Parallels Desktop update

Parallels on Thursday began another new beta of its Parallels Desktop software for Mac, and announced that the latest test version is available for free to anyone with a permanent or trial Parallels Desktop 3.0 key. Parallels Desktop is a program that allows Mac users to run Microsoft Windows XP or Vista right alongside Mac OS X without the need to reboot, and supports intuitive operations like dragging files from Windows to Mac OS X and vice-versa. The latest beta release brings Microsoft application windows to Expose and enhances the look of each PC-oriented window. Parallels Desktop only works on Intel-based Macs, managing machine code to make use of the Intel chips present inside every new Mac to drive Microsoft Windows.

Coherence windows work with Expose

Parallels Desktop includes a "Coherence" feature that makes Microsoft Windows application windows appear identical to Mac OS X windows, making it appear to users as though Mac OS X were the only operating system running. The test version allows users to access Microsoft application windows via Apple's Expose feature -- a technology designed to ease the process of switching between windows on a Mac -- under Mac OS X, showing each Windows application in a separate selectable window.

Windows with PC content also feature Mac OS X effects like drop shadows, and "stack" with Mac windows in any order to provide a seamless desktop management experience.

Image Tool

Parallels has revived its Image Tool, making it completely compatible with snapshotted drives. Users can convert virtual hard drive formats from plain tto expanding or expanding to plain using the revamped tool, enable or disable the "undo disk" option -- choosing whether to erase all changes made during a session at shutdown -- and enlarge a virtual hard drive when space becomes sparse.

Explorer

Parallels' free Explorer utility lets users browse as well as work with the hard drive of virtual machines -- a term used to describe an operating system like Microsoft Windows running inside another system like Mac OS X -- even when the virtual machine is off or suspended. The company warns users however to consult the release notes and user guide before attempting to work with hard drives of virtual machines while they are suspended.

The publicly available test release also allows iPhone owners to sync the device with a Windows installation running on an Intel-based Mac.

The company noted that the beta isn't supported via phone support or email, adding that its support teams can only offer help for production builds like our most recent release: Parallels Desktop 3.0 build 4560.

by MacNN Staff