Why I buy this one ?
- Run Windows and Mac OS applications in a single integrated environment, or mount Your Windows File System and access its files and folders directly from Mac OS
- Windows Start Menu Integration--Click the Parallels icon in the Dock to show the Windows Start Menu
- Support for OS X Leopard--Full support for Apple's next generation operating system when it ships
- Open documents in Mac OS or Windows using any available Mac OS or Windows application
- OpenGL 1.5 / DirectX 8.1 Support--Run supported games and 3D applications at native speed in Windows

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What our customer's say!

"Too many bugs and glitches", Installation went OK on my new iMac 2.8 Core2 Duo. Basic functions looked working fine. Internet connection had no problem. However, as soon as you try to do something more sophisticated, it doesn't work at all. Often times it hangs without any obvious reason and only way to get out of the status is reboot. Seamless mode never worked as advertised. No customer support. Forget about drag and drop between Mac and Windows - it will crash. It cannot detect external hard drive that is connected via USB. It cannot even handle Windows automatic update. Can't believe I paid $79 for this piece of junk. Do not buy this product. Their version should be 0.1.7 or something. Not even close to 1.0.

"Parallels Desktop for Mac - Simply Splendid", Parallels Desktop for the Mac has worked fabulously for me. I use it to run multiple operating systems on my Mac Book Pro at the same time.

I need to run Quicken 2008 Home & Business when I'm away from home for my personal and business accounting. Unfortunately Quicken's Mac version does not support business features like invoicing, so I still use the far superior Windows version. Occasionally I'll encounter a web site that requires Microsoft's Internet Explorer too, so with Parallels I can quickly start Windows and get on with what I need to do.

I could just run Windows on the Mac without Parallels by using Apple's Boot Camp. This requires shutting the Mac down and restarting it in Windows, and then shutting down Windows and restarting to get back to OS X. With Parallels I can have both OS X and Windows running at once.

In practice the Parallels solution works perfectly for me except when the Windows program I want to run needs direct access to the computer's hardware. I use video production programs from Serious Magic, who has now been absorbed into Adobe. I use their DV Rack, Virtual Communicator, and Ultra 2 programs, all of which are only available for Windows. These programs use the gpu on the video card for high speed video processing tasks. Currently these programs cannot run under Parallels since the VM only presents a VESA compliant video driver, so no direct access to video hardware is possible with Parallels at this time. When I use those programs that must have direct access to the hardware I use Boot Camp.

"NON-EXISTENT TECHNICAL SUPPORT", Unless you're particularly computer saavy, you may be a lot better off using boot camp.
There is virtually NO TECHNICAL SUPPORT.
If you have any problems with this program, and I've had several, you're basically on your own.
I bought this program to be able to run some 3rd party software on my new mac pro. When I had trouble with one of the programs, I contacted technical support by e-mail. They responded a week later. (They claim to respond within 3 days). They told me that parallels doesn't work with that particular program.
I contacted them again about a problem I had with running a webcam with windows and they advised me to upgrade to a newer version of parallels. Once I did that, I've lost all ability to access the internet with windows through parallels. I've contacted them twice to resolve this problem and still no response....a week later!!

"An excellent addition to Mac!", Very easy to install and use. You can bounce between your Mac and Windows applications in seconds. An essential improvement to your Mac computer.

"Good Product but damaged", I looked forward to receiving this software for installation on my new Apple computer, howver it would'nt install sucessfully. I took it to the Apple store who found the CD to be scratched and replaced it free of charge. I did not return to Amazon because the software package had been opened. I am now sucessfully using the program but not due to Amazon

Read this reviews before You buy...

"I don't need my old PC anymore!", I was little concerned about the performance and stability of this product with reviews I've read online. I agree that for most games it simply will not work yet, but if you are just looking for a business applications solution, this works fantastic. I set it up to work with my Boot Camp partition so that way I can reboot into Windows when necessary to play games (such as Gametap). Otherwise, I can use my regular business applications while in MAC OS. So far I've used Microsoft Office 2007 and Money 2007 without issue. It's very responsive and I love the coherence mode.

"A lot of work", This is not an extensive review, so by all means read the others. I rarely have a need to run a Windows application. I don't even like seeing the desktop and on a Mac it's just plain wrong. Parallels 3 is a pretty good add-on if you do need an occasional Windows app. I use a first gen MacBook Pro 1.83 Core Duo and it had 1 GB of memory at the time. It ran slow but thats not a big deal. It kept getting errors to the point that it wouldnt open and I have reinstalled a couple of times. I'm tired of doing that. Also, I got in a bind and purchased a tech support call. You go thru a third party type process to pay for it and at the end it dumps you out in the street. IT DOESNT TELL YOU HOW TO CONTACT SUPPORT AND USE THE CALL YOU JUST PAID FOR. Of course no one called me back and I had to send several emails just to ask them how to use the paid tech support call. This is bad bad business and is downright immoral. They finally called me back and acted like it was no big deal. The call solved my problem - for a while. Currently its not working.

