Parallels Desktop keeps getting better

[DaviDC.]

Build 3150.0 is the best yet as far as I can tell. Starting it up & especially shutting it down used to really choke up the Mac but not any more. I've used it on the MacBook & now the mini as well.

For some unknown reason, I still can't bring myself to run it in true full screen mode. I need to see the Dock & Menu Bar. Being able to drag the active window & have Parallels Tools resize the screen is sweet! The hard work they're doing with this application really shows through!

[microchip13]

Hmm. My desire for a MacBook Pro keeps growing.

I'd like to be able to run the software I work with at work and some games.

Glad to hear it's working well. I know a person who uses it alot on his macbook and loves it.

[onthedownlow]

iSight works great...everything. Still some networking issues for some...but always workarounds ('Shared networking', etc.)

...now if they can tap into the true power of the graphics card...wow.

Being able to 'up' the current graphics card to 32MB has been nice too.

[Billybob]

"I'd like to be able to run the software I work with at work and some games."

So why don't you run your work software using Microsoft Remote Desktop (RDC)? I'm sure some networks prevent you from doing this, and resource-intensive games choke, but most other programs work as well with RDC as they do with Parallels.

I tried Parallels for a while but quickly realized that it gave me nothing that I couldn't get from RDC but consumed far more resources. RDC was as fast and sometimes faster and consumes a much smaller portion of energy

For some Parallels is the only option. But for those with office PCs, consider RDC before making the Parallels leap.

[onthedownlow]

The obvious reason is that you need an Internet connection to utilize RDC (and a reliable one to add).

I utilized RDC several times daily on multiple computers, but sometimes I am just not around an ethernet or WiFi connection, yet I still need to have the Windows accessbility for using some applications.

"RDC was as fast and sometimes faster"
RDC is not faster than Parallels for 98% (my number) of tasks. If one is running Intel hardware, which none isn't even a year old yet...then RDC is definitely not faster in any form or shape I have been exposed to.

Now...if you want to compare RDC to a Windows flavor witihin the Virtual PC environment, then I'd flip-flop (even though an efficient setup of VPC can also be faster than RDC in some things...but not the majority of).

[Sam3]

Build 3150.0?? I have build 1970 from Nov. 2006. Going to Parallels web site shows that 1970 is the latest build. Am I missing something?

[Sam3]

Never mind. I found it at the Parallels forums. Turns out 3150 is a beta. Works well so far, though!