Do you know how to repair Windows 8 on your Mac? What about adding a network printer to Windows? Do you know what Coherence Mode is, or how to install antivirus software?

Hear from our good friend and loyal customer, Skeeter Harris, as he walks you through some of the most common questions, while giving helpful tips and tricks for getting started with Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac.

Watch some of the tutorials below and don't forget to check out all the videos on the Parallels TV YouTube channel.  

What is Coherence Mode?

How to Install Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac

How to Start and Shut Down Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac

How to Reinstall Parallels Tools

As always, if you have any questions that can't be answered in our video tutorials, our support team is here and ready to help!

Don't have Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac yet? Download your FREE trial!

Summer is just around the corner, but it's never too early to get your student prepared for back-to-school season! Check out this week's Customer Quote of the Week from Dilip Shah, who says Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is a great tool with a low learning curve for anyone who wants the best of both worlds.

Click the button below to give us your rating on Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac.

Pretend it's 1993. Maybe you just threw a blank tape in the VCR to record the new episode of X-Files. Or, maybe you're checking to see if you received any new notifications on your pager.

Brace yourself for a throwback that will leave you with images of VCRs, Walkmans and Polaroids dancing around your head. Nothing sums up the evolution of technology over the last twenty years quite like this picture from Reddit, titled "1993 vs. 2013".

Besides stirring memories of home videos and double AA batteries, the picture reveals how technology has simplified our lives by condensing the use of eight devices into a single device: the iPhone. From cameras and music to emails and phone calls, the power of the top technology in 1993 can now easily fit in your back pocket.

Twenty years from now, what do you think our 2013 vs. 2033 Throwback Thursday picture will look like?

We may have not been available in 1993, but now Parallels Desktop for Mac is available on your iPhone with our mobile app. 

How does Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac match up against the competition? While recent MacTech Benchmarks show that it stands above the competition, don’t just take our word for it. This week’s featured user, MacPropellerhead, switched from VMWare Fusion to Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac and "can’t say enough good things" about its use.

We appreciate the kind words from our fans! Click the button below to give your recommendation.

Happy Friday!

If you're looking for the best performing and most reliable Windows laptop, you may be surprised to learn that Apple's MacBook Pro beat out traditional PCs and was ranked No. 1 in a new big-data analytics study published by Soluto.

"If you're looking for top reliability – the data is clear. MacBook Pro is the best Windows PC on the market," according to Soluto. Media including The Wall Street Journal, ZDNet, PCWorld and Lifehacker have taken note and published news about results of the new research.

In addition to a MacBook Pro 13" (mid-2012) winning the No. 1 ranking, a MacBook Pro 15" with Retina display was also named one of the most reliable Windows PCs.

Mac users know the joy of using its top performing and reliable hardware. But having to reboot a Mac to run Windows can be a painful inconvenience. That's why millions of people use Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac software, the number one selling solution for running Windows on a Mac, which enables you to seamlessly run both Windows and Mac OS X applications side-by-side without rebooting.  Parallels Desktop also lets you simply move your old PC to your Mac, so everything you need is on one computer.  

With OS X Mountain Lion compatibility, Windows 8 support, high-speed performance and enhanced battery life, Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is recommended by top tech influentials, including Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal who said Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is "a good solution for running Windows on a Mac simultaneously with Mac programs, and especially for Mac users who want to also use Windows 8."

Want to see how easy it is to run Windows 7, Windows 8, OS X and more on a Mac, and cool tricks you can do? Check out this video from tech guru Chris Pirillo.

Performance matters.  MacTech's extensive benchmark test results reveal the power of Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac. "In the vast majority of our overall tests, Parallels Desktop 8 won," beating out the competition in 3D graphics, speed and battery life, and more.

With such reliable performance and easy-to-use integration, Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac won the 2013 About.com Readers' Choice Awards as the "Best Application for Running Windows" for the third year in a row.

Check out some of our customer comments below to discover what else people love about Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac:

If you have a Mac and want to run Windows, try Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac for FREE in our 14-day free trial.

Do you want your Macbook to stand out from the rest? Brooklyn-based Apple product accessories retailer RAWBKNY combines style and sophistication with the Macbook Wood Keyboard. Made from rosewood and bamboo, these keyboards are laser-cut with a keen eye for detail that adds a natural, warm touch to your Macbook's sleek design.

Don't worry, Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac works just as well with the wooden keyboard as it does with Apple's original one! To get your hands on a wooden keyboard, go here.

 Do you like the accessory? Let us know in the comments!  

Update (5/8): RAWBKNY has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fuel their wooden Macbook keyboards. Check it out! 

In case you missed it, check out these 8 Tips to Spring Clean Your Mac.

Are you a hardcore Windows user like Tchaney, featured in this Customer Quote of the Week? Keep reading, to learn what this customer loves most about Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac.

