Give me straight talk!

[Spunkmeyer]

I'm hoping Apple will come out with their own version of Parallels. Installing OS X, Bootcamp XP and Parallels is a HUGE waste of drive space on a laptop.....but it looks like that's what I'm going to have to do to get optimum performance.

I doubt that Apple is interested in having to provide support for everybody elses OS as well as MacOS. Just my speculation (but I do recall something to that effect being mentioned by Apple when the Boot Camp Beta was first released.)

 

[mbovaird]

Alt-ctrl-del

So far so good! I tested Parallels on my MBP today and run our custom apps. Crap - the thing runs faster than my three year old IBM notebook! Sweet!

A couple of questions: is there a way to do "ALT-CTRL-DEL" to join the network? I tried that key combination and it didn't work, so I had to do the Key Combination menu option in Parallels. Is there a better/easier way? Man I'm lazy!

Installing the PD Tools worked like a charm! Thank you all!

Heck, Parallels might be BETTER than Bootcamp.....but more testing is needed. I love how fast it loads! WOW!

Thanks all!

Mike

 

[mbovaird]

Holy crap!

Holy crap Parallels is AWESOME! I've been loading HUGE (8 MB) spreadsheets and it loads in a FRACTION of the time through Parallels that my crappy 3 year old IBM notebook loads it. WOW!

I LOVE PARALLELS!

....more testing is needed, but this is one sweet honeymoon so far!!



Mike

 

[dkp]

I think you misunderstood me. When I was referring to it being "buggy and slow", I was simply reading about many of the issues and challenges people were having with it. Using it yesterday, I found it to be quite acceptable actually.....except for the mouse thing, which apparently "PD Tools" will solve - whatever that is.

Yes, Windows is crap....and in a world where it represents 97% (or whatever it is) of the installed OS's in the business world.....we have little choice - especially when our custom apps are designed to work only in Windows. I dislike Windows as much as the next guy, but until some MAJOR organizations start making the switch to OS X (read: see the light) - nothing is going to change.

I'm hoping Apple will come out with their own version of Parallels. Installing OS X, Bootcamp XP and Parallels is a HUGE waste of drive space on a laptop.....but it looks like that's what I'm going to have to do to get optimum performance. Parallels SHOULD have been able to use the Bootcamp install of XP - rather than yet again installing another OS......but that's technology....

Mike

One thing you need to recognize quicky is that this forum is where people with problems come. People with no problems are off using the tool or trying to help with the problems here. That includes me. I check in from time to time to see if there's anything new to see.

As for integrating Boot Camp and Parallels, we're talking about a lot of beta code (including Vista, and the new Mac Pro's). Each organization has proprietary code they're working on. Each is a moving target - how can anyone propose there be any integration? Nothing is finished, the API's are subject to change, and each has it's one target buyer/user. And because not all is public knowledge, there is a lot of discovery going on.

Think about this - with Boot Camp the Windows installation is based on actual hardware Windows's installer can examine and query. In a VM the hardware is virtualized - the guest OS never sees the real thing. It may be an exact replication - or it may be entirely different from the physical hardware (it is which is why you don't have Firewire in Parallels yet). So unless Parallels perfectly replicates the physical hardware in the VM you won't be able to load a Boot Camp OS installation. This is like pulling a bootable disk from a Dell pc and installing it in a Compaq pc and expecting it to boot and run. Chances of that happening? My guess is zero.

When you get past the installation and PD tools stuff and actually start using it you'll be quite happy with it. And you will find there are some incompatibilities. There may even be some that are impossible to overcome. Microsoft may even decide they don't like everyone running the pride of their fleet in a window and so find a way to make it non-installable. I went through this once before with OS/2 and Windows 3.1, so nothing will suprise me. What I've found is that if one OS cannot do a particular thing then another OS can. Point being, if you insist that Windows in a VM do everything Windows in Boot Camp can do then you're likely to be frustrated. VM's can take you only so far. But if you allow both OS X and Windows to co-exist and accept that you may need to flip between screens to get the job done then you'll be happier.

And just because it's so damn cool and lets you easily switch between various running VM's, get and install this: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12682

Here's the universal version: http://www.arenasoftware.com/grepsoft/DesktopManagerUB-0.5.3.dmg

dp

 

[joem]

A couple of questions: is there a way to do "ALT-CTRL-DEL" to join the network? I tried that key combination and it didn't work, so I had to do the Key Combination menu option in Parallels. Is there a better/easier way? Man I'm lazy!

Press and hold ctrl and alt, then press and hold fn (you are now holding three keys down) and press del. Note that the order is important. The fn key affects the next key pressed, and the one you to affect is del.

 

[mbovaird]

What doesn't work?

I haven't been able to find anything that doesn't work. I guess my computing needs are relatively simple.

Mouse works, can connect to work network, speed is FASTER than my IBM notebook. I'm listening to Diana Krall through Mac iTunes.....ah....life is good!

Parallels ROCKS!

A couple of questions:

1. Would I see any performance drop if I bought a MacBook (1GB) instead of a MacBook Pro with 1GB?

2. Stupid question: Is there a way to resize the Parallels Windows screen (when I'm not in full screen)? It overlaps my screen right now and I have to drag the window around. I can't get to the bottom of the Window to resize it.

3. My MS OFFICE color schemes (tool bars look greyed out, etc.) seem a little off. I guess this is a windows/MS Office issue.

4. IMPORTANT: Is there a way to open Mac files in the Windows partition and visa versa? Can I see the Apple drive in Windows and can I see the Windows drive in OS X?

Thanks again all! Parallels has FAR surpassed my expectations. When I first started asking people about it, they said I would see about a 20% performance drop. HAHAHA....you want to see a performance drop - try my crummy IBM laptop.

Mike

 

[mbovaird]

Another question....

Is there any sense in waiting for Apple to come out with a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo? Would it help Parallels perform even better?

Mike

 

[constant]

.

Parallels ROCKS!

That's true.

1. Would I see any performance drop if I bought a MacBook (1GB) instead of a MacBook Pro with 1GB?

Probably not noticeable to the human eye.

2. Stupid question: Is there a way to resize the Parallels Windows screen (when I'm not in full screen)?

Setup custom screen resolutions in Parallels configuration. These resolutions will then become available in the guest the next time you start the VM. Trial and error needed here.

3. My MS OFFICE color schemes (tool bars look greyed out, etc.) seem a little off. I guess this is a windows/MS Office issue.

Doesn't Microsoft just have all the issues.

4. IMPORTANT: Is there a way to open Mac files in the Windows partition and visa versa? Can I see the Apple drive in Windows and can I see the Windows drive in OS X?

Setup shared folders through Parallels configuration.

Thanks again all!

Yep, no worries.
.