Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 271
 Amazing: converts a top end Intel Mac into the best PC out there... March 16, 2007
nicjaytee (London)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
If you've got a top end Intel Core 2 Duo processor Mac (desktop or laptop) then this is possibly the most impressive thing you'll ever see or use because "Parallels" will convert your machine into one of the fastest, highest resolution Windows machines out there. Set the screen resolution in the Windows "window" to its highest level (1538 x 921 pixels), make sure that the Parallels Tools are installed correctly, select "Full Screen" mode and there it is... quite amazing... looks better than the any PC you've ever seen, works just like a PC, lets you seamlessly transfer files between the Mac window and the PC window, and transforms your Windows versions of Word, Excel, Publisher and even Photoshop into the most beautiful experiences. And, when you get bored with them you're only a keystroke away from watching the screen flip round to reveal your Mac.
Good enough? Well there's more to come because it also, even more amazingly, lets you run any Windows application program as a window right within the Mac screen (at equally high resolutions) just as though it was one of your Mac applications... seamlessly, stable and fast.
The downsides? You need a fully spec'd Mac with a reasonable amount of memory to get the best out of it (this review is based on 2.33ghz MacBook Pro with 3 gigabytes of memory) but then you're getting, in effect, two top end machines in one. You need to spend some time configuring Parallels correctly, particularly in integrating the Windows side into any wireless network, but the installation instructions are clear and they work. It's not great for processor intensive 3D games (you need Apple's Boot Camp for that, athough this requires a lengthy reboot between the Mac & Windows environments). Oh yes, and you need a copy of Windows XP... a small additional price to pay for such a brilliant piece of software innovation.
Apple "geeks" may continue to argue that OSX is better than Windows but the truth is that a top end Intel Mac with Parallels running on it is the perfect solution... a PC that runs OSX at its highest levels and Windows at a level that's as good as any dedicated PC out there, with instant switching between the two in a single, fully integrated environment. Incredible.
 Slow ... unstable ... hard to configure ... waste of money November 16, 2007
Max J. Pucher (Zug, Switzerland)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
Installation of Parallels Desktop 3.0 on my MacBook Pro with Leopard was as promised simple and fast. This is a fast machine with 2GB RAM. In difference to Parallels 2.0 the installation was a huge improvement. Once I got into configuring and trying to use the product my impression changed. It is correct that no reboots and restarts are necessary for installation, I had however at least three hangs or crashes trying to change screen resolution settings and sometimes it took minutes to wait for the focus to change between the Mac and the XP desktop. I tried to be patient through that process hoping that my parameter settings would eventually lead to the promised native performance. After two days of repeatedly trying to make those changes I decided that anyway the very frustrating window focus switches and many other quirks were not acceptable. I am a software expert, but I Switched to Mac because these were exactly the things I did NOT WANT. I had also tried the product 'CrossOver' before that is even less usable.
Solution? Uninstall PD 3.0 is as easy as install. A sigh of relief! I recommend to switch to Leopard and use the new BootCamp to partition the disk (16GB is a good size) install WindowsXP native (don't waste your time with Vista). Make sure to format in FAT32 as that gives you access from Leopard to the Windows disk for sharing. You can go up to 32GB if you have a lot to share. If you are worried about Viruses don't enable the network while you are on XP.
Installation is a mormal Windows full install. Then you pop in the Leopard disk to install the Mac Drivers and XP becomes bearable running on a Mac.
 Outstanding Software August 17, 2006
G. Abdulhussein (Sanford, fl United States)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is an outstanding piece of software. It is Simple to install, works as advertised, and a bargain at the price. If you are a mac user, you know how annoying it is when you need to run a windows program or a web site that will only work with explorer.
This program blows away those limits. Literally, any program you want on windows... you can run (and run FAST), the only exception is 3D games that use Direct X, but for that you have boot camp. Also, given how rapidly the Parallels is updating the software i think it is just a matter of time before we see this as well.
This has allowed me to replace avery singe PC in my office with a MAC (we had legacy software that only ran on PC's). This was never possible before because of Virtual PC's sluggishness.
I highly recommend this software.
Causes crashes; the "fix" erased my hard drive February 21, 2007
J. Harrington (Palo Alto, CA USA)
14 out of 24 found this review helpful
I'm now performing a clean install of the *Macintosh* operating system in order to recover from the use of this product. I can't recommend it for anyone other than a programming expert.
After a few weeks of satisfactory use, the software started causing crashes, not of the Windows virtual machine, but of the host Macintosh system. The crashes came at an accelerating rate: the first crash after 30 minutes of use, the second after 15, the third after 5, and so on. Two days of searching message boards yielded a fix, of sorts, and I was able to keep the virtual Windows system stable for about an hour.
Their support staff made things worse, however. I phoned their support line a full week after not receiving a response to my e-mail. After an hour and fifteen minutes on hold, I was instructed to perform a re-install of Parallels Tools and a system repair of Windows. However, the instructions led to a clean install of Windows, thus erasing all application installs, user settings, Windows updates, antivirus updates, and data.
Also, increasing the size of the Windows partition is a complicated process involving third-party shareware.
To be fair to the Parallels team, what they are trying to do is programmatically difficult. It's possible that the changes I made by following the partition instructions or in the use of the Macintosh led to the Parallels crashes. But an average user will not have the expertise to avoid these pitfalls. The product is just not ready for general use.
Simple to Use, Value for the Money, Stable September 28, 2006
Ben Yeung (New Haven, CT, USA)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
I am not going to repeat all the great things about this product, but I am going to clear up some confusion for the rest of us. Unlike what the other recommender wrote, I had no problems with my Dell Photo 720 USB Printer (maybe s/he forgot to "connect" the printer). In the world of Parallels Desktop for Mac, all devices, e.g. iSight, USB ports, disc drives..., could be connected to either Mac OS X or Windows, but not simulateously. Therefore, his/her USB printer was probably "connected" to Mac OS X but not to Windows.
MacBook Pro 15" rev. A, Dell Photo 720 USB Printer, Canon Digital Rebel XT camera.
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![Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XBcQjLHKL._SL500_.jpg)
