Parallels 8 Roadmap

Hi all,

As a current Parallels 6 user.. I was a little annoyed when I had bought Parallels 6 and yet just missed the upgrade to 7 as it was released shortly thereafter.

So, in order to avoid this happening again.. I was wondering if the Parallels team could give us some estimate time-frame for the release of Parallels 8?

I'm guessing that the plan would be to release it shortly after Mountain Lion and/or Windows 8 ?.. In such case, I'd rather wait for Parallels 8 than to upgrade to 7 right now.

Any info appreciated.

 

I find their upgrade price ridiculous. Apple now only charges $29 for a whole OS upgrade, Parallels charges $40 almost yearly for minor upgrades. Sure, they do a great job, but they're asking too much too often. I hope they take an example from Apple and from it to $20-30 a major release.

 

They have typically released a new version every Q4. This coincides with most major software releases, everybody is releasing the big stuff in Autumn now.

 

Yearly releases are great. $40 or more a year is not. I can't say I'll be upgrading to ver 8 or even 9 unless they drop the upgrade price to around $20. I was one of their first Mac customers, but they want too much for too little each release.

 

Parallels 8 Release Date

When is Parallels 8 being released?

I have P6, and want to upgrade to Mountain Lion, but can't unless I get P7 or switch.
Not happy to get half baked P7 ML compatibility just before P8 comes out - and pay twice for the same features I already have.

If I get no response I will be another switcher to VM/VB - I just have to find time to research and setup.

 

People complain more than they read.

http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=261663

http://www.parallels.com/techguarantee2012/

 

Thanks for this - but not for the insult. Noting that you didn't ACTUALLY answer my question iro the release date (which I am still interested to know), how about being a bit more courtesy as well as helpful in future?

With regard to you insult:
I did several searches on P8 release dates and only got this thread.
I also did several searches on ML compatibility and got reams of posts (mostly complaints) - many of which I did indeed read (8 pages of threads). It is often hard and very time consuming to find answers you want buried in threads or answered in another thread. Most people don't have an unlimited supply of time to read every single post on every thread that matches keywords to find the answers that should be quite prominent.

 

Do you really think Apple makes profit of this OS upgrade? The only profit Apple makes from it is that some people are forced/tempted to purchase new hardware. These OS updates are cross-financed by selling Apple hardware...

Software companies don't have the opportunity to subside their software prices. So Apple is even destroying the prices for software vendors if many people think like you (or not think)...

 

I'm well aware of Apple's pricing model of charge for the hardware and giving away the software for free or cheap.

That said, I still don't think Parallels Desktop is worth $80(ver3)+$40(ver4)+$40(ver5)+$40(ver6)+$40(ver7)+$40(future ver8)=$280 for adding minor performance improvements and keeping you updated with current Windows version. I'm sure the software engineers are working hard, and they deserve to be paid, but I'm sure there's a few greedy executives that love bleeding customers. $20 seems like the appropriate cost.

 

Has anyone noticed the most of the senior members seems like a**holes, and the junior members are unhappy with the company? lol

 

Cool! I get to be the bad guy on this film...

Yes, I'm a senior member, quite a big post count I have don't I? This post count was mostly built more than 1 year ago, probably 2, before I got fed up with users not showing the slightest appreciation for the time and patience I take to help them. People seem to don't understand that the time they refuse to take to search and clarify their issues is taken by the one that tries to help them.

I just answered on this thread because I don't like to see people spending money uninformed.

Nowadays I still try to help but immediately turn my back and ignore unappreciative users, I don't even answer threads in which the users seem to be insanely clueless or my instincts tell me they aren't worth it. I have too much karma to spend and too little time to worry about the way you 2 are portraying me. I don't work for Parallels, I can have a temper and be arrogant as the next forum user.

Have a nice day!

 

It seems nowadays many people are not using a companys forum to help each other or discuss seriously but only want to unload their frustration / want to try to get discounts / troll because they are unsatisfied somehow... Sad but true.

