Parallels 8 now available with 30% faster 3D graphics, 25% faster Windows startup

Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac officially launched to the public on Tuesday, offering new features like support for Apple's Retina display MacBook Pro, along with improved performance and faster startup times.

The new Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac promises up to 30 percent faster 3D graphics compared to previous versions. In addition, users will be able to stop, start and resume Windows on their Mac more quickly, with boot times of the operating system improved by as much as 25 percent.

Parallels 8 allows Mac owners to run almost any operating system on their computers. The latest version has been optimized to work with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple's latest Mac operating system.

The software launched for existing Parallels users last week, but as of Tuesday it is now publicly available for all to purchase. Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac costs $79.99 for new customers, $39.99 for students, and $49.99 for owners of previous versions. A free trial is also available, as well as the $99.99 "Switch to Mac Edition" for current Windows users.

Alternatively, customers in the market for a new Mac can get Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac for free when purchasing their Mac of choice from Apple authorized reseller B&H Photo. To take advantage of the offer, shoppers need to simply click the link on B&H's Mac product pages that says "Click Here To Select your Choice of FREE Software" (pictured below) and then select Parallels 8 for $0.00. Customers also have the option of receiving a free copy of File Maker Bento 4 instead of Parallels. B&H's discounted Mac pricing can be seen every day in AppleInsider's Mac Price Guide.

Parallels 8 takes advantage of features in Mountain Lion and applies them to Windows programs, like support for Launchpad, Dictation, Notification Center and Mission Control. Users can also drag and drop files from the desktop onto dock icons for Windows applications like Outlook.

Windows apps in OS X Launchpad and IE in Dock. | Source: Parallels

Windows applications can also be added to the Launchpad in Mountain Lion, allowing users to quickly launch the Mac and Windows software they use the most.

A new Parallels Mobile App also allows users to copy and paste, enjoy audio, and access their Mac and Windows programs with an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

Parallels 8 multi-OS support. | Source: Parallels

With Parallels 8, multiple platforms, referred to as guests, can run at the same time. Guest applications can also be accessed across operating systems including Internet Explorer, which received its own toolbar button in Safari to be used when a user navigates to a web page not properly formatted for Apple's browser. As previously mentioned, IE or other non-native programs can be inserted into the Dock for easy access.

The virtualization software also features seamless trackpad gestures, such as pinch-to-zoom, swiping between full-screen apps and two-finger scrolling, which are now supported on the Windows side. Parallels 8 also features Bluetooth sharing and VM resource management assets.

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28 Comments

solipsismx

said about 11 years ago

No one can say they aren't pushing the envelope with clever and new features, unfortunately I find it's more prone to crash than VMWare Fusion and just don't care for their business tactics.

kcartesius

said about 11 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolipsismX

No one can say they aren't pushing the envelope with clever and new features, unfortunately I find it's more prone to crash than VMWare Fusion and just don't care for their business tactics.

Could you please give an example of those business tactics you apparently don't like - was just thinking about buying, but now I feel there's at least something more I should know. Thanks in advance!

djrumpy

said about 11 years ago

I just dislike their forced upgrade. They obsolete old software that isn't even two years old all to get some supposed tweak that is of no importance, and questionable gains in speed. If the gains posted since v2 were true, the VM's would be running faster than the real deal at this point.

They dropped support for P6 way too soon (1 Year and 10 Months). I was left in this boat with P7. I skipped the upgrade since it again offered nothing of value and boasted claims of the typical 30% increase in performance for some obscure function in Windows. Meanwhile, the Parallels folks never updated P6 when Lion was released to use 64 bit kext's, even knowing Mountain Lion would be the last to support 32 bit for many months prior to P7's release. They then tried to claim ML was 'radically different'. It's no better than a pay to play scheme. I wasn't the only one more than upset about this:

http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=261103

Virtualbox is cheaper in that it's free and serves my purposes.

jragosta

said about 11 years ago

[quote name="DJRumpy" url="/t/152316/parallels-8-now-available-with-30-faster-3d-graphics-25-faster-windows-startup#post_2181864"]I just dislike their forced upgrade. They obsolete old software that isn't even two years old all to get some supposed tweak that is of no importance, and questionable gains in speed. [/quote] How does that force you to upgrade? They come out with a new version every year or so - no one is making you upgrade. [quote name="DJRumpy" url="/t/152316/parallels-8-now-available-with-30-faster-3d-graphics-25-faster-windows-startup#post_2181864"]If the gains posted since v2 were true, the VM's would be running faster than the real deal at this point.[/quote] Where have you been for the past 20 years? EVERY computer software company hypes their product. [quote name="DJRumpy" url="/t/152316/parallels-8-now-available-with-30-faster-3d-graphics-25-faster-windows-startup#post_2181864"]They dropped support for P6 way too soon (1 Year and 10 Months). I was left in this boat with P7. I skipped the upgrade since it again offered nothing of value and boasted claims of the typical 30% increase in performance for some obscure function in Windows. Meanwhile, the Parallels folks never updated P6 when Lion was released to use 64 bit kext's, even knowing Mountain Lion would be the last to support 32 bit for many months prior to P7's release. They then tried to claim ML was 'radically different'. It's no better than a pay to play scheme. I wasn't the only one more than upset about this: [URL=http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=261103]http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=261103[/URL][/quote] So don't buy the upgrade. Problem solved. Besides, my head is spinning from trying to follow your complaint. On one hand, you criticize them for upgrading too frequently, and then you spin around and criticize them for not upgrading soon enough. Oh, I get it - you want unlimited free upgrades for no matter how long you might use the software. Not realistic. [quote name="DJRumpy" url="/t/152316/parallels-8-now-available-with-30-faster-3d-graphics-25-faster-windows-startup#post_2181864"]Virtualbox is cheaper in that it's free and serves my purposes. [/quote] And it has some very serious deficiencies. For example, if you want to run Boot Camp on your computer, Virtualbox won't recognize the Boot Camp disk - so you need TWO Windows drives on your computer (which is especially problematic if you're using a smaller drive like an SSD). You probably also need to buy two Windows licenses - which wipes out the savings from using Virtualbox.

enzos

said about 11 years ago

I too use VMWare .. it plus Win7 fires up in just 16 seconds on the 13" MBAir (with ML). It does everything I have it for (running ChemBioOffice and opening oddball windas-only files) without crashing or complaining. Parallels I haven't tried coz I have no need to (see previous sentence). The VMWare people don't hassle you with frequent updates but they're there when needed (e.g. v 4.1.3 for ML the day it came out).