Installing Parallels 3.0, build 4124 on a MacBook (non pro) 2.0Ghz with 2gb of RAM, 512 assigned to WinXP Pro SP2 which is installed as a BootCamp partition which has been updated to BootCamp 1.3 beta. - Installer does not tell you that it needs to reboot until it finishes. Most other OS X installers warn you about that at the beginning. Minor, but annoying. - Waited for "Initialization" warning to go away before logging in (Windows is NOT set to autologin). Parallels Tools did not seem to install. Windows started asking me if I wanted to install "New Hardware". Trying to select Actions > Install Parallels Tools showed "Cancel Parallels Tools installation" (or similar). - View > Coherence mode did nothing. No error, nothing. - MacBook was hooked to a Dell monitor via mini-DVI when Parallels was launched. Dell monitor (1200x1600, portrait mode) was the main display for OS X and was positioned to the right of the MacBook display (see http://tntluoma.com/temp/screenshot-dual-displays-setup.png for visual). When Parallels launched and did its initial graphics initialization (not sure if that's the right word) in OS X, it left some digital artifacts on the MacBook display on the right side. This was eliminated by dragging the Parallels window over the area which seemed to "wipe away" the artifacts. - Rebooted WinXP - This time Parallels Tools offered to install after I logged in. Coherence works, but only on the monitor which Parallels was in when it launched. - Fullscreen worked, however when making WinXP "full screen" on 1200x1600 monitor, WinXP is shown as 800x600, and upon exiting full screen mode, OS X apps have been resized as if they had been crunched into much smaller display as well. - Parallels is running 15-20% of my CPU in OS Window mode with nothing running inside the VM except some common system tray apps First impression? An improvement over 2.5? Yes. Huge upgrade? *shrug* Worthy of being out of beta? *shrug* Biggest disappointment? Over a month and a half since I reported Coherence problems on this forum and got NO RESPONSE http://forums.parallels.com/showthread.php?p=54074 a new version of Parallels comes out and Coherence still doesn't work on dual monitors, at least in my setup, and full-screen mode is pretty lousy too (800x600 in Windows on a 1200x1600 display? While messing up my OS X app windows?)
