Parallels 3.0

I just got my registration key last week. So far no e-mail saying anything at all about an upgrade, free or otherwise.

 

This has already been brought up in the "other" 3.0 thread that is at 3 pages (it's not a long read). Why post it again here?

Anyway, it says "free" but this Upgrade Protection had to be purchased when you bought Parallels. I believe it was an extra $10 or so. The "free" is the upgrade, not the protection policy

 

if they want us to buy it they need to give us access to the beta. whats the deal with the beta anyway? i signed up for it last year, i signed up again when they asked me to. have heard nothing from them, and now theres a new release that noone can get their hands on but can pay some money to wait for? its all a bit unusual....

 

AWWW CRUD! I didn't know I'd get a free upgrade.. I just bought my copy of Parallels a few weeks ago with my new Mac and just paid for the upgrade...

SSSNAP!

 

I'm located in EUR zone, but seeing the odd exchange rate I just selected USD in the order screen and got the annouced price in USD charged to my credit card, which will be converted in EUR by MasterCard at a much more correct rate than the e-shop.

 

New Features

Can someone from Parallels please list the 50+ new features for Parallels 3. I'm particularly interested in whether this version of Parallels will boot Vista from a Boot Camp partition.

 

This makes me angry...

Okay folks, the 3.0 announcement does make me angry! I have been endorsing Parallels since the end of last year when I have purchased it, but:

After Mac OS X 10.4. upgrade and switch to the latest Parallels release version - an important USB device (which always worked) stopped functioning! Well, I wouldn´t be angry, IF the device I am using hadn´t worked right from the beginning. But purchasing after the tests were okay just to see that it later on stops working is not acceptable.

This is now over 5 MONTHS and although I have contacted Parallels support and done literally everything in order to help them figure out the bug. Of course there is no solution - but... hey... a new upgrade which costs "only" 50% of the full product. Great. Not!

There have been numerous people posting in this forum who have all severe problems with USB devices. Not much has been adressed so far - most people tried to "solve" things by adding some tweaks, removing extensions etc. - all of which cannot be a solution. And now 3.0? Hmmm... does Parallels really expect customers to pay 50% of the original price just to get things back working again?

Tom

 

I've just emailed sales the same quesiton. I upgraded my Boot Camp to Vista - and now Parallels is useless to me. So announcing Version 3 as this "must have" "order now" item, without actually mentioning this major feature strikes strongly of it not being available. Otherwise you'd think they'd be shouting about it? Wouldn't they?

I also worry greatly about what an earlier poster wrote - about the new OSX release containing something very similar to parallels - but built in!

I'm usually the first person to stump up money for a new release with a discount. However this time round - I think I'm just gonna have to wait and see what pans out at WWDC. $10 more will not kill me, if I really need this software then.

 

there will not be a windows api included in leopard. the feature complete beta will be announced at wwdc. but i wouldnt buy parallels untill i can at least get my hands on their beta. if they have finally implemented the features i want i will definitley purchase it.
but im not buying before i try.

 

http://www.novadevelopment.com/parallels/upgrade_3/default.aspx


This is all they will say for now.

 

For those that bought Parallels on line during the special promotion prior to Christmas 2006, the 3.0 major upgrade will be at no charge as well as any others during the 12 month period.

This is the email that I received from sales department at Parallels:

Sorry for the confusion. When we release on or around June 6, you will automatically receive your key as per the email below. Thank you for your business!

 

I just paid my $40 for the upgrade and have no issues with that - the developer has worked very hard to come out with a quality product and provides prompt updates and support.

 

Where is the free trial?

If 3.0 is out, how come the free trial links to 3188?

Are we expected to buy it now before we even see if it works?

 

3.0 is announced, not released. They specifically said the actual binary will come out in a few weeks. And yes, it's a buy-before-you-see-it-working deal... that's why they call it 'pre-order'.

 

Have you ever heard a company say that the current version is as good as it is ever gonna get?

 

How much do you get paid?

This thread makes me sick. I'm so glad I don't work for most of the people here whining about a $40 upgrade. I mean, honestly, I pay $40 for 2 days of parking and I pay that much for crappy little Windoze service monitors and the like.

