November 11th, 2008
Parallels Desktop v.4 hits the streets (stores and downloads)
The Mac’s virtualization space for supporting Windows keeps progressing. Parallels Desktop Version 4, released on Tuesday, offers better performance, improved battery life, printer sharing and improved file management and access between the Mac and Windows desktops, the company said.
The list of new features and upgrades is long. The upgrade cost from previous versions is $39.99 (it’s $79.99 to new customers; there’s also a free trial download).
Here are some features that caught my eye:
Performance. Parallels said users can expect 50 percent better performance overall and up to 20 percent longer battery life with v.4.
The new version supports 32- and 64-bit computing and supports multiple cores and CPUs on the host Macs that have them. Version 3.0 only supported 32-bit Windows and a single CPU.
In addition, the update employs an adaptive virtualization hypervisor that will dynamically optimize performance based on demand as users move between Windows and Mac apps.
Security. The software comes bundled with Parallels Internet Security powered by Kaspersky Labs technology. Parallels says this antivirus and firewall protection is a $79.99 bonus value.
The package also comes with a copy of Acronis True Image Home 2009 backup and recovery software for Windows.
Integration. Version 4 supports SmartSelect, which lets users open Windows files with Mac applications and Mac files with Windows apps. You can modify the settings on a file-by-file basis or as a default, the company said.
In addition, there’s the Parallels Explorer, a file browser that can access Windows files when the virtual Windows is offline.
The update also lets Windows share Mac OS X printers (finally).
Here’s what the company blog pitched as the top new features:
There are so many features; I’m not sure whether I should rant about the optimization of our Power Saver, which now gives a 20-30 percent increase in laptop battery life, or rave about our built-in voice recognition. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac has faster and more stable application support, better device recognition, better hard drive management for repartitioning, better 3D graphics support… Not to mention the free Kaspersky virus protection.
Of course, problems reported with the release also took off this morning. It would be prudent for customers to back up their working v.3 setups before venturing into the update.
David Morgenstern has covered the Mac market and other technology segments for 20 years. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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