The competition is catching up..... http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2006/08/vmware_for_mac.html Also http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
Of course we all have our own requirements out of this sort of software. However, I think Parallels are not doing themselves any favours in being so secretive about their development. In fact there is nothing that lets us know what is happening. Their blog is concentrating on news and press mentions of Parallels! So, Since RC1? What has happened? Don't expect to find out here or on the their blogs... actual presence on these forums of Parallels members has decreased dramatically since the software went beta. I have paid for Parallels, and I don't regret it. I am actually quite satisfied with what it has provided so far. But,... the amount of unanswered queries on these forums is unsatisfactory.. Even a "Sorry we can't do this" would be better than ignoring the number of unanswered requests here... My main requirements are to run a few MS applications in XP and these are specially mentioned on the http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxoffice/supported_apps/. I also have bootcamp on my Macmini just so I can run GTA now and again... now if this could run in CrossOver Mac... There is some talk that crossover could also provide DirectX/OpenGL support too so could be a double killer in that applications and games that would have previously needed bootcamp might actually run too... Anyway still speculation at the moment
If you've ever used CrossOver on Linux, I think you'd agree it is no replacement for VM technology like Parallels or VMWare. It definitely has it's place, but if you need something that will just work, a VM is much more the way to go, IMO.
I think that the Parallels team have unfortunately made a rod for their own backs in this respect. During the Beta phase they were very vocal and helpful and I think that a lot of people thought they could keep this up after GA. Unfortunately, as is demonstrated by them, this is rarely the case. Them being secretive about the development cycle is par for the course I'm afraid. Do you hear about VMware telling you what's going to be released at their conference? No, and neither do most companies, Apple being the extreme example. Cut them some slack and complain when you've got something to complain about. That's the fair way to do it. They've done remarkably well in a short period of time and you shouldn't forget the effort it takes to do something like this. I know its not perfect but give it a chance to get better. Matthew
Unless Parallels has all the issues mentioned in this forum sorted out soon, I believe that there'll be lots of Parallels users switching to VMWare. If VMWare for Mac can do as much as it can for Linux, Parallels pales in comparison. I use Parallels because there is no other, and features that I crave for are the ability to do snapshots and things like VMWare player.
Actually I agree with you here almost 100%, my 2nd post was after a couple (or more...) beers so I think I got a little carried away, particularly on the critisism side... though as always (ahem... ) there is often a little truth in these outbursts. My original post was just a warning really, Parallels have had a head start and have done really well so far. But the competition is just about to start, and not just by another software startup but by the No. 1 company dealing in VM solutions. VmWare have been able to keep ahead in this field, despite having MS on their back. Depending on how well CrossOver Mac works it could be a big thorn in Parallels side too, however, as VTMac suggests this may be not be too big an issue yet (I haven't tried it yet myself to put my opinion in perspective). The option to be able to run just the odd application without having to run an entire OS is definitely going to be attractive to some though.... Regards, H
