To Parallels: did I buy useless product?

[perdurabo]

Is this a problem that is going to be solved or is my $39 learning money for me to never buy any Beta products anymore.

Frankly, what did you expect? It's a beta, you nitwit*.

Beta products are _unfinished_, _buggy_, and _transitory_. Parallels has let us know over and over again what to expect with the beta versions.

So your stuff doesn't work, big deal, it's a beta. I see you complaining in later posts. As an obvious end user, perhaps you shouldn't be using the beta. The beta is for testing and bug-squashing, not production use (although hey, if it works in production and you're willing to take the risks without warrantlessly blaming the vendor, go for it).

You did not buy the beta version, you pre-ordered the final version, which has not yet shipped. The RC version is a free, beta version, as well. You didn't buy that, either. You pre-ordered the shipping version, which you do not have yet.

Sit tight or ask the community via the forums. Don't smear and whine about Parallels when they haven't done anything wrong. Your kind of actions only serve to close off communications between a company and their user base, for fear of hurting their image/sales, which is ridiculous.


* Apparently people's attempts to explain things to you, using common sense, isn't working, so I thought I'd turn up the flames.

 

[Menace]

I think by the time Parallels is really ready and works like a normal XP should work, OSX Leopard is out already, too.

So, I also think now I`ve pre-ordered a useless product with no USB 2.0 support, no DVD-R drive, a not rock solid XP etc.

Sorry, I had to say that but I really expect more of an XP which works as fluently as on a PC or with Boot Camp. The only cool thing so far is to have both operations system running parallel, if you just work with minor things in XP.

 

[hairyneanderthal]

did I buy useless product?

How much money have you spent so far? Absolutely nothing so wtf are you complaining about? Even if you have pre-ordered you can cancel.

If it doesn't work, take notes, report about what doesn't work and send to Parallels. ..

For me this is the best software model there is. Try before you buy, if you have problems, or want new features you have ample opportunity to try before you buy. Get it for free whilst it is still beta with enough incentives to buy cheap now or try and buy later. The only people compaining probably think a mullet is a good hairstyle.

I have now placed several time the problem that I cannot print to a USB printer. Also sent this problem thru email. But there never comes ANY answer, and that is more frustrating than the problem itself!

The problem is as follows:

I have an Epson ACL 1100 colorlaser connected to the USB port. XP (thru Parallels) installs automatically the drivers. However as soon as I start to print I get a BSOD!

I dl'ed the latetst drivers from the Epson site: same result!

Using the PDF is not (in this particular case) an acceptable option. I need to be able to print to the printer and not thru intermediate output.

I tried to connect to the printer thru the network but XP is not able to find it.


Is this a problem that is going to be solved or is my $39 learning money for me to never buy any Beta products anymore.

 

[daveef]

Amazing how ones mind changes LOL

When i first started Parallels I almost was inclined to agree with the topic of this thread, but as I use it more and get used to the things it does I have begun to like things about it

For example the USB Earthmate GPS not working with Parallels -- I have come up with this work around.

I make my maps in Parallels since DeLorme works perfectly in there except for the USB Earthmate GPS. Then I put the maps in the Shared Folder, Then I transfer the maps from the shared folder to the DeLorme maps folder in bootcamp. When i drive and want to use the GPS i boot up bootcamp and run the program there, Not a real problem since while driving i dont need to have access to my Mac OS any way

Now for printing to my shared printer , If i need to print a document from Parallels I save it as a PDF file and put it in shared folder and then print it from there using the Mac OS. Dont print much from windows anyway.

Last and not the most important:

Now the only problem is I would like my USB cam to work in parallels, But i can use bootcamp for that , just dont like having to reboot back and forth , Parallels would be the best if it did but , figure only a matter fo time till the camming program i use in Mac OS gets intel macs able to be recognised as a mac lol. Think the intel mac introduced some quirks in the camming world , lmao

Sorry for this long note , got carried away

 

[macgebruiker]

.........

I must say, I am amazed by your wisdom! {NOT}

 

[macgebruiker]

II think by the time Parallels is really ready and works like a normal XP should work, OSX Leopard is out already, too..

I am not so sure since Apple might be shooting itself in the foot by incorporating this type of software.

 

[Menace]

How much money have you spent so far?

$ 39,99

Even if you have pre-ordered you can cancel.

No, I`ve paid already.

If it doesn't work, take notes, report about what doesn't work and send to Parallels. ..

Done several times.

For me this is the best software model there is.

For me, too - if it works right.

The only people compaining probably think a mullet is a good hairstyle.

