Parallels Desktop Roadmap? v3.x? v4.y?

Hi Guys,

VMware have launched a bit of a media blitz with the latest beta for Fusion, touting notably multi-monitor support and DirectX 9.0 support among other things. (one article can be seen here: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2008/05/vmware-fusion-2.html)

Is there a similar roadmap out for Parallels, or are you guys all busy and knuckled down doing other major projects like server platform software?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

R

 

Hallo,

Server platform is very important for us because next generation desktop products will be based on it. But we have already started development of the new Parallels Desktop which will have such Parallels Server features as virtual SMP, 64-bit guests, lots of guest memory support. As far as Parallels Server is advancing to the release the priority will move to Parallels Desktop.

 

It looks interesting, but with some caveats:

Multicore on the VM is cool, but not too useful unless you have a many-core (>2) machine. I can see processor-starved Mac OS causing multi-core VMs to behave worse then a single core one.

The multi-monitor thing can already be done with Parallels assuming you give your VM enough memory (and you have a squareish screen). Real multi-monitor would be better in order to deal with odd setups (like 8 screens, a USB VGA card on the VM, or 3 screens with one on a non-3d graphics video card*). I'm hoping for it to be able to deal with unplugging a monitor while its running.

It also seems that Fusion does not have the ability to run in some but not all of the displays in fullscreen mode. (i.e. 2 of the 3)

Other then that they tout some UI changes like a default startup VM, and VMs remembering the state they were in when shutdown (fullscreen, windowed, ect...). Parallels has already done both of these.

What would really make Parallels jump ahead would be a working coherence for Linux. I realize the implementation of this is difficult, but it would be really cool.

*Disclaimer: this is my setup I'm hoping to have start working.

 

You don't have to have an "odd" setup for true multi-monitor support to be useful. If you add a second monitor of a different size, then the fake multi-monitor support is really strange, since it could easily be the case that only half of your task bar is visible. Three out of six of our Macs fit this description. The other three aren't multi-monitor setups, but they would have this same issue if they were.