"I was a hardcore Windows user forever. Lately I decided that I wanted to try something different and so I started to look at the Macbook Pro. I couldn't leave Windows completely because some of my programs STILL are only on Windows... I looked into VMWare Fusion and Parallels and finally settled on Parallels. I could not be happier. The installation was easy. The operation is flawless. Functionality and performance are amazing. I get all the programs that refuse to offer a Mac port without the annoyance of running boot camp and having to choose what to boot into."

Thanks for the kind words, Tchaney!

Are you using Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac? Have you rated us yet? Click the button below!

Microsoft announced at the DEMO Mobile conference today that it is extending its Windows 8 QuickStart program for Mac and iOS Developers. Starting today, Microsoft is offering 1,000 Windows 8 QuickStart Kits, which include Windows 8 Pro ($120 value), Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac ($79.99 value) and iOS to Windows porting support from top engineers. The kits are available online at http://swishdemo.com/details/demo-devkit for a $25 donation to charity.

With the integration of Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac, the new Windows 8 QuickStart Kits are a great compatibility-testing tool for web developers to test all versions of IE on one machine with ease. The news correlates to the launch of modern.IE back in January to help developers ensure that their sites work well with different versions of Internet Explorer. The modern.IE site came with a variety of tools and resources, with a particular focus on helping non-Windows developers deal with the challenge of users on older versions of IE.

Taking this development to the next level, the Windows QuickStart Kit for Mac developers includes a new code scanning tool for sites behind a firewall and virtual machines for IE 10 on Windows 7 and IE8 on Windows XP. News outlets including TechCrunch, Devops Angle, ZDNet, and more all noted the overwhelmingly positive response from developers.

To see a quick demo of how Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac can effortlessly run Windows 8 on your Mac without rebooting to a Windows partition first, check out Microsoft's video of a demo by Kurt Schmucker, a product manager at Parallels, on Channel 9 below. Kurt demonstrates the Visual Studio Windows Phone emulator running alongside the Xcode iPhone emulator.

To learn more about the Microsoft Windows 8 QuickStart Kits, read the official Microsoft blog post.

If you're like us, there's a good chance you log onto multiple sites throughout the day - social networks, online banking, discussion forums, and more - each requiring you to input a password. Now, think about this:

1. 1.  Have you changed your password in the last three months?
2. 2.  Does your password include upper and lower case letters, characters, and numbers?
3. 3.  Do you have a different password for each account?

If you can't answer yes to all those questions, keep reading. And, if you can, wow, we are impressed.

Maintaining a secure connection while surfing the Internet isn't easy. Cyberspace is plagued with hackers and phishers who are constantly on the lookout for ways they can get access to your personal information. One small slip-up and your data, photos, and entire online presence can land in the wrong hands.

One of the best things you can do to protect yourself online is to make sure you have a strong password. Or, should we say, passwords. Using the same password for all your accounts may seem like the easiest option, but if that password gets compromised, it won't be long before your hacker creeps his way inside your other online accounts.

Here are ten simple tips you can do right now to keep your security guards strong on the Web:

1.  1.  Use Different Passwords for Different Accounts

Although it may seem like a hassle to remember a different password for each account, using the same one is a fact hackers regularly exploit. Instead of having all your eggs in one basket, use a managing tool like LastPass to keep your passwords safe and easily accessible. 

1.  2.  Make Your Passwords Long

The recommended password length is eight characters, but going above and beyond is an easy way to ensure extra safety. Try a password that is 14-20 characters.

1.  3.  Use Ch@ract3rs

Substituting characters and numbers for letters is an easy way to make your password more complex. But, be smart about it… "p@ssw0rd" probably won't get you very far. 

1.  4.  Avoid Easy-To-Guess Passwords

Your name, your company's name, and your hometown should all be avoided as passwords. Otherwise, you could end up on Mashable's "25 Worst Passwords" list.  

1.  5.  Change Passwords Often

If you can't remember the last time you changed your password, stop what you're doing right now and go switch it! Passwords should be changed frequently, every 3 months or so, and should never be reused.

1. 6.  Don't Share Passwords

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but it's often the most common way accounts get compromised. Sharing passwords over email, phones, and text-messages can easily get intercepted. Also, do not write your password on a sticky note and leave it on your desk.

1.  7.  Strengthen Password Recovery Questions

Make sure your security questions aren't easily answerable. Strengthen your security answers by adding extra words and picking out key words in the question. You can also direct all your password resets to a separate account designed for resets only.

1.  8.  Use a Password Generator

Having trouble getting creative with your passwords? Use a password generator like Norton's Identity Safe to automatically generate a new password whenever you need it.

1.  9.  Browse with Secure HTTP

If you see https:// before the url this means the network is secure. Whenever possible, try browsing with https://, especially in public-access WiFi spots.

1.  10.  Back Up Your Data

Data loss can happen at any time, for any reason. Keeping important files backed up is an easy way to avoid kicking yourself later down the road.

Has your account ever been hacked or compromised? Tell us about it in the comments.

"Just buy it. You will not be sorry," says Gene S. in the Customer Quote of the Week! Read more to hear about how Gene uses Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac to run Windows Office and other programs below:

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Gene!

You can rate your experience with Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac by clicking the button below. Have a great weekend!