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Parallels 8 with Retina Support Now Available for Existing Customers
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If the VM is open it is allocated the full amount of RAM that you've set for the VM regardless if it is running anything within the VM or not. Parallels does the same thing. There is no easy / good way for them to code around this. If you're running OSX Photoshop it is likely eating up huge amounts of memory as well; thus you're starving out OSX and slows down your machine. Either don't run the VM unless you need it. Close out Photoshop if possible. Reduce the amount of RAM given to the VM. Or upgrade the memory in your machine.
Did they fix the issues with the mouse in games? Anytime I'd play a game the mouse would go all crazy. Even with smartmouse off and turning down the mouse speed all the way it was still unmanageable.
Have it installed and running Win8.
I have set it to use 2 cores and 2 GB RAM and I must say it is running quickly.
Trying to run it through some of it's paces and my beef is not with P8 but more with Win8.
I am so not used to not having a Start menu that it is taking me much longer to find bit of information.
Sure once you re-learn where things are it is ok but, personally I am finding this a tougher transition going from Win7 to 8 than it was to go from Win to OS X.
... but back to Parallels.
Currently using P8 in Windowed Mode.
It was too tough to use Windows 8 in coherence just because I could not get my cursor to activate any of the various "hot corners". Windowed mode works just fine.
In Activity Monitor I am only seeing Parallels itself using 244.4MB of RAM
The VM with 2 IE Windows up, Windows Explorer open is using 940.7 MB of RAM.
On the "Live Tile"/Start screen I am seeing 6-10% CPU usage while on the regular desktop I am seeing a steady 3.3% usage.
Parallels itself is using approx. 0.2-0.8% CPU Usage.
Task Manager shows Windows using less than 1% idle.
Task Manager showing Window using 702MB of RAM.
I have iStat Menus and my temperatures are sitting at their normal idle temps
I have set it to use 2 cores and 2 GB RAM and I must say it is running quickly.
Trying to run it through some of it's paces and my beef is not with P8 but more with Win8.
I am so not used to not having a Start menu that it is taking me much longer to find bit of information.
Sure once you re-learn where things are it is ok but, personally I am finding this a tougher transition going from Win7 to 8 than it was to go from Win to OS X.
... but back to Parallels.
Currently using P8 in Windowed Mode.
It was too tough to use Windows 8 in coherence just because I could not get my cursor to activate any of the various "hot corners". Windowed mode works just fine.
In Activity Monitor I am only seeing Parallels itself using 244.4MB of RAM
The VM with 2 IE Windows up, Windows Explorer open is using 940.7 MB of RAM.
On the "Live Tile"/Start screen I am seeing 6-10% CPU usage while on the regular desktop I am seeing a steady 3.3% usage.
Parallels itself is using approx. 0.2-0.8% CPU Usage.
Task Manager shows Windows using less than 1% idle.
Task Manager showing Window using 702MB of RAM.
I have iStat Menus and my temperatures are sitting at their normal idle temps
To overcome this issue, resellers typically sell OEM software and combine it with free hardware or software - thus making the purchase eligible for Parallels Upgrade offer.
In reality however, Parallels upgrade procedure doesn't look for this.
Yeah, and it looks like her headset isn't working well either -- having to push it closer to her ear so she can hear better.
Yet another "indispensable" paid upgrade from the chief virtualization milkers - no, thanks.
I bought Parallels 6 not so long ago (in 2011) and it's already incompatible/useless under ML - so now one has to fork out 3x the price of ML just to install it with Apple's latest OS? Not to mention that their knowledge base article, which stated until the eve of ML's launch that Parallels 6 and 7 would be compatible with ML, was conveniently doctored in order to refer only to Parallels 7 as a "ML-compatible" version.
Just check the Parallels for Mac forums - the uproar against such "mandatory" annual paid upgrades is palpable. Their customer service practices, pathetic. They should, at the very least, make version 7 free for all licensed Parallels 6 users.
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Same here - tried Parallels and decided it was close to useless to me. I already have Mac Office 2011 and many of the latest games; what is Windows needed for? Nothing.
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Yes, they love it. Answer with your pocket and don't pay them any more.
Just got home and found an email thanking me for being a valued beta tester with a free upgrade key for Parallels 8 ... having bought it at lunchtime.
At least I've got a two licenses for v8 now so the mini is definitely getting an upgrade to Mountain Lion at the weekend.
At least I've got a two licenses for v8 now so the mini is definitely getting an upgrade to Mountain Lion at the weekend.
