New Parallels Update

New Parallels Update
Submitted By Parallels, Edited By Ed@Smalldog.com

Parallels sent us a great introduction to some of the key features in their latest update. It's anchored by two innovative features: Parallels Coherence and Parallels Transporter. Here's the run-down:

Parallels Coherence: A groundbreaking new feature that lets users run Windows applications on their Macs just like they are native Mac applications. When a user switches to Coherence mode, the Windows desktop disappears, leaving their Windows applications running directly on their Mac desktop. This gives them a native Mac experience even though they are working with Windows applications.
While in Coherence, users can load and run important Windows-only applications like Outlook and Internet Explorer directly from their Mac application dock. Each user’s Coherence experience is completely customizable and provides numerous options on how to load and run applications and when and how the user sees the Windows task bar and Start menu.

More information on Coherence, and screenshots of the feature in
action, is available at:

http://www.parallels.com/products/coherence/

Parallels Transporter: A powerful new migration tool that gives users the ability to completely move their entire old Windows PC -- including all of its settings, applications, files and profiles -- directly to a Parallels virtual machine running on their new Mac, without re-installing Windows. Transporter is particularly important for users switching from Windows to OS X by allowing them to keep the “security blanket” of their familiar Windows PC while they learn how to leverage the power of their new Mac. It also eliminates the hassle of having to “start from scratch” with a new Windows installation, which for many non-technical users can be a daunting experience.

Transporter also instantly converts VMware Workstation and Microsoft Virtual PC images to Parallels-ready images. This means that Virtual PC users working on PowerPC Macs can upgrade to an Intel-Mac running Parallels without losing any information or applications, and that VMware Workstation and VMware Player users can easily upgrade their virtual machines, or any VMware Virtual Appliance, to a Parallels virtual machine.

In addition to these two major features, the Update includes a number of other important upgrades that substantially improve the user experience and drive productivity:

“Plug and Play” USB 2.0 support: By upgrading USB support from 1.1 to 2.0, users can now access popular USB devices like external hard drives, printers, and scanners, and use them at full native speed, simply by plugging the device into their Macs. Built in iSight cameras are also fully supported. There is no complicated setup required to make USB devices work.

Full-feature virtual CD/DVD drive: Users can burn CDs and DVDs directly in virtual machines, and play any copy-protected CD or DVD just like on a real PC.

Support for Boot Camp partitions: The update gives Boot Camp users the ability to easily run their entire Boot Camp installation, directly in a Parallels virtual machine, without any complex setup or manual reconfiguration. Users can switch between loading Windows in Parallels Desktop or Boot Camp as often as they’d like.

True “Drag and Drop”: Easily share files between Windows and OS X by dragging documents and folders from one desktop to another. Drag and Drop is completely customizable to ensure maximum file and system security.

Support for Windows Vista: Users can create a new virtual machine that runs Windows Vista, or upgrade a Windows XP virtual machine to a Windows Vista virtual machine without losing any information or starting from scratch.

A complete list of new features and improvements found in the new version of Parallels Desktop for Mac is available at

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/features/.