Posted on 08/25/2009 7:35:29 PM PDT by Star Traveler
Parallels to make switching to the Mac easier, safe and painless
August 24, 2009
by Dean Takahashi
In the Windows vs. Mac war, we are at a crossroads. Apple is launching its Snow Leopard version of the Mac operating system on Friday at the low price of $29. Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system will launch in October with the primary aim of fixing the problems created by Windows Vista.
There has never been a better time to switch to the Mac. Parallels, which makes software so you can run Windows or Mac software on the same machine and use them at the same time, is jumping on the opportunity. Today, it is launching Parallels Desktop 4.0 Switch to Mac Edition software.
The goal is to extend a lifeline to frustrated PC users by making it dead simple to switch from Windows to the Mac OS X. It includes a universal serial bus (USB) cable that you connect between your older Windows computer and a new Mac. It automatically starts a utility that transfers all of the programs and important data from the old computer to the new one. It then allows you to run properly licensed Windows programs on the Mac.
Renton, Wash.-based Parallels has made its virtualization software for many years and it now has 700 employees. It launched the fourth edition of its Parallels Desktop product last year. It creates a software layer that allows a computer to run both Mac and Windows software programs at the same time.
This software is dangerous to Microsoft. With the new Mac OS priced at $29, Apple clearly is going after “switchers.” If there are enough switchers, then Microsoft may have to start worrying about competition from Apple again, if it hasn’t already been worried enough. Right now, about half of all Macs being sold are going to Windows users who have never owned a Mac before.
Serguei Beloussov, chief executive of Parallels, said in an interview that many people who want to switch have been intimidated in the past because they didn’t understand how to do it without losing data or throwing away investments in software. Beloussov said the company has addressed those concerns by including how-to videos as tutorials and simplifying the transfer tools.
In the past, virtualization software has run slowly as it translates programs from one environment to another. But Beloussov said that with today’s modern hardware, the slowdown is not perceptible. Parallels software can even run a variety of games, which are among the most demanding applications. You still can’t run some games with highly realistic 3-D graphics, such as Far Cry 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, or Crysis.
The Parallels software also comes with two hours of tutorials that teach people how to use the Mac and help them understand the differences between the Mac and Windows. With Parallels, you can run Windows and Mac programs side-by-side. I think it’s cool that Parallels has stopped thinking like it was just a utility company and is now thinking of how to broaden the market for its software — and the Mac. The software costs $99.99.
This makes it absolutely dead-simple, like falling off a log. Want to run some programs from "Microsoft Windows" a little bit longer and have a Macintosh computer, too. Well, with this -- you run *both* side-by-side, and you can't tell you're running Windows at the same time that you're running the regular Macintosh Operating System (Mac OS X)... :-)
Unbelievable, I say... (it really is).
I think Macintosh is the only computer around that can run -- 100% -- of the software for Windows and Mac and at the very same time...
AND..., for you UNIX geeks you have UNIX underneath everything in addition to that... LOL... (so run UNIX, Mac OS X and Windows -- all at the same time...).
Now, I know most of the Mac people know this already, but I thought I would put it up there for a large number of others who probably don’t know this... :-)
hi, im frank from pittsburgh, AND IM A FREAKIN PC.
(NOW AND FOREVER)
The funny thing ... is ... I hear Windows runs faster on a Mac... LOL...
I’ll get interested when I see the mythical open-source Exchange killer.
I think it’s really ironic that Snow Leopard is shipping with antivirus.
Ahhh..., you spotted my other post... :-)
INTEGO SPOTS MALWARE BLOCKER IN SNOW LEOPARD (Apple Mac OS X)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2324465/posts
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No one has confirmed this yet, so it’s still not sure.... we’ve seen these types of things show up in a beta, only to be removed on final release. But, the release is taking place at the end of the week, so we’ll see fairly soon...
Don’t tempt me. I bought a new PC, 3 gig ram, big hard drive, dvd thingie, flat screen monitor for $399 at best buy. A compaq presario maybe, I didn’t read the docs.
Of course, now my word perfect doesn’t work right. Can’t save documents. Even tho same system as on laptop. GOD I want to throw things at Bill Gates!
parsy, who is still on edge
Mac, the kinder and gentlier way to do computers.:)
Bookmark
I love Parallels! I’m running it right now... absolute life-saver in my business.
From a previous Windows Guru
I went through the original Windows systems after being a DOS user and am now on a MAC. MacBook to be precise.
Simplicity and the ease of operating multi system tasks. The MAC was indeed more expensive on the original outlay yet again it slid in real easily.
got a macbook pro this week - on it right now - hands down my best laptop ever
Glad to hear that... and welcome aboard... :-)
Being that you’re a relatively new Mac user... I’ll let you (and others, too) know this. It’s never spelled as “MAC”... as that’s actually something else. It’s always “Mac” ... just to let y’all know...
See below...
The Media Access Control (MAC) data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Medium Access Control, is a sublayer of the Data Link Layer specified in the seven-layer OSI model (layer 2). It provides addressing and channel access control mechanisms that make it possible for several terminals or network nodes to communicate within a multipoint network, typically a local area network (LAN) or metropolitan area network (MAN). The hardware that implements the MAC is referred to as a Medium Access Controller.
The MAC sub-layer acts as an interface between the Logical Link Control (LLC) sublayer and the network’s physical layer. The MAC layer emulates a full-duplex logical communication channel in a multipoint network. This channel may provide unicast, multicast or broadcast communication service.
Addressing mechanism
The MAC layer addressing mechanism is called physical address or MAC address. This is a unique serial number assigned to each network adapter, making it possible to deliver data packets to a destination within a subnetwork, i.e. a physical network consisting of one or several network segments interconnected by repeaters, hubs, bridges and switches, but not by IP routers. An IP router may interconnect several subnets.
Media Access Control
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Access_Control
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In other words, the “Mac” has a “MAC” address, too... :-)
Ummm.., we’ve got a number of “switchers” here on this thread that other Macintosh users may like to talk to... :-)
Cool... glad to hear that... I agree 100% ...
I must buy a new desk top next month . Seriously thinking about making the switch . I should mention , I am in Japan and have a Japanese wife so whatever computer we buy will have to have a Japanese keyboard / etc...I can do most of what I want with Windows in Japanese as that is all I have ever used at home and in the faculty room at school . Worried about the learning curve that would be involved with a Japanese iMac .
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