Mobile Tech Minutes — Parallels Desktop 5 Crystal Mode
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I have demonstrated Parallels Desktop on the Mac that I use to run Windows 7 alongside OS X. A new version of Parallels Desktop, version 5, was released yesterday and among many new features offers better Snow Leopard and Windows 7 support. One of the new features of Parallels Desktop for Mac v.5 is the Crystal mode, which allows the Windows 7 environment to be “hidden” while running. In the video I demonstrate how this works, and show the ability to run Windows programs like Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer on the Mac desktop.
JK,
Quick question. If you were coming from a windows environment and you were replacing your home office with a notebook, would this be a good solution – ie a 17 inch mac book pro with parallels ?
One further question – it’s easy in windows with ultramon to get a second monitor up and running. Could you use ultramon and a mini dvi adapter easily so that you had two monitors for both your mac apps and win 7 apps ?
I haven’t tried it yet but Parallels 5 supports multiple monitors out of the box, according to the website. You could easily share just two monitors using OS X Spaces. A simple keystroke (I’ve shown this in a past video) can instantly toggle between the two environments.
Just wondering how this is different from Parallels 4.X and Windows 7, which I just bought two days ago. I’ve been using Coherence, and it’s very nice! Wonder if I can get a free upgrade if 5.X is much better…..
You can get a free upgrade. Anyone who bought the prior version on or after October 1 qualifies. Watch for an email from Parallels — I got one yesterday afternoon for my free upgrade.
The Parallels folks claim better performance with Windows and it seems to be so. There are a lot of new features according to the website so I’d go for the free upgrade.
James, good look at the new Parallels. A slightly off topic question…how have you modified your Mac desktop and what did you use? Thanks.