Yes, after opening Parallels, you get these ads that you have to close before continuing.
I don't know what apps you're using but none of my paid apps on several of my Macs comes with those offers/ads.
Remember that we're not talking about just the first one, different offers will show up after a few months. The "Do not show this again" is for that specific offer, you'll get a different offer/ad that requires you to do "do not show this again" check again. You'll get one for anti-malware, one for VPN service and so on.
As for Parallels 8, that's not really a good start, once you pay for the app, you should not be getting any offers/ads, period. They can email you about it but they are not supposed to show up in any paid/registered apps.
Makes me laugh that people are flying off the handle about the ads (you can disable, even if you do have to view them 1 time.)
Yet will pay $50-$200 a month for cable or go see a movie that they pay $15 per ticket for that is littered with ads. Oh you don't have cable or o go to the movies? How about riding the bus, or a cab ride, pretty sure they have ads too. In fact i could probably name hundreds of things people pay for that also have ads.
Its not like they are popping up in the middle of a work session or a banner across the top or along the side.
I know i know, some people just like to complain, always been that way, always will. Actually it's free entertainment for me to watch people spaz out about mundane things. (without ads even!)
Guess I should complain about the businesses down the street I can see from my front door, i mean i paid 6 figures for my house and a few thousand dollars a year in property tax, why should I have to see ads for their business every time I check the mail or drive home.
Anyway I am sure this will get some peoples panties all in a bunch, but just so you know, when you do quote me and try to rationalize your irrational behavior I will in fact be really laughing at you in real life about your petty rants.
Yet will pay $50-$200 a month for cable or go see a movie that they pay $15 per ticket for that is littered with ads. Oh you don't have cable or o go to the movies? How about riding the bus, or a cab ride, pretty sure they have ads too. In fact i could probably name hundreds of things people pay for that also have ads.
Its not like they are popping up in the middle of a work session or a banner across the top or along the side.
I know i know, some people just like to complain, always been that way, always will. Actually it's free entertainment for me to watch people spaz out about mundane things. (without ads even!)
Guess I should complain about the businesses down the street I can see from my front door, i mean i paid 6 figures for my house and a few thousand dollars a year in property tax, why should I have to see ads for their business every time I check the mail or drive home.
Anyway I am sure this will get some peoples panties all in a bunch, but just so you know, when you do quote me and try to rationalize your irrational behavior I will in fact be really laughing at you in real life about your petty rants.
I have been using both for long time. I have Fusion 3 and Parallels 6 and I'm ready to upgrade but only one this time. I like Fusion more but the feature I like from Parallels is the convinience of the iPad App.
Er... I never had ad in parallels 7. Are you saying you are getting more ads than previously reported?
VMWare 5 and Parallels 8 Win Index
Downloaded VMWare 5 trial and just upgraded my Parallels 7 to version 8. Run same Win 7 configuration (64-bit, 2 GB RAM) on //s 7, the new 8 and VM5, and the Windows Index values are:
Win Index (CPU/RAM/UI/Game/HD)
//s7 4,7/5,5/5,5/2,0/7,5
//s8 4,7/5,5/5,9/5,1/7,5
VM 5 5,4/5,5/5,9/4,9/7,8
During my use (heavy editing, big files, DB reindexing) I have not perceived any difference between any of them.
My Mac is a 2012 MBA i7, 8GB, 256 SSD, 11"
Edric
Downloaded VMWare 5 trial and just upgraded my Parallels 7 to version 8. Run same Win 7 configuration (64-bit, 2 GB RAM) on //s 7, the new 8 and VM5, and the Windows Index values are:
Win Index (CPU/RAM/UI/Game/HD)
//s7 4,7/5,5/5,5/2,0/7,5
//s8 4,7/5,5/5,9/5,1/7,5
VM 5 5,4/5,5/5,9/4,9/7,8
During my use (heavy editing, big files, DB reindexing) I have not perceived any difference between any of them.
My Mac is a 2012 MBA i7, 8GB, 256 SSD, 11"
Edric
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So I am installing P8 without a serial number to get the 14 day trial. Ordered 7 from newegg with coupons.
It will get here next week at which point i will request the free upgrade. All should be done within the 14 trial window so this was a no brainer.
Its funny, none of those download links worked in Safari so I opened Windows 7 explorer to get the download.
Wonder why.
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This makes me laugh as well that people wont buy because of it. I doubt that ends up being true.
It will get here next week at which point i will request the free upgrade. All should be done within the 14 trial window so this was a no brainer.
