“For the last few months, we’ve been quietly building and testing an entirely new version of Parallels Desktop for Mac. Named Desktop for Mac 3.0, this forthcoming major update – due in a few weeks – has over 50 great new features,” Ben Rudolph blogs for Parallels.
Rudolph writes, “Since we’re still in beta testing I won’t go into all of them, but I did want to highlight two of them.”
SmartSelect: A wicked cool new feature that lets you assign any OS X or Windows application as the default for any Mac or Windows file type. This means that when you right-click on any file in either OS and selects “open with”, SmartSelect automatically populates the recommended application list with compatible applications from both operating systems.
With SmartSelect, I set Word for Windows to be my default application to work with .doc, .rtf and .txt files, so when I double click a file with that extension in either OS – even if it is an email attachment in Apple Mail – the file instantly opens the file in Word. I’ve also configure SmartSelect to open all hyperlinks clicked in either OS to open in Firefox for Mac, and for all email to route through Apple Mail. This is total OS integration on a file and application level…put it together with Coherence, and you have the most seamless user experience possible.
3D Graphics: You asked for it, and we delivered. Kick around your favorite Windows-only OpenGL and DirectX games and apps in a virtual machine on your Mac, without shutting down OS X!
Rudolph writes, “There’s a lot more (as in, more than 50 new features in all) in 3.0. The new version will be available in just a few weeks at the regular price of $79.99, but current users can upgrade for only $49.99. And, now through the release date (very soon…), you can actually upgrade for only $39.99, which, for those of you who aren’t math savvy (like me), is 1/2 the regular retail price. We’re doing this as a formal thank-you to everyone who’s supported us over the past year.”
“Stay tuned for news about the final release of 3.0 in the next few weeks,” Rudolph writes. “Oh, and I’ll see you all at WWDC, where we’ll have more big news for you.”
Full article here.
Nice… great product
Notice that they are providing a special promotion for users of Parallels 2.0 to upgrade for 1/2 price. The interesting thing is, it expires in 10 days according to the notice I just got in the mail. Perhaps Parallels is worried about what kind of Windows integration that may be announced at WWDC?
DirectX is the feature I’ve been waiting for, have otherwise been biding my time with Bootcamp. But smart select is another killer feature. In three or so weeks, they can count me as an additional customer.
Hey guys me again. to much news now about appl arr
Hey MD you need to change your website to look nicer man
yeah, it sounds really great. I think I’ll hold of on getting it though until I know what kind of Windows integration will be built into Leopard.
yeah, it sounds really great. I think I’ll hold of on getting it though until I know what kind of Windows integration will be built into Leopard.
yeah, it sounds really great. I think I’ll hold of on getting it though until I know what kind of Windows integration will be built into Leopard.
yeah, it sounds really great. I think I’ll hold of on getting it though until I know what kind of Windows integration will be built into Leopard.
If the rumours about Leopard are true, then this will be Parallel’s last hoorah. Emulation will be a hing of the past. I’ll wait.
MDN MW: point as win What’s the point?
i would think that if there is any windows program compability, it would be in games. Jobs wanted to bring back games to the mac in 2000 with ‘halo’. there have not been many games to mac that arnt past the time of release!!!
I know many people who love macs and want the reliability of them would only do so if they can play games. People after me might go off on one and say pc’s are for games blah blah!!
but its the part of the market that apples all singing, all dancing macs can’t do!!!
Bring games to macs and there will definitalty be no reason to use windows!!!
“What’s the point?”
If the rumours about Leopard are untrue…
does anyone know, if i decide to switch to this from bootcamp, will i need to buy another copy of windows for it? or will the one i’ve used for bootcamp still be viable – product key wise?
any info is greatly appreciated!
Though VMWare Fusion doesn’t have those fancy options, I’ve actually found it to be more stable and slightly faster (even with debug) then Parallels. Since I use XP mainly for development in Visual Studio and use Mac for everything else I don’t really need the features they are promoting.
