Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Parallels extortion/blackmail !!!

Lol. Parallels does this on every upgrade. I've already vented and written numerous posts about this. Virtual box is free and runs great. Better Han parallels ever did.

I cannot put it any stronger. If you are sill using parallels, you deserve it.
 
cryingrobot said:
Lol. Parallels does this on every upgrade. I've already vented and written numerous posts about this. Virtual box is free and runs great. Better Han parallels ever did.

I cannot put it any stronger. If you are sill using parallels, you deserve it.
Click to expand...



Weird if they did this on every upgrade, why did not come out with Parallels 8 when ML was released and force 7 users to upgrade.
 
WesCole said:
So, you expected Parallels to give you lifetime support for your purchase price? Like others have said, you should've checked compatibility with ML before upgrading. Parallels 7 users got a free upgrade to make it ML ready; you can't expect them to support versions of their software that are older than the current release to work with the latest version of Mac OS X. Where would it stop...would you also expect them to do the same if you had Parallels 5...4...3?
Click to expand...

Parallels 6 was only a year old when it stopped working. I have Windows applications from Windows 2000 that STILL WORKS ON Windows 7. How many years is that, almost 12? I do not expect it to work until the end of time - but dang, only ONE YEAR? Come on!!! Even the critics here have to admit that that is totally trashy/douchy (borrowed from one of the earlier posts, thanks :D) in the extreme.

As indicated, I have indeed voted with my wallet and will NEVER support Parallels again. Ah, the wonders of choice! ;)

If you want to keep making them rich at your own expense, you are more than welcome.
 
lannisters4life said:
1. I don't think you understand what extortion is.

2. Your problem was entirely preventable had you taken six seconds to see if your old version of Parallels was supported.

3. If this is your worst experience buying software, you must have lead a rich and fulfilling life.
Click to expand...

i actually did the same mistake...and found parallels stopped working. but well....it was ENTIRELY my fault as i should have checked...and thats why i (and i guess many others) didnt complain being stupid :p

----------
old-wiz said:
Venting really helps with anger. Better to vent here than to go bezerk and smash things right and left, or go to the Apple store and scream, cry, fall to the floor and throw temper tantrum.
Click to expand...

wahahahahaha :D
+1
 
crashdebris said:
Exactly what happened in my case. When I checked the Parallels website back when ML was announced, it said version 6 and 7 were compatible. I only use Parallels for my online courses that require windows and not for anything else, so when the ML upgrade was available, I went ahead and upgraded. The new semester starts in a couple of weeks so i decided to do the windows update thing so I wouldn't be slowed down at the start of the semester, and thats when I found out it didn't work. I did some googling and found I wasn't alone.

As far as whether it is extortion/blackmail, I see both sides. I understand that new versions cost $$ to develop and the developer needs to recoup those costs, but I feel that the developer needs to support their releases for more than just when it is the latest and greatest. Support the current and at least one legacy version until the next release happens.

In this situation (website originally said would support then changed), I think that an email (as a minimum), to all registered customers when it was decided to NOT support ver 6 was in order. They could have taken the oppertunity to offer a special "pre ML" upgarde price (say same as ML upgrade price) to generate some buzz.

I'm a little bitter myself, as ver 7 was released a few (2-3) weeks after I purchased ver 6 and I was not offered any upgrade promotion other than full price. Although I needed it when I bought it (class required windows after originally being told my Macbook Pro was enough), I felt cheated when the new ver came out and I didn't at least get a discounted upgrade.
Click to expand...

Just an update. I did upgrade to ver 7 a few weeks ago, $50 directly from OEM. Last week I was offered a free upgrade to ver 8, so I feel much better (yes I took free upgrade). I think with this upgrade I got my moneys worth, it's not going to be obsoleted within a month or two of purchase.
 
maflynn said:
You are free to change to VirtualBox then. I agree with the others that 50 bucks is not extortion or exorbitant. I mean OSX used to cost 125, windows is pricey to upgrade. Photoshop is extremely expensive.

The great thing about capitalism is that you are free to vote with your wallet. Don't like the upgrade free from Parallels, then go to VMware (I use VMWare Fusion) but be prepared to pay for major upgrades like Parallels.
Click to expand...

Photoshop is extremely expensive, yes indeed. So what? Does that justifies Parallels? It just means Parallels is not the only company that charges an extremely high price on its product.

In the US the upgrade to ML is $19.99, in Europe it's 14.99 €. In the US the upgrade to Parallels Desktop 8 is $49.99, in Europe it's 49.99 €. I call this d i s h o n e s t. Plain and simple.
 
MACza said:
Parallels 6 was only a year old when it stopped working.
Click to expand...

Actually it was nearly two years old, and no one forced you to upgrade to Mountain Lion. It falls on the consumer to make sure their software is compatible with new OS released. That's why you see so many people still using Snow Leopard -- they need the Rosetta support for their older PowerPC apps.