Bla Bla Bla. Did you eat too much rice?

 

[RickMaddy]

Everyone is jumping on macgebruiker here but he has several valid points. I've been using PW since beta 2 or 3. I pre purchased by beta 4 because it worked well enough (and still does as of RC2) for what I need. I'm willing to work with it's limitations and bugs. I'm a software developer, this sort of stuff doesn't bother me.

However, I have reported half a dozen bug reports directly to Parallels via their website and have never gotten a single reply. Several of my issues still exist. With no feedback I don't know if they even got my report. It's the not knowing that is the most frustrating.

And let's get one fact straight - this is NOT beta software anymore. They are on Release Candidate Two. That means something. It means the software is DONE. It is feature complete. They are just giving us a chance to find any remaining bugs that still may be lurking out there before they go public with the software.

In my opinion this software is far from ready given the constant reports of issues on these forums. I still have some minor issues too but not enough to give up. If Parallels releases this software to the public as-is they are going to be in big trouble. They can't even respond to the "few" beta testers they have now. What are they going to do when this goes public and everyone of those users starts complaining about their issues - it isn't going to be pretty.

Parallels needs to slow down, admit this software is still early beta at best, and fix all the big issues or they are going to have a support nightmare.

Scanning this forum it's obvious that there are serious USB and networking issues. There are still some sleep issues. I get the occassional hang where I have to kill the Paralles process. Windows reports my laptop is plugged in even when running on battery - ver bad when in full screen mode.

OK - that's enough. I'm still a happy customer and will gladly give them my money (already have) even in it's current state because I have eliminated an entire computer because of this software.

Enjoy,
Rick

 

[Menace]

Well said RickMaddy.

Unfortunately I still have to use my PC for an important USB 2.0 device (SCR335 Smart Card Reader). I would be glad to get rid of the additional PC, too .

 

[dkp]

Maybe you don't know it yet but the product is being sold and many people (read other messages) dit already buy it! And since there is no reaction at all from Parallels I have a good right to wonder whether the endproduct will suffice!

Let's try this again - you bought (and I bought two of them), GA versions of Parallels. That version is not shipping yet. You don't have it, I don't have it. What we have are buggy cantankerous release candidates for the purpose of testing. We are part of a testing process. If we see a problem we report it along with enough information that the developers can try to reproduce it. Hopefully they can and it will be fixed. We have no support contract with them to correct our problems while running the RC/beta versions and they are under no obligation to provide help. Welcome to beta testing.

If your USB or network printing doesn't work you should report that, too.

How am I supposed to find out "Why it does not work"? I have no access whatsoever to internals of Parallels nor OSX!

This is not required. You have no access to the internals of windows and have probably gotten through sharing printers. You should report what doesn't work, what you did to try to get it to work, and possibly share that information in this forum where others may be able to help. Just don't expect to get customer support on a beta or release candidate distribution. That isn't how beta testing works.

To close in on the problem a bit, can your guest OS see any shared printers anywhere on your net? If not you may have a Windows problem.

dp

 

[macgebruiker]

To close in on the problem a bit, can your guest OS see any shared printers anywhere on your net? If not you may have a Windows problem.dp

It is (almost) certainly no Windows problem.

If (example) I use Bonjour to connect to the printer. On the Windows part all looks fine, it says "printing ..." a.s.o..

On the OSX side however nothing is printed at all. The file never appears in the waiting que (preferences, printers, waiting que) but does end up on the list containing all the printed files?

This is the easiest of all examples I can give. All the other ways that I connect (auto: selecting the printer in de devices list) or (thru printing to a shared printer) or (manually installing the device driver) all end up with a BSOD.

And for the Nth time: Yes I do understand it is Beta software and I do understand it contains bugs. But like I (and some other people to) earlier stated it is called RC2. To me that means only small errors should still be ironed out. And printing is in my eyes (administrative usage) a prime factor. However there are too many USB problems to call it RC2.

All that does not mean that I do not find Parallels a marvellous product. It solves many problems for Mac users that must run apps not available for OSX. It is a way way better solution that Boot Camp or having XP & OSX on my desk.

 

[Menace]

For me Parallels will become 100% useFULL if don`t need my additional PC anymore.

The people who complain about complaints probably have no problems with Parallels cause they only play Solitaire - BUT some people just do more on a PC than this .

 

[Parallels User]

I do have to say that Solitaire works great in Parallels . So does Office, Visual Studio 2005 Team System, Crystal Reports 10 and the VPN to my office. I don't print or use hardware with it, though.

I find it 100% useful, particularly RC2.