Its funny, none of those download links worked in Safari so I opened Windows 7 explorer to get the download.
Wonder why.
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This makes me laugh as well that people wont buy because of it. I doubt that ends up being true.
Ah you mean that thing that only runs a specific version of Windows (Win7 currently) and for which you need to continuously reboot between OS X and Windows? I remember that. Luckily VMware Fusion allows me to install other systems like WinXP, Win7, Win8, Solaris, various Linux distro's, FreeBSD, DOS and many more. And they all run great without me ever needing to reboot my Mac.Hey guys! There's this really cool thing built into OS X that's not only free but allocates all of your system resources to your second OS of choice. It's called Boot Camp. Ever heard of it?
I must say that non-Windows systems run better in Fusion than they do in Parallels but that's to be expected. VMware has been around for quite some time and has been able to perfect virtualisation for a huge amount of different operating systems. Parallels hasn't been in the game for that long. Luckily there is some great competition between Fusion, Parallels and Virtualbox. Especially Fusion and Parallels seem to be very close in terms of performance and functionality.
This will happen with any virtualisation software. What they do when you start a virtual machine is reserve all the memory you've set for the vm. They can't do it partially because if some other app comes along and takes all the memory that is left the virtual machine will not be able to actually use the memory you've set. This will corrupt the virtual machine. By simply taking all the memory you've set for the virtual machine straight away this prevents situations like these. That doesn't mean that the operating system in the virtual machine will use all assigned memory. That is for the operating system to decide.
There is lots to gain in terms of memory usage and performance with virtual machines if you set them up properly. Assign the right amount of virtual cpus as well as the right amount of memory and the vm will run at its max. In quite a lot of cases it is actually better for performance if you don't assign lots of memory to a vm, just the bare essentials (which is mostly already set by the virtualisation application (aka Parallels, Fusion or Virtualbox)).
Virtualisation can take quite a lot of memory as well as Photoshop so you want to manage both applications. You need to set them up not to use all of the memory and/or not run them at the same time when it is not necessary. You can suspend the virtual machines to save both cpu usage as well as memory and i/o usage (by that I mean disk activity).
Btw, both Fusion 5 and Parallels 8 claim to have a lower memory footprint. They have tweaked the memory mechanism a bit. There is more to tell about how virtualisation applications do this but that will be a bit too technical I'm afraid as well as not very useful for the average user. The most important thing to know is that whatever amount of memory you give the virtual machine will be claimed whenever you start that virtual machine. Do take that into account when running other memory intensive apps like Photoshop.
True story -- I use my Mac teaching and project presentations and demonstrations almost entirely of programs in Windows. Too frequently when I start an application the add pops up. So they DO pop up in the middle of a work session, right in the middle of the screen.
It wouldn't be bad if the advertisement only appeared once, but the "do not show again" checkbox applies only to that particular advertisement. I can virtually guarantee that with P8 out that my P7 VM will have a new advertisement about the upgrade at least weekly.
Yet another potential happy customer for easy running of Windows Explorer using Parallels!
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I use VirtualBox for Linux VMs and Parallels for Windows VMs. I find VirtuaBox "clunky". I know this isn't scientific, but I suggest you download the Parallels trial and give it a go.
I've used VirtualBox (latest) and Parallels 7 for a while. VBox was definitely slow with any Linux distro I tried, and Windows 7 seemed sluggish. Parallels was like a native installation, but the actual installation process still took ages (but so did VBox). When an OS is actually installed, there's no comparison on my old system. Core 2 Duo mobile at 2GHz, and Parallels feels smooth like a proper installation, while VirtualBox struggles to keep up.
I've also used VMWare Fusion briefly, but every time I've seen kernel panics after installing it. Shame, because it was nice while the system still ran
Parallels 5 and 6 both had the same kernel panic issue, but the combination of Lion and v7 has been great. It's a very usable tool for people who do cross-platform development and don't want several computers.
I haven't thought of even testing gaming performance in any of those. Definitely will with Parallels 8, though
I've also used VMWare Fusion briefly, but every time I've seen kernel panics after installing it. Shame, because it was nice while the system still ran
Parallels 5 and 6 both had the same kernel panic issue, but the combination of Lion and v7 has been great. It's a very usable tool for people who do cross-platform development and don't want several computers.
I haven't thought of even testing gaming performance in any of those. Definitely will with Parallels 8, though
No, they don't force you to upgrade. YOU upgraded your os. The VM's worked fine with the OS you bought it for.
They aren't a non profit organization. You could easily blame Apple for updating their OS to not work with either VM.