I wouldn’t count on the Mac with a Parallels killer built into Leopard.
It would be easier to just buy Parallels.
Games still don’t have a dominant priority as they will not make Apple’s numbers change dramatically, and most gamers are geeks and are only screaming about the Mac’s graphics card performance anyways.
“…where we’ll have more big news for you”
Quite possible that they will announce OS X native Windoze app support…
Kent, the $40 upgrade promotion is for people who pre-order the upgrade. The reason it expires in ten days is because that’s when they’re going to release the product, at which time the upgrade cost goes to $50, iirc.
MW hands, as in can’t wait to get my hands on it
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Regardless of the bells and whistles it’s still Windoze.
Great news from a great company with a great product.
MW = “great”
Nahhh, just fscking with you!
Have a good weekend!
@Shawn
“will i need to buy another copy of windows for it? or will the one i’ve used for bootcamp still be viable – product key wise?”
I did this same thing on my iMac… you’ll have to call MS customer service and have them give you a new product key. They forward your phone call to a service center, it takes about 1/2 an hour on the phone to get to the right person, but eventually they ask you a couple of questions about what you’re doing, you explain, and they give you a new product key.
Hey cptnkirk, you may as well wait for Scotty to come back and run Engineering. Leopard is not going to do any damage to Parallels or any other Win-emulation for that matter.
@Shawn & @ Jim
You don’t need another copy or another install key if you have the current version. You can boot the same Windows Boot Camp partition directly in Parallels – the same Windows image.
See: http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/ga/features/bootcamp/
@doG
NICE!.. thanks for the info, I didn’t know this one.
I think it’s very unlikely that Leopard will have built in Windows support that doesn’t require purchasing a copy of Windows. 1) Apple has plenty to do. Why divert engineers to duplicate a superb program like Parallels, which works just fine. 2) This would kill the relationship with Microsoft and stop Office for Mac development. Apple doesn’t have anything close to a substitute for Office that professionals will accept. Pages is a pretty layout program, but not close to a replacement for Word. Keynote is great but there are many major conferences and other venues where only PowerPoint is accepted. There is no Excel yet and “Numbers”, if it arrives with the new iWork, is very unlikely to be a replacement in ver 1.0. 3) It would require a lot of work to keep Windows functionality working in Leopard. Remember the old MS mantra: “DOS isn’t done until Lotus won’t run”…..
@triplehead
it appears you haven’t actually used parallels in conjunction with a boot camp installation. when running a previously activated xp through parallels, you will need an additional product key. luckily, if you just call ms they will provide you with an additional key. trust me, i went through the whole ordeal a couple weeks ago.
thanks all, that was very informative. i’ll do that. or i’ll try vmware fusion, either way, i’m tired of rebooting in and out of the systems. not very efficient.
While it is possible that Apple may offer Windows API support I hope that they DON’T.
I don’t want any more diversion of resources away from other Apple teams. I am quite happy that MS do all their product testing. I want Parallels to keep innovating ideas such as SmartSelect which Apple would never discover or let it languish. I hope the BootCamp ‘second partition’ issue would go away since it consumes valuable drive space and is ugly. Finally, now I will have 3D, coherence & virtual drive support I cannot think of anything else I need! Maybe they can emulate an Intel-based XBox!
Welcome to the DARK SIDE
What about the following scenarios:
– Apple to include a “lite” version of Parallels with Macs with Leopard, such as the current v2
– Parallels built into Leopard
– Parallels is rushing this release before WWDC because they are partnering with Apple so have to be ready by WWDC
It’s more likely that Parallels is in partnership with Apple than not (as those predicting Parallels impending doom think), as that would enable Apple to keep peace with MS.
Last time I checked, the version of Parallels that I’m using now (and bought many months ago) isn’t a final build yet and now there’s a new version? This seems like they are really trying to get a quick rush of cash before they get their feet knocked from under them.
those guys are geniuses, using the 3D hardware in those conditions is near to imposible, but they did it, parallels was already the most amazing piace of software since MultiFinder, and this makes it a masterpiece, u just can’t minimize their accomplishments, fantastic stuff !!