All in all, when it does work, it does it's job. I just wish I could keep it working. Maybe the next version will be better. The support alone should give it a one star, but I'm feeling generous and want the product to succeed. It's kind of like a bathroom plunger. It's disgusting to use but sometimes you have to. The handle on this one is too short.

"Near Perfect With Boop Camp Partition", I bought Parallels for Mac because of previous problems with other similar program, VM Ware. In all fairness, the VM product was a beta so I should have guessed it would be buggy, but even the non beta version had its fair share of bugs.

Although VM Ware loaded XP home without a hitch, using the program was fraught with difficulties. First, it was slow as molasses in January. Im not taking just a little slow, Im talking go to lunch and maybe itll be finished slow.

Secondly, it was prone to mouse failure. Although it would recognize my mouse, it was always at least 2 inches off the mark. If I wanted to click a box I finally learned to position my mouse at least 2 inches below the intended button and then click.

Finally, VM Ware allows for the import of an existing Boot Camp partition (see below) but the process is slow and one slight misstep spells doom. For the novice, its intimidating.

Then I went to Boot Camp, which is Apples built in Windows capable utility. It worked without a hitch but you had to reboot to either OS X or Windows and hold the option key to get a boot menu. Of note, Boot Camp runs Windows natively, that is, at the same speed as a regular Windows machine. Fact is, it runs quicker on a Mac! All you have to do is go to the Boot Camp utility (under Utilities in the HD icon) and it walks you through it.

I got Parallels because I was tired of rebooting my computer to get to Windows. I use Quicken 2008 quite a bit and Quicken for Mac really bites so I do have to use Windows. With Parallels I dont have to reboot.

How difficult is it to access the Boot Camp partition with Parallels? Well for starters, it takes about as long as reading this sentence. Once you install Windows into Boot Camp you then install Parallels in Mac. Upon opening Parallels the first time itll ask you if you want to import the Boot Camp partition with Windows on it. Click yes and youll get a desktop icon that states My Boot Camp. After a few minutes of tweaking youll have Windows running on your Mac desktop.

Of course, its not all fun and games. For example, youll get a warning that your Windows serial number is no longer any good because of significant hardware changes on your computer. Not a problem. I called the Microsoft toll free number and they issued me a new serial number when I told them what happened. Also, until Parallels recognizes and installs your mouse in the window, youll have to revert to the old ALT routine (the underlined Y in Yes means you have to press the Y key to enter the command. Making things weird is that you sometimes have to hit the ALT or CTRL key, sometimes you dont. Go figure).

Also, you must learn to read instructions. Your mouse cursor will be stuck in the Parallels window that appears. It will seem you cant get it out of the box. Read the bottom of the box and itll tell you to hit CTRL and ALT to get the cursor out of the box and back to Mac. It you go to full screen mode, youll have to remember to key in ALT and ENTER to access the Mac screen again (it merely minimizes the window that has XP or Vista in it).

By the way, the default memory allocated to Parallels is 512 MB. Some may find this a tick slow and you can increase it to half of your available RAM if you desire (I have 4 GB so I could go to 2). I found 512 to be just about right, but Vista will require at least 1 GB.

If done properly, Windows will act just as fast in Parallels on Mac as it does in Boot Camp. I could detect no discernible difference, but there are a couple things to remember:

1. If Windows is open in Parallels, shut it down as you would any Windows machine. Shutting it down by closing the window may make it crash.
2. Maximize the window for best performance. If you use the default window size things get really crowded very quickly.
3. Dont think you can get away using a hacked or cloned version of Windows. Parallels demands a serial number before it will load Windows, unless you import it from Boot Camp and then Windows asks for a serial number. Either way, youre out of luck if you attempt to use a fraudulent copy.

For the price I paid (about $20 when I bought my Mac) you really cant lose with Parallels. It works as intended and actually runs Windows better than a Windows machine.


"Terrible - ton of problems and bugs - Appalling customer support", I have had nothing but problems with Parallels, both in version 2 and version 3. Always crashing, slow, problems with USB ports.

The customer support is appalling. The application cost $59.00 and if you want to speak to tech support (even within 30 days of purchase) they charge you $29.00. Their free tech support is via email which they will get back to you within 3 DAYS. Once they get back and their solution does not work (which is usually the case) you have to email them back again and wait.

Other colleagues using Parallels have had major problems with Parallels as well. Perhaps if it worked and you did not have to constantly seek tech support it wouldn't be that bad.

DO NOT BUY!


"Works great", I use both Parallels and Fusion to run XP on Mac. They both work wonderfully.