The same trend can be seen with corporate social media channels...

 

I do appreciate help and try to read the posts that match my keyword searches. I too was upset with having to upgrade yet again when I installed ML but as I posted elsewhere here, I won't need Parallels Desktop 7 or 8 since I don't want to have to reinstall my Windows OS and all my applications all over again when the ML install wiped it all from the 40Gb partition... time to deploy the old Lenovo tablet to run the few applications I need that only run on Microsloth.

 

Hello everyone,

I'm afraid the release date information is not available, but you can subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know what PD 8 is available: http://www.parallels.com/mailinglists/subscribe/

 

Don't people read anything anymore?

I just don't recognise the picture being painted through most of this thread. For a start I would not think it wise to upgrade an OS without checking that significant pieces of software can support it - my upgrade to Mountain Lion was extremely smooth and I had followed the instructions with regards to Parallels 7 BEFORE I did it so Parallels worked perfectly.

I have been a Parallels user since March last year (v6) and upgraded to 7 when it was released last September. Incidentally I paid the upgrade price without blinking - why? - because this piece of software works and it works well. I am more than happy to keep up with the latest developments form Parallels and happy enough also o pay for the privilege. The price is I think fair for the fact that it keeps up with Apple's regular update cycle. It isn't fair to compare prices to what Apple charges for OS X - that is a well known loss leader.

Now that a launch date is set for Parallels 8 - though tantalisingly no details about the content - I will, as everyone always should, look for guidance from Parallels, Google for known issues and, finally, when I'm sure the impact is low, upgrade.

Research, care and more research - it pays dividends in my view.

 

I can not stress enough that before upgrading your OS to the next big version people should always take care to make sure all their crucial software will work on the next version, for their own good, ideally vendors should foresee these situations in due time, but the reality is different, if you care for your data and productivity you can post pone an OS update for 1 or 2 months, I assure you have no need to jump in into the next big version when it comes out.
If the only software that breaks with an OS X upgrade is Parallels then consider yourself lucky.

I use this site for compatibility checking: http://roaringapps.com/

I also take other precautions, in my case I never upgrade an OS X version to an 10.x.0 version, I always wait for 10.x.1/2.

 

I realize this is a broader conversation, but this whole idea of yearly upgrades is absolutely absurd. I am not talking exclusively about Parallels, either. ML should have been a free upgrade, no question there. ML's new features are essentially useless. Its "Gatekeeper" was implemented to prevent users from installing legitimate 3rd party apps outside of the App Store. In my opinion, this is merely Apple's attempt at unfairly limiting competition, or at the very least trying to take a cut from developers who could have easily bought and sold their product via other avenues. This is completely monopolistic and unfair to developers and consumers alike.

Re. PD8 - I simply cannot justify spending another $50+ dollars for an upgrade for a product I bought in June. Granted, I have not seen a list of new features, but assuming that PD8 is merely an upgraded version of PD7, it seems as though these are exactly the types of upgrades we should be getting with our original purchase. It is almost as if we are "leasing" or renting this software rather than truly owning it. We are essentially paying for an upgrade that simply runs more efficiently, fixes particular bugs - rather than actually offering new features and functionality.

I am glad to hear that others are frustrated with this. Yearly releases of essentially the same software is simply not economically sustainable - for Parallels or for its customers. At the very least, PD7 should be fully compatible with ML because it was the version available when ML was released. To force you into upgrading is double dipping into the same pot - this will only lead to customers seeking other alternatives or spending their money elsewhere.

Be a leader, not a follower. Apple customers are already getting exhausted from its product upgrade release theme. Its only a matter of time until that fatigue actually breaks the bank.

TGD

 

I hate the licensing for Parallels Desktop for Mac. I think that 1 license per 1 machine blows, especially with the high cost of the software license and upgrades. As it stands now when you factor in the cost of supporting more than 1 machine, it just isn't worth it to upgrade yearly.

I think eventually Parallels will move to the App Store. It is only a matter of time before they cave.