Beta Update for Parallels Desktop for Mac is available!

As part of our commitment to leading the Mac consumer market, we're releasing an update for Parallels Desktop for Mac that improves performance both for VMs and OS X, and includes a number of great new features that make Parallels Desktop even easier to use. Some of the key features in this update include:

New Features and Fixes:

* Video output improvement and acceleration
* Added multi interfaces USB devices support (including Windows Mobile 2005 devices)
* Added isochronous USB devices support (including WebCam devices)
* Minor USB fixes
* Keyboard support improvement: Eject CD key support, left/right Shift/Ctrl/Alt (Option)/Windows keys difference support
* Added virtual disk cache policy option: Mac OS X performance optimized or guest OS performance optimized
* Image Tool fixes
* Optimized disk cache policy for Suspend/Resume feature
* Windows ME Suspend/Resume fix
* Shared Folders first time access acceleration
* Clipboard synchronization tool fixes (unreadable symbols sometimes added during copy and paste)
* Sound playback improvement
* Sound recording improvement
* Minor Full Screen mode fixes
* Unable to allocate virtual memory during virtual machine power on fix
* Minor GUI fixes and improvements
* Solaris doesnt work with more than one virtual disk fix

You can download this update from http://www.parallels.com/en/download/desktop/update/

 

Downloading Now! Sounds great!

Just curious -- when will parallels be able to run Vista? I think it was something along the lines of ACPI support in the bios that was missing.

Also -- dual monitor support would be really nice....

--chad

 

Installed and running XPSP2 on my macbok pro with no negative change in performance .. will tinker with the new settings .. when i can find them!

 

>>> Message has been deleted by the user <<<

 

With all that's in that beta update - I'm impressed. The 2d video is MUCh faster. The USB improvements and that are major. I do wish to have physical partitions for speed - but I'm very happy right now.

 

Wow, that sounds well worth a download Cheers Parallels, you're giving VMWare a lot to catch up to ;-)

 

Are there any changes made to Solaris network driver in this Beta after GA?

 

USB devices - Nokia and TomTom GPS still don't work

Nokia E61 and TomTom Rider GPS still don;t work

 

Great!

My Windows Mobile 5 devices now work perfect with USB!

And thanks a lot for passing the Right and Left Modifier keys separately. This finally ends a a lot of work around hacks

I also appreciate inclusion of the Mac OS X disk cache option so quickly such that the Application Enhancer Hack is no longer required.

Despite many comments on this forum about Parallels not responding any more and all developers in vacation - you've proved them wrong by fixing a lot of important things in this update. Thanks!

 

Up and running here, installed over the previous released version.
No issues to report for now, but have only run it on an existing VM for less than 30 minutes.
First impression looking at the Activity Monitor is that the VM *might* take a bit less cpu when left really idle (I may be wrong on this one but it looks like).

 

Second impression: the 2D video display speed is indeed much improved. Superb.

 

Installed the beta, the video performance didn't increase enough to work with SageTV's placeshifting client. Is there anything which can be done to optimize the video driver's settings?

Thanks,

Brandon

 

Does this mean USB HID devices work yet? I'm still waiting to be able to use my Timex DataLink USB again. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

 

I still can't use my SanDisk Cruzer Titanium flash drive - but everything else seems to work well - EXCEPT that now (not before, it worked great before) when I copy text from the Mac, for instance contents of an Excel cell and then try pasting them in a Windows program running in Desktop, it cuts the last digit off the copied text. It used to paste the entire contents, now it pastes all of the contents except the last digit - any ideas on how to fix this?


otherwise it seems to work fine - I had no problems installing Tools and I'm even able to use the eject key on my keyboard to eject the CD/DVD in the drive now and ctrl-v pastes too (though it doesn't paste the last digit)

 

BT Support

So do this version come with built in BT support? Say, for syncing a Palm Treo with Windows running under Parallels via BT. I now have to use a separate utility (Serial Client ~ I think, not at my Mac) to do this. It would be nice to have this built in.

Thanks.

 

ok, NOW, all of a sudden I CAN see the files on the Cruzer Titanium - so whatever was causing that problem seems to have cleared itself up - but I still don't get the last digit when I paste (though if I copy from within Windows the last digit gets pasted - it's only if the copy was outside of Desktop - somewhere within the OS X side

 

Been using it all day and all is well (in fact i'd forgotten i'd upgraded to a beta!)
Well done all!
Generally better performance i reckon.

The "Built-in iSight" webcam (on MacBook Pro) still doesn't work but that's not a show-stopper for me.

Cheers & thx,

jonny

 

Installed with ease, and it's working at least as well as the previous version EXCEPT that my Ross-Tech VAG adapter that was marginal in the old version is completely inoperative in the new one.

I'll repeat my request in large bold type:

I NEED full 100% USB passthrough at the bit level so the guest has no way of telling that it isn't running on the actual hardware. Anything less and I'm stuck with bootcamp or a PC.

This will solve my VAG problem, and also allow CD / DVD burning using an external USB burner.

I would appreciate hearing from the Parallels team whether or not I can expect this to be available any time soon. It's a significant part of the reason I'm using Parallels, and it doesn't work yet.

 

.
I just don't know about the value of using text tricks to alegedly enhance your words on forums. In marketing brochures, yes, but on forums it's different.

Why not be a real "stand-out", and make your whole post have the text trick? Then other people could do it with different colours to be a different "stand-out". Then the forum will have degenerated into a psychedelic eyesore.
.

 

Is this an update in that I can install it over the top of my current installation without effecting my existing VM? Also, when I downloaded it I was prompted to buy a registration key. I'm assuming the one I purchased for the original product is sufficient. Correct? Thanks.