Parallels

Ahead of the macOS High Sierra release, virtualization software company Parallels has officially announced the availability of Parallels Desktop 13. Outside of bringing the traditional performance improvements, Desktop 13 introduces native Touch Bar support to Microsoft’s OS and a good portion of its most used applications. The update also brings in a slightly refreshed UI to better match macOS and visual improvements for Windows users on Retina displays.

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Parallels, the virtualization software famous for being able to run Windows on the Mac, is celebrating its 10 years of innovation this week. Parallels has seen a cornucopia of changes since its initial launch in 2006 and it shows no signs of slowing down. Today marks the 10th anniversary since Parallels’ launch and they’ve decided to spend the next week highlighting the decade of features that made its way onto the Mac. To infamfurther show their appreciation towards previous, current, and future customers, Parallels is offering 25% off Parallels Desktop software. This includes Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac, Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition, and Parallels Desktop Business Edition. We’ve decided to take a deep dive with the Parallels team into showcasing their trajectory from where they came, and where they might go in the years to come.

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You may be familiar with Parallels for its virtual machine software that lets you run Windows alongside OS X on a Mac, but the company also offers a service and mobile app called Parallels Access that lets you remote into your Mac and Windows VM from other devices. Parallels Access for iOS is updating to version 3.1 today with enhancements for Apple’s latest iPhones and iPads plus new features for all users.

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This comparison of the differences between Microsoft Office on Mac, Windows, and iOS devices was put together by Kurt Schmucker who (disclaimer) works for Parallels — the company that makes slick virtual machine apps for running Windows and other operating systems on Mac — but he also happens to know a thing or two about the subject after his previous role as Senior Mac Evangelist at Microsoft and on the Office team. So what exactly is missing on Mac and iOS devices compared to Windows when it comes to the Office suite?
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This year’s Black Friday games and apps deals are now in full swing. We have rounded up all the best console bundles, games/amiibo and packed our daily roundups full of some of the best deals of the year. Along with the new Free App of the Week, Apple has now launched a 50% off holiday apps sale and we have been seeing very notable price drops on popular titles all week long. So we thought we would bring all the best deals into one helpful roundup.

Below you’ll find all the best freebies/discounts that we have seen on the App Stores thus far, plus a few more notable sales on Mac games and productivity apps:
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A week after Parallels was updated to support Windows 10, VMware has followed suit with an update to its Fusion software – but with a bug when used in Unity mode. Unity mode is where Windows apps are run alongside Mac ones.

Fusion was today updated to version 8, with performance improvements as well as Windows 10 compatibility, but the company has confirmed a bug identified by ArsTechnica in which the Windows Start screen is sometimes unavailable (above left) and at other times has the search bar covered by the Mac’s dock (above right). When unavailable, the Toggle Start Screen option is greyed-out … 
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Parallels, the company behind the popular virtual machine software, has today released the latest iteration of its popular Mac app. Parallels 11 ($79.99 retail, $49.99 upgrade) is available now with many of the features that were accidentally leaked by the company last month. Top features are of course support for both Windows 10 including Cortana and OS X El Capitan, as well as a variety of enhancements that improve the virtualization experience…

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According to a leaked product page on the Australian Parallels page, the popular virtual machine software will support Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant throughout OS X. The product page explains that as long as Windows 10 is running somewhere in the background, users will always be able to say “Hey Cortana” and receive a response (via Neowin).

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Parallels announced this evening that its virtual machine software Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac has been updated with “experimental” support for the technical preview of Windows 10 from Microsoft. Users who want to take the latest version of Windows for a test run without overwriting their existing Boot Camp installation or creating a new partition can now do so safely and free within the confines of a VM.

The update also adds the ability to run the new preview version of Office for Windows 10, which includes updated versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Microsoft announced earlier this year that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for one year for any users running Windows 7 or later.

Parallels Desktop 10 is available from the Parallels website for $79.99. Special pricing is available for students and users running previous versions of Parallels and a free trial is available here. Press release follows:
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Parallels Access today received a significant version 2.5 update with support for the iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus, a new file managing system, improved audio controls, and a new web browser-based version. Parallels Access, as we covered upon its launch for the iPhone last year, is a robust remote computing application that allows you to view and control multiple Macs or Windows PCs via an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Android device.

Besides support for the larger, higher-resolution iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus displays, this new version introduces an improved file management system. The new file picker leverages the new tools in iOS 8 to better work with other applications like Dropbox and Google Drive. Parallels shares the list of enhancements to the feature:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NI5fjTfpQ

I keep my Parallels Windows VM around to do stuff like Quickbooks, upgrade Mifi Firmware and occasionally check websites in IE (see our PArallels 10 review here) not to experiment with the latest versions of Redmond’s OS.