It is not a perfect world. I am going for the $39.99 deal. I’ve used DOS6.22, Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, System 7, System 9, OSX 10.0 through the present; Hardware = Mac IIsi, UMAX C600. iMac DV 500Mhz., MacMini 1.42 Ghz PowerPC, MackBook Dual Core 2 Duo. The MacBook has had the Logic board replaced, the keyboard replaced and the hard drive in six months. At some point we depend on humans to do their job. I am human. http://www.barefootwine.com
Will I be able to use my Epson 2400, or my 2200, with it? Or will I continue to not use Parallels while it sits on my computer rotting and using up space?
MacDoc, I believe you have somethings right and some maybe a little muddied:
1)I think it’s very unlikely that Leopard will have built in Windows support that doesn’t require purchasing a copy of Windows.
Apple owns the Windows XP API meaning they have the right legally to use the API to make programs work without requiring XP licensing. Whether that includes DirectX translation remains to be seen.
2) Apple has plenty to do. Why divert engineers to duplicate a superb program like Parallels, which works just fine.
I am inclined to agree although, who would have thought Mac OS X was leading a double life running on an Intel platform for 5 years?
3) This would kill the relationship with Microsoft and stop Office for Mac development.
Seriously, and unfortunately, I would rather run the Windows Version of Office. At this point, at my work, all our reporting is done using MS Reporting Services. These reports can only be viewed on IE6/7. Even Firefox can’t render some that use a significant amount of ActiveX controls.
4) Apple doesn’t have anything close to a substitute for Office that professionals will accept.
See comments below but one could simply install MS Office 2007 or earlier as they are all compatible with XP. This gets around the below arguments fine. Please keep in mind that companies like Crossover do not have access to Windows API making it much more difficult to code. They are trying to emulate the Windows operating system to run apps. With the Windows XP API, Apple doesn’t have to jump through those hoops. As well, check out NeoOffice. Great open source free Office Suite compatible with MS Office 2007 files!
5) Pages is a pretty layout program, but not close to a replacement for Word.
Next version should be very close. The only trouble I ever have at work are: a) some templates use fonts that are not Windows compatible which is a pain when exporting and sending as a Doc. Fonts default to Times New Roman and look terrible. PDFing the file works fine if they are only viewing the files. 2) Bullets/Numbering is, ironically, still handled better in Word. Mac is superior for Table of Contents, charts, layout, etc..
6) Keynote is great but there are many major conferences and other venues where only PowerPoint is accepted.
Same issue as pages where default Mac font in some templates isn’t on Windows machines. Exporting to PPT and spending 10-15 minutes adjusting for these font changes is usually all it takes. You may have to ‘dumb’ down some transitions/actions that are more advanced in Keynote.
7) There is no Excel yet and “Numbers”, if it arrives with the new iWork, is very unlikely to be a replacement in ver 1.0.
Agree where advanced Macros are used. However, look at the major corporations moving to Google Spreadsheets. It can’t handle these macros either. Unless in an analytical role, most business users will be able to get by easily without access to advanced features. However, exporting MS Reports using ActiveX remains to be seen.
8) It would require a lot of work to keep Windows functionality working in Leopard. Remember the old MS mantra: “DOS isn’t done until Lotus won’t run”…..
If they integrate the XP API correctly, maintenance isn’t a problem. Will be easy. What they REALLY need is a simply way for programmers to convert DirectX code to Core Animation. Once this comes out, games are super easy to port. Once consumers embrace the platform, the business software follows. It’s how MS flipped Word Perfect/Lotus 123’s monopoly.
@ TripleHead
I have Parallels and a Bootcamp windows partition. Try as I might Parallels will not boot the Windows on that partition. I don’t know what I’m not doing, but it won’t work -I’ve give up.
Its Nice Product For mac … ^_^
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