Neglected Step-Child

Anybody else here in the Parellels Workstation group feel like the neglected step-child? OSX is up to 3.0 and we still are running the version from november '06

 

Most assuredly. I was told about 6 or 7 months ago there would be fixes some of my problems with WinXP under linux "soon" with the upcoming version 3 release. Guess Parallels concept of "soon" and mine are quite different. I expected two to three months, guess they mean a year or so.

 

I'm very annoyed, too, spoken with friendly words! Mac, Mac and again Mac - you read it everywhere and nothing more than cheap words here about an upcoming version for Windows. Instead of releasing a new version for Windows they decided to announce a completely new product: Parallels Server or whatever.

I switched over to VirtualBox. It's free and I run XP and Linux as guest without any problems so far - even snapshots are possible.

I will try to set up Vista and some older Windows releases, too, but for now VirtualBox is better than Wkst 2.2.

I bet, when you have to pay again for an upgrade to Wkst 3 a majority of users will be again disappointed 'cause of bugs and missing features.

 

On 6/21, Andrew@Parallels stated in another thread (Will Any NEW version of Linux Install as Guest?). that a minor release of PWS 2.x was due "very soon" and that it would include fixes for the latest kernels as well as Tools for Linux.

That said... it's been almost three weeks... anybody know how to translate Parallels-speak to calendar units?

 

No any correct date, seems minor update for 2.x windows and linux version will be available till autumn.

And we plan to release something for linux and windows till end of this year.

 

Three Months????

AUTUMN???!!! As in sometime after 21 September?

Someone sanity check me... the "minor", but long overdue update to PWS 2.x which was due "very soon" after 21 June (Summer Solstice- first day of summer) is, in fact, not going to be released until after 21 September (Autumnal Equinox- first day of autumn)?

Okay, so "very soon" means "at least a full quarter". Further, it means that the next update to 2.x will not come until almost a full year after the last update.

Should we assume that this next minor update (the one nut due until the fall) will be the last update of 2.x prior to the "planned" release of 3.x for Win/Lin?

 

Quite frankly, Ynot, that's outrageous.

Well, I gave Parallels a good six months but have reluctantly switched to VMWare due to my need to have both NAT'd and bridged LAN connectivity-- NAT functionality is needed to connect to things like T-mobile hotspots. I tried VirtualBox and had a lot of problems; VMWare went smoothly so I'm a generally happy customer of their products now. I found Parallels easier to use and maybe a little faster, but my need for connectivity outweighs those considerations. Meanwhile there have been too many broken promises from Parallels, and no visible progress, and now this. What a shame.

 

It is almost impossible to understand the intent of this post:

1. Is the intention of paragraph 1 meant to imply that a minor update to the windows/Linux version "will NOT be available until sometime in the (US) autumn"

2. Is the intention of paragraph 2 meant to imply that they have:

a) NO PLANS to release "SOMETHING" for Windows/Linux this year
or
b) PLANS to release "SOMETHING" for Windows/Linux but not until the end of this year

Either way - so much for Andrews post last month.

Ray

 

"SOMETHING"?? No facts either this could mean everything from a new washbowl to a new nuclear power station, right?

In fact we would like to hear something more handier. A name and of course a release date. "Something" could also mean the new sever product which is of no use either for us Windows user.

So please, for your customers sake, stop developing new products and update the existing ones first and relase them in a timely manner.

Thanks!

 

Sorry for any confusion that may have been caused by Ynot's answer, the situation is a bit clearer than it may look like judging from his post
Actually, we have quite an extensive development roadmap for Parallels Workstation for Windows/Linux versions.
We are going to release new PW 2.2 version with various bugfixes and improvements soon. And the work is already in progress on the next generation Parallels VM desktop and server versions for Win/Lin hosts, to make sure you'll be able to easily use our virtualization solutions on any OS, be it Windows, Linux or Mac and switch between them without any problems or drawbacks.

 

Spectre, with all due respect, is it a Parallels company policy to not use any wording which might imply an actual date on which something might occur?

On 21 June, Andrew described this update as coming "very soon". On 9 July, Ynot stated that this update would not be released until "autumn", at least two months from now. Today, you describe it as coming "soon".

Can't we get a real date for this "minor" update? As a software developer, I understand the importance of setting realistic dates and them meeting them. As a user, though, I'd like to know that I can expect an update "on or around" some date.

I have to be honest... at the moment, I'm inclined to think that ynot is the only one who really knows when things might be available. I'm guessing that he is much closer to the development process and knows when things will be done. Everyone else, I fear, is just tapdancing.

 

jruschme,

As a software developer you probably know that a program is generally released "as soon as it's ready" and there is nothing worse than to give end-users an exact date of release and then see how it doesn't happen because of some nasty bug found in the last moments before release.
That's precisely why we try to avoid giving any narrow time frames for the release. But "soon" indicates that we are really working on it and it's on our short-term plans.

