Launch: Parallels v. 3.0 now available:
We don’t often profess our love for commercial software around these parts, but Parallels Desktop for Mac – the application that runs Windows XP and Vista on your Mactel in a virtual machine – has just released version 3.0, and despite the price tag, we’re drooling over the new feature set. The NY Times David Pogue breaks down the good stuff:
You can drag and drop files from the Windows desktop to the Mac desktop, or vice versa. You can also right-click a document in either universe (a Word file, JPEG, PDF or whatever); the Open With pop-up menu, which lists programs that can open it, now lists both Mac and Windows programs. So if you’re working on the Mac, you can right-click a Word document and have it open in Word for Windows.
A Mac program called Parallels Explorer lets you manipulate the contents of your virtual Windows “hard drive” even when Parallels isn’t running.
If you sometimes use Apple’s Boot Camp program, Parallels can use the same copy of Windows, so you don’t have to install Windows twice. In 3.0, this great, space-saving feature also applies to installed copies of Windows Vista, not just XP.
You can now set up shared folders in either direction. That is, you can plunk the icon of a Macintosh-world folder right there in your Windows world, for easy opening, or vice-versa.
Shared Networking. I love this one a lot. In Parallels 3.0, Windows “hides” behind the Mac’s networking; it’s completely invisible to hacks, pings and bots on the Internet looking to infect you. Your “Windows PC” is therefore much less likely to wind up becoming a “zombie” or “bot” that does the bidding of spammers behind your back.
3-D graphics. This is a huge one for gamers. People used to say that Parallels was great — but that it couldn’t handle the 3-D games. The new version, however, works with both DirectX and OpenGL 3D, underlying technologies that drive games like World of Warcraft, Half-Life 2, and Unreal Tournament. All of these are now playable on the Mac running Windows. (I haven’t tested them, though.)
Transporter. This utility can bring over your entire world — programs, documents, settings, and all — from a real Windows PC, or from an old Mac running Microsoft Virtual PC, either over the network or using a FireWire cable.
USB 2. Parallels 3.0 does much better with high-speed connections to printers, scanners, flash drives, external hard drives, BlackBerrys and other smartphones — and headsets.
Sound good? The upgrade costs existing Parallels users $40; new licenses are 80 bucks. See more on running Windows and Mac OS X side by side with Parallels Desktop for Mac.