 

[schmidp]

I'm also using bonjour on my windows server 2003 installation in paralles and it works great.

printing from windows over bonjour works every single time for me. I'm using a HP Deskjet 990cxi btw.

 

[MatthewR]

Um, because thats why we bought Parallels. maybe? You see it from the technical implementation side, that is you see it as a VM. I see it from the customer side. A way of runing Windows and Windows apps without having to get a second computer and reboot. I don't want to have to deal workarounds and bridge this and bridge that.

About USB sharing. VirtualPC on my PowerPC mac does that resonably well, so it is not impossible. Also, not everything can be shared. You gave a printer example. What about the many of us that need to use a different USB device. In my case, I use a USB-Serial adapter to communicate with a piece of lab equipment. I have my own software on the Mac that does data acquision, but the software to calibrate and test the equipment is Windows only. I don't want to have to remove the Mac drivers (or run kextunload) every time I want to use Parallels. Parallels advertises USB sharing so thery should deliver that. Obviously we can't have Mac and Windows apps using the divice simultaniously, but Parallels should be able to capture the device when the device is selectedc. I am willling to give them time to get that runing, but it was a key advertised feature that, if not implemented, renders Parallels useless to a great many customers.

Great that you have a workaround for your printer, but don't assume that because your problem is solved that way, that the rest of us are in the same position.

Regards,

rcomeau

Just as you say, you bought it to run Windows applications, that's what it does. What it doesn't do is let Windows run any crazy hardware you throw at it. I do not beleive I've even seen USB 'sharing' advertised by Parallels, and they have clearly said that OS X must NOT be using a device if the VM is to have direct access to it.

For the USB-serial adapter, again, there is a proper way to handle this. Let OS X load its driver on the USB device and expose it as a serial port. Have Parallels use that physical serial port and provide access to the VM. Serial ports aren't owned full-time like USB devices. The onlty problem with this is Parallels hasn't added support for mapping a virtual serial port to a physical one. VirtualPC does handle this and this is the preferred solution there as well. Both Windows and OS X apps can access the port without going and loading/unloading drivers all the time to control who owns it.

My point is the reason to have Parallels is to run a few apps. If you want to start using Windows only hardware and run all Windows apps, then just save yourself the money and hassle and run Windows natively.

 

[aimbie]

USB Printing

I had the same problems with BSOD when trying to print. I increase the amount of memory that Parallel uses from 256MB to 1GB and the problem went away and I can print fine now. You might try this.

 

[nhand42]

My god, are you beta testers or what?

In my opinion this software is far from ready given the constant reports of issues on these forums.

And there's the real problem; Parallels had an open forum where people could read the reports of other beta testers. That's common in the open-source world but it's completely abnormal for beta testing. It allows people to bitch and moan about their own issues and read the bitching and moaning of everybody else as well. The end result is an impression that the software is nigh on useless. The truth is the exact opposite; this software works so well for so many people that we plonked down our $39.99 back at B2. Every improvement and feature since then has been pure gravy.

Take this thread as the perfect example. An Epson printer didn't work for one person. Nevermind that the alleged "beta tester" never bothered to list (a) the version of XP (b) the patch level (c) the version of the Epson driver (d) the patch level of OS X (e) the exact configuration. Nevermind that XP is what crashed, which is perfectly normal for Windows. Nevermind that the "beta tester" didn't confirm that XP on a normal machine with similar configuration does work with these particular Epson drivers. Nevermind all the other beta testers who do have working USB printers. Hey, my own experience is that my USB thumbdrive, my USB camera, and my USB iRiver all work flawlessly inside the guest OS.

No, all we hear are complaints from this one very vocal and angry "beta tester" who is doing absolutely nothing to help Parallels solve the problem. That's the quid pro quo here; you get free access to Parallels' software and you are expected to give them decent bug reports. You're not supposed to give mindless and unhelpful complaints. You're not supposed to demand (and that's exactly what this person has done) that Parallels drops everything they're doing and attend to you personally and immediately. You're not supposed to assume that your problem is somehow the most critical problem, without which the product itself is entirely useless to the entire world. You're certainly not supposed to write inflammatory comments with loaded Subjects such as "Did I buy a useless product". That's supposed to be helping Parallels solve the problem with this guys printer? Give me a break.

I'm reminded of today's comment on planet.gnome.org: end-users seem to think any problem that affects them personally is critical. That's not the way priorities work from Parallels point of view.

Perhaps this beta should have been accompanied with a condition of terms that set out the obligations that you owe to Parallels as a beta tester. At the very least it should have said that whining would get you banned from the forums.

