Parallels 3.0

Yeah, it frosts me...

50+ features
100+ fixes

Okay, twice as many fixes as new features and we have to pay to get them. Egads. Hopefully they have fixed the use of that monstrous .mem file, sad it has to be paid for just to get FIXES.

 

Normally, I cut people on the internet some slack for this sort of thing, but I do have to say that it makes me somewhat nervous to depend on a company that assures me that the next version will be "better then ever."

 

Just as an update to my previous comments on the authenticity of the email/offer, I sent a message off to sales@parallels.com and had a response within minutes clarifying that the offer is genuine and the 3rd party sites are ecommerce partners.

 

Anyway it can be tested first?

I only bought Parallels a few months ago (March, 27th)... I hope we can try the new version when the discount still apply.
I'd like to see improvement in the disk emulation speed.
When compiling a lot of C files:
Parallels: 630s
Parallels off BootCamp: 288s
BootCamp: 171s

you see that the disk emulation is painfully slow...

I don't use games , so I don't care about 3D emulation ; but I do care about emulation speed.
Another thing not that great with Parallels is USB support ; there are a lot of drivers that do not work.

It's rather surprising that Parallels expect people to pay extra without even seeing what it's about. You'd have to be crazy or very trusting to pay with no idea if it's going to give real improvements.

 

It appears that Parallels switched the electronic payment system to another company for ordering their products. That's why those who ordered a long time ago (e.g. a year before) would see the message saying that the user account isn't there. One would just have to sign up like a new customer.

The thing about pre-ordering any product is that you have to have a certain level of faith in it. Given how Parallels have delivered so far from my perspective (it did okay, if a bit slow), I would probably upgrade to 3.0 at one point. Even if the initial 3.0 release isn't up to expectations, I'm betting that it'll get around to be usable for me eventually. Therefore I would pay for the upgrade cost, and since that's getting a $10 discount right now, I might as well take advantage of it and save me some bucks. That's my motivation for pre-ordering.

 

Yes. All of Parallel's eCommerce transactions go through Element 5 (a Digital River company) and are totally legit. Microsoft uses Digital River to purchase Office Online (I know, I was the PM for the project).

 

I have always been curious about Parallels when they made finding the "Forums" on here an absolute impossiblity. That still gets me you have to drill down 40 layers to find an obsucre link to here.


Also, I would bet the rush is because of VMWare and WWDC. Maybe VMWare has some big news...

 

Not necessarily. We don't know what these fixes are yet. Lets think how this works. Fixes do not necessarily mean - oh here is a bug, lets fix it. Sometimes a "fix" is more like a design limitation of the initial version.

For example lets design a building. In our initial budget and timeframe we figure 2000 sq and x features will work for our needs. We know we may grow in the future but we can't afford to build a 40 level office high rise on a startup's budget. Now a year later we outgrow our offices so we need to invest in a new building.

Same with software. Parallels 2.0/2.5 do what they say they are going to do based on the budget and specs they have. Some things work, but just barely because they are at the edge of the ability of that design. To make them work properly you have to "invest in a new building". For example the ACPI BIOS vs an old BIOS for XP vs Vista. And so on.

My point is that yes, fixes that are bugs in the current code do need to be fixed. They should release a 2.6 with fixes they made to 3.0 that can be backported. But in many cases a fix is not because of a bug fix but because of a re-design of a component. And those usually can't be backported and are so significant they are for new releases and that's completely justifiable!

 

Indeed, Fusion must be getting ready for primetime and Parallels can't let that steal all the thunder. The pre-order deadline of June 6 is another curiosity. WWDC 2007 starts on June 11. There's almost a week of gap there. Could it be that VMware is announcing official release of Fusion at WWDC, and Parallels is thinking of pre-empting it by a few days? Man, this tingles me so much more than last year's WWDC. Hehe.

 

$39.99 but $49.99 showing up on web site?

When I click the link on the email, it pulls up a site that lists the upgrade price as $49.99 not the $39.99 from the email and wants me to fill out my info (name, address etc) AND my credit card info and doesn't say anything about another $10 off or anything. It also doesn't recognise my account so I guess I bought it a while ago from the other online store.

How can I be sure to get the $39.99 upgrade price?

 

NM. I logged into MyAccount on the Parallels site first and then went to the upgrade page and got the $10 discount this time.

 

Parallels 3.0 Free Upgrade

So, I purchased my copy of Parallels back at the end of February. In my "Getting Started" email (which gmail so politely has saved for me) I have the following text (emphasis added):
"This copy includes free Upgrade Protection for one year following the date of purchase, which entitles you to receive all major upgrades released during that timeframe at no additional cost. When a new major version is released, you will receive an email to the address you used to register the product that includes instructions on how to download and install the new version, and a permanent activation key that is compatible with the new version."

When you click the link for more info in the upgrade email, it says:
* Pre-order the Upgrade by June 6th for the special price of $39.99, that is 50% OFF the regular retail price!
* Upgrade later at the regular upgrade price of $49.99
* Maintenance customer? You will get the upgrade for FREE!*
* Purchased after May 1st? You will get the upgrade for FREE!*

* Customers will be sent their free upgrade keys within one week of Parallels Desktop for Mac general availability.

So, I am assuming that even though I got the upgrade discount offer email, I am one who qualifies for the free upgrade. Should I choose to pay for the upgrade, or just be ignorant of the fact that I could have it for free, I'm sure the wonderful people at SWSOFT would love to get a piece of my hard earned cash.
As for me, I'm banking on getting an email with my link to the new download and activation key... I'm already happy with parallels, but this smart select thing sounds kick-ass!

 

by the way, why hasn't there been open public beta's like in the past?
or if there is a latest beta available, where can i download/ test it?

 

There is in fact a newer build.. just not public. This time around, Parallels decided to not release the betas. Check this thread:

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve...31/m/620005725831?r=420001825831#420001825831

 

Yep, I bought on 22/12/2006 and the confirmation email for the order does say it includes Free Upgrade Protection for one year including major upgrades.

Where can I download this upgrade?

 

The upgrade has not yet been released, it is still in beta testing. Go to the top of this page, click support then beta testing, although be aware betas tend to be less stable than release versions. At least that was my experience between build 1970 and 3188.

 

Cheers and thank you for prefacing that how you did. I'd not be smiling now had you not.

Having spent 14 years doing just this sort of work allow me to inform you that you are incorrect re: major upgrade. The email does clearly use the language "major version" and in the industry that is a very well defined term. It refers to the first number in a version string (i.e. 2.x, 3.x, 4.x, etc...). This has since been clarified in subsequent posts but thought I'd make it even clearer by responding personally. Carry on

 

Well said! My exact thoughts!

 

Awww, I missed the free upgrade date by a month (bought my copy around 4/2). Normally I would be annoyed with paying more fee to upgrade a software I just purchased 2 months ago. But I have to say these guys did such a good job on the product that it's well worth it.

I just need to figure out how to expense it to work somehow.

g

 

I bought as long back as november, after getting the free upgrades for a year e-mail offer.
But, my confirmation of purchase do not mention the free upgrades for a year I was promised.

But I hope they will keep the promise. I almost have the feeling, that the $40 e-mail they sent out is to people who already paid, and they want to see if they can get a little extra cash.