 

I can certainly appreciate the "we sell no wine before its time" sentiment. I get it... you planned to move everything to 3.X... the Mac port took longer than though (and probably showed up problems in the 3.X design, etc.), so now you're going back to update 2.X in the meantime.

Long time Macintosh users reading this post may remember the long drought following the release of MacOS 7.5.3 while Apple worked on Copeland, the planned MacOS 8. Ultimately, they had to go back and release a long-overdue update to 7.5.5, followed by 7.6 and the eventual MacOS 8.

Borrowing an analogy from the movie "Annie Hall", though, the relationship between a company and its customers, "...I think, is like a shark. You know, it has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark. "

Look around, the PWS 2.x is not the only game in the Windows and Linux world and its not even the best or cheapest one anymore. The users who post in these forums feel abandoned by Parallels with no hope of seeing any improvement within a definable time frame. Instead, we are told that we should really be waiting for 3.x which will provide everything just short of peace in our time.

Had there been a steady flow of updates, then people would not necessarily want dates. It's like the old line about buses- there'll be another one along in a little while. Instead, though, the PWS users feel left at the bus stop, wondering if they missed the last bus of the night and will have to walk home.

 

Hi guys -

We are already in development for a MAJOR update to Workstation that will include all of the great stuff that we introduced in Desktop, as well as a pile of new features that we can't disclose yet.

Please keep in mind that even though Parallels has had a lot of success (100% due to our users), we're still small and we only have so many man-hours of development to work with. We're doing our best to get everything (Desktop, Workstation and our upcoming Server) out the door as soon as we can.

Good news is that we're working towards total version parity...meaning that when one product is updated, they'll ALL be updated with a few weeks of eachother!

 

Disappointment...

I am sure that I am not the only one who is sorely disappointed by the whole operation, in various ways. My decision to purchase the current version of Workstation was significantly affected by your promise that this would include a free upgrade to the next version released during the coming year. Obviously that is an easy promise to make if you are not actually releasing such an upgrade. Furthermore, two of my support requests (for significant problems) were initially completely ignored. Even getting into contact via PM with one of your staff following some complaints on the forum has not actually lead to any results (except silence).

As many others, this has forced me to give up on Parallels. The thing for Parallels to worry about is that this is not just a loss of a current customer, but that such behavior will damage the trust people have in their future product and support.

(The only reason I have to still visit this forum is that I still have the idle hope that there might be a next version and I have already spent my money. The program is not even installed on my computer any more (since I had the impression it was reducing the stability of the system))

 

Which begs the question of whether Parallels has attempted to grow faster/larger than it can support- a move which has sunk many a company.

I assume that we will see Parallels Server before PWS 3.X. It will be interesting to see if that launch consumes so much that even the PD users feel neglected.

Which will be great, assuming that Parallels is not so busy ir so overextended chasing the "next great thing" that it doesn't update any of the then-current products. This is the core of the concern that the PWS users have now.

 

Guys,

I understand your dissappointment and respect your feelings. We are working hard on the new generation of Win/Lin product which will be fully unified and feature compatible with Parallels Desktop for Mac. Unfortunately it take time. We will do our best to deliver it as soon as possible.

 

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Andrew,

We get it... PWS 3.x is coming... it will be wonderful... etc.

What I think you're missing (or flat out ignoring) is that there are a lot of people here who would feel better about Parallels, Inc. if you would just release a PWS 2.x update in the mean time (like the one you said three weeks ago was coming "very soon").

As it is, I think a lot of people feel like they are adrift at sea and instead of throwing them a lifeline, you are standing there telling them how comfortable the rescue helicopter will be.

 

I'm calling BS on this. Actions speak louder than words. Last fall, I was ready to recommend Parallels for a large development staff. I am so glad I did not. I would have really looked like an idiot. I'm sure there are many others like me who cannot recommend Parallels for their corporation because of the lack of action. I'll bet anything we see more Mac versions before we see a Linux/Win version. Parallels already has our money and they don't see any more money in Win/Linux. Probably afraid to compete with other Win/Linux solutions like Vmware. It will be interesting when more Mac competition arrives. I'd think a few large corporate accounts could make up for a lot of single Mac sales, but what do I know. I guess, as a small company, they haven't learned that screwing loyal customers so you can reach some new market can come back to bite them. At any rate, I'm not holding my breath. We all made a poor choice by spending money on Parallels. I visit Parallels web site about once a month to see if anything has happened. It is past time to move on.

 

...and again

... a new version for Mac users!

But I'm still full of hope: I wish those enhancements and bug fixes will immediately find there way into the new Workstation release, too.

Is there really DX9 support in the Mac version now as stated in another posting in the Mac forums?

BTW, I like the website and wish I could get any RSS feeds on the main page or from the blog. Is this possible? Did I miss sthg?