Complaining about this just makes you look ignorant. It's not Parallels' fault that you made a rookie mistake.
 
MACza said:
1. I don't think YOU know what extortion is

(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/extortion):
ex·tor·tion (k-stôrshn)
n.
1. The act or an instance of extorting.
2. Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
3. An excessive or exorbitant charge.4. Something extorted.

2. Ah - of course, easily preventable, just stay on Lion forever. Doh! Life moves on unfortunately.

3. Yes indeed I do, especially now that Parallels is out of my life :D

Anyway - as I said before, water under the bridge....
Click to expand...

DON"T believe everything you read on the internet. The "online dictionary" is hardly a reliable source; how about Merriam-Webster:

"Unlawful exaction of money or property through intimidation or undue exercise of authority. It may include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure. Some forms of threat, especially those made in writing, are occasionally singled out for separate statutory treatment as blackmail."

EXTORTION requires an element of intimidation, threats or undue exercise of authority.

The fact that somebody charges an excessive or exorbitant charge independent of one or more of these elements is just NOT extortion. If it were, then many companies, including Neiman Marcus, would be guilty of extortion!
 
MACza said:
If there is anybody out there contemplating buying Parallels, do yourself a favour and rather try out VirtualBox, VMware or Boot Camp. You will save yourself a lot of money and effort down the road.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, Virtualbox's performance is much lower than Parallels. VMware is missing some features in Parallels. Boot camp is not comparable.

Yeah, Parallels is expensive ... but it still has a slight edge on the Mac.


NMF said:
Actually it was nearly two years old, and no one forced you to upgrade to Mountain Lion. It falls on the consumer to make sure their software is compatible with new OS released. That's why you see so many people still using Snow Leopard -- they need the Rosetta support for their older PowerPC apps.
Click to expand...

We should probably be blaming Apple - Apple breaks compatibility between each upgrade. Microsoft OTH tends to maintain compatibility ... apps which are 10+ years old in many cases can still run on Windows.
 
coolspot18 said:
Retina Display, Direct 3D, Parallels is also a tad faster ...:

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/parallels-desktop-8-vs-vmware-fusion-5-benchmark-showdown

Like I said, some missing features... perhaps not enough for you to switch to Parallels, but also just enough to keep a Parallels user around.
Click to expand...

For me, those are not really applicable anyway.. sure the speed increase might be nice but personally I like the layout of VMWare better it's much more straight to the point, it has a lot less menu's to dive into as well. Retina display doesn't apply to me (Early 2011 MBP) and Direct 3D I could care less about since I don't use my VM for gaming just work.

I guess it really comes down to the user and what their needs are, but like I said, I've used both and I'd pick VMWare over Parallels any day. That thread above with the PMs for support just made my decision more concrete.. VMWare community is greatly helpful when issues do arise though.
 
The trick

Of not just running 2 operating systems, but having them meld enough to become very inter-operational, and have a reasonably good access to the hardware while NOT being the primary operating system, requires very tricky programming and near solo API utilizations that often break between major releases.

Also instead of 100 million at 20 bucks a pop, it is a much smaller population, even though the programming challenge is often similar, and expenses relatively much higher. Resulting in an upgrade fee. And it happens every time, and people seem surprised every time.

If you need parallels, then get it. The 50 bucks for the UI and interaction is very cheap for me. I need to more than just run the windows app, I can do that from bootcamp. I want to run it as a first class application from within the MAC.

But go ahead, get virtual box, because that's all you need. Me, I will get what I want, and I am happy to pay the high value (to me) price.
 
bit density said:
Of not just running 2 operating systems, but having them meld enough to become very inter-operational, and have a reasonably good access to the hardware while NOT being the primary operating system, requires very tricky programming and near solo API utilizations that often break between major releases.

Also instead of 100 million at 20 bucks a pop, it is a much smaller population, even though the programming challenge is often similar, and expenses relatively much higher. Resulting in an upgrade fee. And it happens every time, and people seem surprised every time.

If you need parallels, then get it. The 50 bucks for the UI and interaction is very cheap for me. I need to more than just run the windows app, I can do that from bootcamp. I want to run it as a first class application from within the MAC.

But go ahead, get virtual box, because that's all you need. Me, I will get what I want, and I am happy to pay the high value (to me) price.
Click to expand...

What type of work do you do? I suppose 'Coherence' mode is a joke to you? hahah Personally, I couldn't stand it!!
 
Seriously, OP, you need to check all important programs for compatibility BEFORE upgrading the OS and factor in that cost. Parallels 7 & 8 have been a godsend for many of us in the forum.
 
Both Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion are guilty of milking users with annual $50 upgrade cycle. While they both add worthwhile features here and there, I wish both would offer more reasonable upgrade pricing for what amounts to mostly iterative performance improvements and compatibility with latest OS releases.

That said, while I personally prefer Parallels Desktop the app, their advertising feature is a reason enough to use Fusion instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back