Parallels Desktop for Mac is the leading virtualization solution for the Mac, enabling Mac users to run Windows simultaneously with their Mac OS X on any Intel-powered iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, & Mac Pro Towers.

The latest release of Parallels delivers easy to use migration tools, USB 2.0 support, innovative Coherence technology, and much more. It’s never been easier to run Mac OS and Microsoft Windows side by side.

With Parallels Desktop for Mac, you can:

• Run your favorite Mac and Windows applications at the same time without rebooting
• Seamlessly connect to any network in both Mac OS and Windows using a shared network connection
• Achieve a high level performance for Windows on your Mac by leveraging Intel and AMD virtualization technology - industry leading solutions available on from Parallels Software
• Copy and paste items between your Mac desktop and your Windows desktop
• Quickly create multiple virtual machines by using the new Parallels Installation Assistant
• Create “Active” backups by using Parallels Desktop for Mac in conjunction with Parallels Compressor
• Achieve optimal virtual machine performance and reduce disk space by 50% or more with the new Parallels Compressor
  

Innovative features

• Use Windows and Mac OS X at the same time…without rebooting
• New! Open Windows files with Mac programs and Mac files in Windows programs with Parallels SmartSelect
• Share files and folders between Windows and Mac OS X
• New! Browse through Windows folders and access files without launching Windows with Parallels Explorer
• New! Run today’s most popular PC games on a Mac with support for 3D graphics
• Achieve maximum performance by leveraging Intel® Virtualization Technology
• New! Protect your Windows with Parallels Snapshots
• Migrate your entire existing PC to your Mac with Parallels Transporter
• Parallels Installation Assistant making installing Parallels Desktop for Mac easier than before
• Parallels Coherence providing seamless integration and allowing you to maintain a single, integrated environment for running all of your applications
• Parallels Transporter allowing you to easily migrate your existing system to any Parallels enabled computer.
• Full USB 2.0 support allowing you to connect all of your favorite devices to your operating system of choice
• Full support for OS X and Windows Vista
• Automatic network configuration seamlessly connecting your new virtual system to the Internet without any manual network reconfiguration
• Plus a host of innovative enhancements and other new features
  • Interface & Performance
  • Device Support
  • Boot Camp support
  • Seamless Integration
  • PC Migration
  • Networking

Why is Parallels Desktop the best solution for running Windows on a Mac?

• Unmatched Ease of Use
  Parallels Desktop for Mac is easy to download, install and use. Download the program and install it with a single click. Build a virtual machine in seconds using helpful wizards. Configure virtual machines on the fly using a simple, web-inspired interface.
• Run any OS at the same time as Mac OS X
  Use any version of Windows (3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP, 2003), any Linux distribution, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation, or MS-DOS in secure virtual machines running alongside – not instead of - Mac OS X.
• Build virtual machines that work exactly like stand-alone Windows computers
  Use applications, access the internet, and work with any piece of hardware just like you would on a real computer, without the hassle of shutting down or booting up OSes or switching between terminals.
• Easily share files and folders between Windows and Mac OS X
  Using the Parallels Shared Folders tool, you can easily share documents and folders, or cut and paste data, between any Windows XP, 2003 or 2000 virtual machine and your Mac OS X machine. No networking or complicated set up required!
• Optimise virtual machine performance and save storage space with built-in Parallels Compressor technology
  Parallels Desktop for Mac includes Parallels Compressor, a powerful built in tool that can improve virtual machine performance and conserve hard drive space by reducing the size of virtual hard disk images by 50% or more.

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About Parallels Desktop

Parallels Desktop is the most powerful, easy-to-use, cost-effective desktop virtualisation solution available today. It empowers any user, from experienced professional developers to sales executives and casual home users, with the ability to create completely networked, totally secure independent virtual machines on a single physical machine.

Parallels Desktop is powered by a lightweight hypervisor, a thin layer of software that is between part of the host computer’s hardware and the primary operating system. The lightweight hypervisor controls some of the host computer's hardware resources, resulting in dramatically more stable, more secure, and higher-performing virtual machines.

Parallels Desktop's sophisticated virtualisation engine enables each virtual machine to operate identically to a stand-alone computer. Each virtual machine works with its own processor, RAM, floppy, CD and DVD drives, I/O devices, and hard disk – everything a physical computer contains. Parallels Desktop has a set of special tools (utilities and drivers) that enhances the performance and functionality of your guest operating system (mouse synchronisation tool, clipboard synchronisation tool, etc.).

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x), which is incorporated in the newest Intel processors, provides enhancements implemented into processor architecture that are specially designed for platforms running multiple operating systems. VT-enabled processors facilitate more efficient virtual machine partitioning and more precise virtual processor simulation. An extended set of processor instructions performs on a hardware level tasks previously realised programmatically, thus reducing virtualisation overhead and improving virtual machine performance, security and stability. Intel Virtualization Technology is fully supported by Parallels Desktop. If Parallels Desktop detects a VT-enabled CPU, support is automatically turned on if it is not blocked in BIOS.

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Operating System Support

Guest OS Support
Parallels Desktop supports multiple operating systems for use as guest operating systems running on virtual machines.

The current version of the Parallels Desktop officially supports the following guest operating systems:

Multiple Windows operating systems, including:
Windows 2003 Standard Edition SP0, SP1
Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition SP0, SP1
Windows 2003 Web Edition SP0, SP1
Windows XP Professional SP0, SP1, SP2
Windows XP Home SP0, SP1, SP2
Windows 2000 Professional Edition SP4
Windows 2000 Server SP4
Windows 2000 Advanced Sever SP4
Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP6
Windows NT Server 4.0 SP6
Windows ME
Windows 98
Windows 95
Windows 3.11
Windows 3.1

Multiple Linux operating systems, including:
Fedora Core Linux 3, 4
RedHat Enterprise Linux WS3, WS4
RedHat Enterprise Linux AS4
RedHat Enterprise Linux ES3, ES4
RedHat Redhat Linux 7.3, 8, 9
Debian Linux 3.1
SUSE Linux 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3
Mandriva Linux 9.2, 10, 10.1

FreeBSD:
FreeBSD 4.1, 4.3, 4.5, 5.4

Multiple operating systems from the OS/2 and eComStation family:
OS/2 warp 3, 4, 4.5
eComStation 1.1, 1.2

Sun Solaris:
Sun Solaris 9, 10

MS-DOS:
MS-DOS 6.22

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Requirements

Hardware Requirements
In order to install and successfully run Parallels Desktop you should have:

• An Intel-powered CoreDuo or CoreSolo Mac Mini, iMac, MacBook or MacBook Pro.
• A minimum of 512MB of RAM. 1GB recommended.
• 30MB of available hard drive space for Parallels Desktop installation, plus sufficient space to allocate to virtual machines. 15GB of hard drive space is recommended.

Software Requirements

• Parallels Desktop can be successfully installed if you are running Mac OS X 10.4.6 or higher as your operating system

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