 

[Scott Willsey]

Let's try this again - you bought (and I bought two of them), GA versions of Parallels. That version is not shipping yet. You don't have it, I don't have it. What we have are buggy cantankerous release candidates for the purpose of testing.

I think anything labeled RC should have most bugs ironed out, the functionality planned should be in place for anything labeled RC. This is the standard most software companies use.

I'm NOT debating the issue of whether or not Parallels as is should or should not be RC... but I AM saying that anything labeled RC should be feature complete and not have major bugs.

IF a lot of people continue to have USB and networking problems, then they may have a valid complaint if they feel that if released as is, the product may not be suitable for them.

Again, I'm not arguing for or against the suitability of Parallels one way or the other. I'm pointing out that, to most people (and rightly so) an RC is not the same as a beta and there are and should be different expectations.

 

[zaph]

I had the same problems with BSOD when trying to print. I increase the amount of memory that Parallel uses from 256MB to 1GB and the problem went away and I can print fine now. You might try this.

There we go, an actual possible solution rather than a diatribe on beta vs RC2 vs final release and bugs, support response etc, etc. If the subject for this thread had actual been "BSOD printing via USB in XP" the poster probably would have gotten a quick response and had it fixed already.

 

[RickMaddy]

And there's the real problem; Parallels had an open forum where people could read the reports of other beta testers. That's common in the open-source world but it's completely abnormal for beta testing. It allows people to bitch and moan about their own issues and read the bitching and moaning of everybody else as well. The end result is an impression that the software is nigh on useless. The truth is the exact opposite; this software works so well for so many people that we plonked down our $39.99 back at B2. Every improvement and feature since then has been pure gravy.

The Parallels for Mac forums are full of positive posts. It's far from all negative. Of course there are plenty of "negative" posts because as in any beta there are problems. As a reader of this forum I see both good and bad but any reader/user needs to make their own decisions as to the usefulness for their needs. These forums have helped way more than they have hurt.

Take this thread as the perfect example. An Epson printer didn't work for one person. Nevermind that the alleged "beta tester" never bothered to list (a) the version of XP (b) the patch level (c) the version of the Epson driver (d) the patch level of OS X (e) the exact configuration. Nevermind that XP is what crashed, which is perfectly normal for Windows. Nevermind that the "beta tester" didn't confirm that XP on a normal machine with similar configuration does work with these particular Epson drivers. Nevermind all the other beta testers who do have working USB printers. Hey, my own experience is that my USB thumbdrive, my USB camera, and my USB iRiver all work flawlessly inside the guest OS.

Actually the original poster has clearly stated all the tests he has done. Maybe not in the original post but in a later one anyway. And virtually no one is saying USB doesn't work at all. Of course those who do have problems will be more vocal than those that don't. It's the point of the forums. To point out problems and seek help. If it works for you, you don't have much reason to post here.

No, all we hear are complaints from this one very vocal and angry "beta tester" who is doing absolutely nothing to help Parallels solve the problem. That's the quid pro quo here; you get free access to Parallels' software and you are expected to give them decent bug reports. You're not supposed to give mindless and unhelpful complaints. You're not supposed to demand (and that's exactly what this person has done) that Parallels drops everything they're doing and attend to you personally and immediately. You're not supposed to assume that your problem is somehow the most critical problem, without which the product itself is entirely useless to the entire world. You're certainly not supposed to write inflammatory comments with loaded Subjects such as "Did I buy a useless product". That's supposed to be helping Parallels solve the problem with this guys printer? Give me a break.

I'll agree the original post was far from ideal but the poster made it clear he has posted feedback to Parallels. And as someone who has done the same (posted feedback), the lack of any response of any kind from Parallels does leave you feeling as if they don't care and sometimes frustration gets the best of a person.

I'm reminded of today's comment on planet.gnome.org: end-users seem to think any problem that affects them personally is critical. That's not the way priorities work from Parallels point of view.

It's just human nature to think that way and the reality is is they are correct. Any bug that keeps you from doing your work is critical. I also understand software development too (been doing it for 20 years). All of us beta testers are Parallels greatest asset. It is we that will allow them to put out their best product by giving them good feedback. But it goes both ways. They need to let us know once in a while that they are listening. I'm not expecting they drop everything to address my specific issue. I'm simply asking for some acknowlegement - Yes, thanks for the info, we knew of that or oops, that's a new one - we'll look into it, or sorry. low priority, we'll add it to the list for later. Heck, I'd rather they told me to f*** off than just ignoring my feedback.

Anyway, this thread is getting a bit long and off topic. Sorry for adding to it.