What are the biggest limitations of Parallels at this point?

Hi,

I'm anxious to get Parallels installed, but before I invest in it, I'd like to know what the biggest limitations are with the product.

I will need reliable USB access, as I develop embedded software, and need the USB port to program devices. Presently, the windows IDE I use to write my code is the best solution for the target device architecture (PIC). So for now, my best option is to use Windows to accomplish this task.

Secondly, I need to have reliable Internet Explorer operation. My wife is a Real Estate broker, and her job requires using a program that all realtors use, called WinForms. This is an internet based application that works only with IE.

Also, what is the state of networked printer reliability? My home network is an Airport network. We have a Brother laser jet on our LAN (connected to our Airport extreme base station via ethernet). Our Windows computer works just fine with it, but didn't know if there are any network printer issues with Parallels.

I want to run Windows in coherent mode, so just that apps I use appear on my OS X desktop, and I need to be able to drag and drop files between Windows and OS X. Is this possible now?

Finally, I already have XP SP2 installed under bootcamp. When i install Parallels for the first time, will I have to re-activate XP? I don't want to invalidate my bootcamp copy.

Thanks for taking time to answer my questions!

PS - I'm on a first generation Macbook Pro 2.16GHz with 2GB RAM.

-Jeff

 

<RANT>
If I haven't heard that realtor thing a thousand times... If that dang program is so important then whoever coded it needs to be shot for developing it without attention to open standards instead of tying it inextricably to a single proprietary program that one has no assurance of being available/popular/usable in the future. Also...if it's so important to Realtors...then their association needs to raise money to port that stinking program to other systems to allow easier access to it by more Realtors. I'm sure these people pay dues...why not put them to good use and free oneself from the deathgrip of proprietary web technologies?
</RANT>

Limitations of parallels? Well...I think they're pretty well spelled out in the documentation. Basically: No advanced graphics support, some USB devices still don't work reliably (maybe PICs are included...I'd have no way of testing), no ability to utilize more than a single processor in a vm, and I'm sure that there are more.

Parallels does have many pros, including: fairly stable in operation (I haven't had a great deal of problems with my VMs and I run several each day), impressive speed and responsiveness (Just a seat of the pants impression here...but my Parallels VMs feel just as responsive and quick as a native machine), great installation wizards and general overall design, coherence works fairly well and does allow you more seamlessly manage programs just as one would on Mac OS X, and many more benefits.

I can't guarantee that USB won't be an issue for you, but I can be fairly certain that you are unlikely to have any issue running MS Internet Exploder under a Parallels VM. As far as printers go...using bridged networking, I've had nary a problem one with network printing in my VMs. Coherence works well for me, but as for dragging and dropping between VMs and OS X...there have been numerous lengthy discussions about this feature and its possible security implications here on the forums. I'd highly suggest you take the time to at least scan those discussions and then make an informed decision as to what is right for you. The feature does work and it works well...but there are ancillary concerns with its use and there is always the option of just utilizing shared folders (which is how I handle it myself). I think they last two beta releases have got the bootcamp thing pretty nailed down. I don't think you'll have an issue.

Hope this helps...and sorry about the rant...just couldn't help it!

 

Dear Mactivist

Good afternoon to you and I agree with Mcsenerd regarding winforms. on the other hand, becaused that I was given an opportunity to create a brand new web application for a realtor...
anyhow... USB support has been much improved and my 2Gb USB key has no issues. I have had only 1 crash so far (yesterday) in last 2 months...(i don't usally turn off my mac nor VM.. i just close the lid and open it again next day)
aside from VPN and no 3D graphic support... i do feel that parallels has done a fantastic job.
I do mainly web application development so speed has been never an issue.
Good luck.

JL

P.S. regarding IE. I have not experience any issues. (i have to test all my web apps on IE as you can imagin)

 

I feel your pain. I agree, it's really dumb they do this, but the Department of Real Estate is run by idiots (DMV types). The local boards are sheep.

I found a post here stating that this works as of build 3094! Yay!

Thanks, and I'll be picking up a copy today.

 

you could try using it with the trial key, before you buy.....thats why its there