Are You Getting Parallels 3?

It was a pleasant surprise when I got an Email from Parallels today. What the heck is Parallels? Well for you Mac noob (or PC users who have no vague idea what the heck it is), Parallels is a Virtualization software. It lets you run Windows (2000, xp, Vista), not to mention Linux on your Mac.

What the heck for?

Say you wanna make the switch to the Mac because you found Windows too be plagued with too many problems--- spam, malware, spyware, trojans, viruses and that uber-annoying Norton Personal Security crap and so you thought to give the Mac a spin. Then you realize there is this particular piece of tech that doesn't work on the Mac that you absolutely need. it could be an app from the office, or you're simply a gamer and can't go without the PC.

Thats where the promise of Virtualization kicks in.

Virtualization lets you run another operating system, like Windows XP (or linux, which I do) on your Mac. This isn't crappy slow all the way around, in fact, it is near "native" performance--- what you'd expect with running XP on a regular PC. Some virtualization software like Parallels takes advantage of the Mac experience and lets you "Drag and Drop" data from Windows to Mac or from the Mac to Windows as if Windows was an Application running on your Mac.

Virtualization is quite useful actually.

One of the biggest complaints that I had for the year that I've been a Parallels users was the fact you couldn't get decent 3D graphics support on it. What the heck for? playing windows-only games for instance. I've also this perfectly decent copy of Knights of the Old Republic that I spent many hours just relaxing on that I know has a Mac version, but never saw the need to go buy one, since I've already purchased the PC version.

Another great reason to get Parallels 3.0 is really to try out Beryl decently. Now, I've had a hell of a time running that on my "real live" linux box--- but it would sure be nice to play with it on a Mac so I could do away with "real" PCs.

Parallels 3.0 is coming out by June 6th and there is a discount for existing users. At first, I thought it was some sort of scam. I even dared clicking on the links on the page that would take me to the purchase page, which were all empty by-the-way, so i went through their forums and the site to find out whether or not this is the real deal.

Seriously, I'm still debating over whether or not to get Parallels 3. The feature set looks great. I"ve been googling, looking for a beta of this build and nada. I'd like to know what i'm getting before shelling out some money. After all, inquiring minds want to know, how good is their 3D support? Parallels did that before I purchased the current version. I'd like to see a huge reason to upgrade or may be if it wasn't as great--- hold off until they do get it right. Sooner of later though, one thing is certain--- Parallels 3 will be in my hard drive, hopefully running Linux, Windows side-by-side with Leopard.