:

• Coherence is now completely integrated with OS X’s “Expose” feature. This means when Expose is activated, each Parallels Coherence window will appear as a separate Window, displayed with its full contents. Coherence windows also “stack” in any order with Mac applications and offer drop shadows, just like native Mac application windows. You can even minimize Coherence windows to the Mac app dock, just like a normal Mac app window.
  

NOTE: I love this feature because I'm a Mac junkie, and one of my biggest beefs with Windows is that there's no Expose equivalent...once you become reliant on Expose, working with alt+tab or out of the taskbar just doesn't cut it. Now, I get to use Expose in Windows the same way I do in OS X. Sweet.

• Mirrored Desktops, Documents and Media: This is a really great tool that ensures that you have instant access to all of your files and folders regardless of which OS X or Windows app you're using. With Mirrored Desktops & Documents, you can set your Windows Desktop as well as your “My Documents”, “My Pictures”, and “My Music” folders to automatically mirror the Mac OS X desktop and the “Documents”, “Pictures”, “Movies” and “Music” folders located in the Mac home directory. A change in one file structure is automatically reflected in the other, so no more searching for documents or worrying about managing double copies. Its a huge time and headache saver.
  

• More Powerful Parallels Explorer: Parallels Explorer, which enables users to view and modify the contents of their virtual machine (VM) hard disk while the VM is off, now gives you the option to automatically mount a VM hard drive to your OS X desktop as a drive that’s readable and writable even if the VM is off. This means you can access files inside their VMs instantly and at any time, even without opening Explorer.

• Superior Performance and Lower Overhead: The best part about this Update? Its FAST. I mean, really, really fast. Real-world workload performance has been substantially improved, especially in high stress situations like OS startup and shutdown, and Parallels Desktop is much friendlier when it comes to resource usage (particularly CPU utilization). Vista's faster and smoother too, and you can now also allocate up to 2GB of RAM to an individual virtual machine.
  

There's more on the Update at the Parallels Destkop Main Page.

If you're already a Parallels Desktop 3.0 customer, you'll get this update automatically (and 100% free) via the auto-update utility, or you can download the Update here. And of course, there's a 15-day free trial for new users who want to check things out before buying.

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Parallels and SWsoft at VMworld this week in San Francisco

This week, from 9/11 - 9/13, Parallels and SWsoft will be at VMworld in San Francisco, showing off a trio of soon-to-be released products:

• The new version of Parallels Desktop for Mac. We'll be showing off the RC2 of the Update that we're currently beta testing now. Come by and see Coherence with Expose support, Mirrored Desktops, Documents, and Media, and the new build's wicked fast performance.
• Parallels Server alpha. Check out our soon-to-hit-beta server virtualization product for Windows, Linux and Mac servers! I blogged about Parallels Server a few months ago, and we're really close to launching testing. Updates and beta announcements coming soon.
  
• Beta of Virtuozzo 4.0, the slick new version of SWsoft's OS virtualization solution for datacenters. Virtuozzo is incredibly cool because it virtualizes at the OS kernel level, not the hardware level like Parallels. The Virtuozzo team just announced the beta program today, so read the press release to learn more about this cool technology and get your hands on beta code. There's lots more information the "what, how & why" of Virtuozzo here.
  

Speaking of Virtuozzo and Parallels Server, keep an eye on the blog for more information on how we're going to make these two products work seamlessly together to give you the most complete, most flexible suite of virtualization solutions possible.

If you're attending the show, come by booth #1312 to see all the new stuff, or track us down in our bright orange (Parallels) or bright red (SWsoft) shirts.

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Update RC2 is live

Release Candidate 2 for the Parallels Desktop 3.0 Feature Update is now live. This build means that we're VERY close to a final release-quality version, so expect to see that in the next week or two.

Nothing major to speak of in this build...mostly bug-fixes and some polishing of the new features that we introduced in previous beta builds (such as the new Shared Desktop tool and Expose integration with Coherence). It's also wicked fast. :)

You can see a list of what's new and what's fixed, and you can get the build (#5158) at the Beta Testing Center.

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SWsoft CEO Serguei Beloussov on CNBC

Early this morning Serguei Beloussov, the CEO of SWsoft, Parallels' parent company, was a featured guest on CNBC's "Power Lunch". While he doesn't discuss Parallels or SWsoft specifically, he does provide a great overview of the history and future of virtualization and his thoughts on where the industry is headed.

Watch the entire video here.



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