Think about it; if we assume that Parallels has 20 developers that worked only 40 hours a week for 6 months (which is conservative at best), they would be making about $.0015 per hour per copy for their effort. As a developer and business owner myself, I find that rate to be incredibly cheap. Adobe's CS3, for example, just cost me $500 for an 'upgrade' and they will sell more copies to make their revenue.

And to those people who claim the product has 'lots of bugs', I say just look at the software you are running on PWS - har! Besides, what software EVER has not had bugs? IMO PWS is rock solid - as solid as any other PC in my shop and certainly more solid than any other emulator I have ever used. An upgrade does [usually] fix bugs and will probably introduce more - that's the nature of software development. Get over it and pay the man for a quarter hour of work!

Sorry for this rant, but these kind of complaints really don't inspire any developer to do anything for anyone. Personally, I'd like to thank the Parallels team for continued development and support on the product and especially for keeping the price down!

 

Thanks.. their list has:

50+ NEW AND IMPROVED FEATURES INCLUDING:

* OpenGL 1.5 / DirectX Support - Run games and 3D applications at native speed in Windows. Click here for a partial list of games.
* Coherence 2.0 - Run Windows and Mac OS applications in a single integrated environment.
* Documents Integration - Open documents in Mac OS or Windows using any available Mac OS or Windows application.
* Snapshots - Save the running virtual machine state and revert back to it at any time.
* Improved Windows Support - for XP and Vista
* Printers - Support for shared printers.
* Wider USB 2.0 and CD & DVD support
* Windows Start Menu Integration - Click the Parallels icon in the Dock to show the Windows Start Menu.
* Mount Your Windows File System - and access its files and folders directly from Mac OS.
* Parallels Explorer - Search for Windows files without having to start Windows.
* BootCamp Support - Use your BootCamp Partition inside Parallels. Now even works with Windows Vista!
* Integrated Virus Check - Free six month subscription allows you to work safely without fear of viruses.
* Improved Graphics User Interface - Now even easier to use and understand
* Support for OS X Leopard - Full support for Apple's next generation operating system when it ships.
* New Tools for Linux Users - Improved mouse and screen handling features
* Fast and Easy Installation - Installs in just 3 clicks.

OPENGL 1.5/DIRECTX GAMING SUPPORT

Run games and 3D applications at native speed in Windows, including:

* AeroFly Pro Deluxe
* Alien Arena 2007
* Call of Duty
* Counter Strike 1.6
* Descent 3
* Duke Nukem Manhattan Project
* Half Life
* Hitman
* Homeworld 2
* Quake 1 GL
* Quake 2
* Quake 3 Arena
* Quake 4
* Return to Castle Wolfenstein
* Serious Sam
* Serious Sam - the Second Encounter
* SiN
* Unreal Tournament 2003
* Worms 3D

 

I think its worth the upgrade personally

$40 is nothing these days compared to the features they are adding. 3D graphics acceleration is a big addition. I don't quite believe it will be full native speed and I'd liek to test it out before buying, but that's a nice improvement.

The rest of the list (http://www.novadevelopment.com/parallels/upgrade_3/default.aspx) including Leopard and BootCamp support is also a good addition of support. Search for Windows files with out Windows running, snapshots for checkpoints/rollback and more. This is a substantial addition of features.

I think this is indeed a 3.0 not a 2.5 release.

Stop whining about $40 for two reasons:

1) it isn't that much considering the technology and function you are getting a lot pro far less function applications charge at least that much is not more. $40 is 4 lunches in the Silicon valley where I live and it's just half a tank of gasoline in my SUV. Waht a bunch of whiners.

2) This is a small firm, they need to match expenses with revenues. If you balk at giving something in return for the value they provide, they won't make it and then where will you be?

 

How much do you get paid (reply)

I agree with microdev. My version of Parallels (3188) works fine, I love the interface, and for all of you winers. . . get a life!

 

Ooops.

I got all sorts of excited about this release and forked out the cash within minutes of reading the feature set. Now I'm thinking that I made my purchase during the Christmas promotion.