But if you want to check out what’s coming down the pike in Windows-land without leaving your trusty Mac, Parallels has an Installation guide for you. First step: if you haven’t already, download Parallels 10 (free Trial)…

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Last week, Parallels launched the upgrade to v10 of their software and today, you can now get the full version online.

Parallels Desktop has long been one of the go-to applications for using your Mac to virtualize a wide variety of operating systems, and many considered its previous version 9 as more than sufficient for getting this job done. While the software shining point has always been its ability to run Windows truly parallel to the standard Mac OS X desktop, this version of Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac takes multiple strides forward, making it even easier than before to incorporate Windows-only applications—or applications from other x86 operating systems including Android, Chrome, Linux, etc.—into your Mac-based workflow.

Perhaps most importantly, Parallels again ups the ante in speed both in launching and runtime, turning virtualization into a native-feeling experience.

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Parallels Desktop has been with the Mac almost as long as it has run on Intel hardware.

Today, the company announced the 10th major release of its industry-leading virtualization software for Macintosh and mobile. It has more of what makes Parallels so special: Performance, integration and features.

Parallels has an important place in Apple history because it allowed many people who needed a few Windows applications over the last decade to buy and enjoy the Mac OS. In effect, it helped deal with Microsoft’s monopoly on software in the desktop era.

For many people that continues today. Microsoft still makes its Office suite a little bit handicapped on the Mac. Gamers know that to get a wider variety of games you need to run Windows. Developers need different environments, browsers and OSes to test their software on. And, probably most painful, many companies still require Windows to run proprietary apps or connect to antiquated network servers.

Speaking of Windows, Microsoft has made it harder for Parallels to integrate the Windows installation so you’ll have to do it yourself from with a Optical media or a USB port.  In v9 of Parallels, you could buy the image from Microsoft and then install from an image in a matter of minutes.

The new Parallels 10 offers the following performance improvements:

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The Black Friday software bundles are already streaming in and this latest from Parallels promises to be popular.  For the retail price of Parallels 9 alone ($79.99), you get Parallels 9 and a 6 month subscription to Parallels Access for iPad.  Parallels then adds Snagit screen capture tool, CleanMyMac 2 and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac. You also get a year of Hightail (formally Yousendit) Professional plan for sending big files via email, Boom volume booster and mSecure password manager. A fantastic deal at $79.99 (make sure to click the “Bundle and Save” link), it ends December 3.

We reviewed Parallels 9 in September (excerpted below the fold) and found it to again be the best virtualization software for Mac with speed improvements for Mavericks and Windows 8.1 along with easier setup and operation.

Today’s earlier Black Friday software bundles from Adobe and Stack Social. 
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/Copuyw_qQdA]

With over 90% market share in Mac desktop virtualization software (according to NPD), Parallels is the clear leader in the industry. Now, Parallels has introduced Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac, bringing in new features, improving performance, and preparing for Mavericks and Windows 8.1. How does this version stack up? Is it worth the price? Read on to find out.

Performance

With the software at its ninth version, some may be content with their version of Parallels and think the upgrade isn’t worth the price. However, as a previous PD8 (and all the way back to PD3), allow me to be straight-forward: this upgrade gives the biggest noticeable performance boost ever. The company claims the updated software provides 40% better disk performance, 25% faster virtual machine shutdown times, 20% faster virtual machine suspend times, and 15% faster web browsing and 3D graphics.
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/Copuyw_qQdA]

Right after releasing its new remote access application Access, Parallels has just announced Parallels Desktop 9 for the Mac. The updated application will support Mavericks and the upcoming Windows Blue/8.1 update and boasts many speed boosts.

Performance improvements with Parallels Desktop 9 are notable – “40 percent improvement in disk performance; virtual machine startup and shutdown are now up to 25 percent faster; and customers can suspend their virtual machines in up to 20 percent less time than before. 3D  graphics and web-browsing were also made noticeably speedier with up to 15 percent improvements for both.”

The company has also brought Power Nap to Windows applications. They’ve also introduced synced cloud services between virtual machines, which means you only have one version on your computer and all virtual machines access the same cloud files.

Pricing

PD 7 or 8 customers will be able to grab this update for $49.99 starting today (download link will be sent immediately). The full version will be available September 5 and remains $79.99 with students paying just $39.99. In addition, the software will come with a free 6-month subscription to Parallels Access ($39.99 value).

We’ll have a complete review of Parallels Desktop 9 when the full version is released on September 5. Press release below:
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