Trying out Parallels

[WhoDatWayne]

I was using Bootcamp on my MacBook Pro but I am trying out Parallels on my new MBA to see if that is better for me than Bootcamp.

For you Parallel users, what are some of the features you recommend I check out during my trial period.

It looks like I would have better control of the spacing with Parallels.
Also, it says that it comes with a virus software if I decide to buy it. Is this something for the vm with windows or both the vm and the Mac OS?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Young Spade]

There aren't really "features", it just allows you to run an OS on top of Lion. You can keep it as a window or make it full screen. What I do is use spaces, make it full screen, and just switch to the OS whenever I need to use it.

Aside from messing around, I never found a real use for it yet though.

 

[WhoDatWayne]

I thought so but wanted to make sure I was not missing something.

Great idea about using it with Spaces.

Thanks

 

[jdelgado]

I thought so but wanted to make sure I was not missing something.

Great idea about using it with Spaces.

Thanks

I suggest you use Parallels in the way you would use it. You may also want to try VMWare Fusion.
A few things that were important for me were
1. Copy-Paste between Win and the Mac.
2. Keyboard mapping. I sometimes had trouble with some punctuation characters
3. Check performance. In my case the VM was unusable with less that 8GB or RAM in my MBP. You may also want to check performance after extended use (say 8-12 hours). Page outs tend to build up, reducing overall performance.

 

[Moccasin]

If you can avoid using it for a few days after the trial runs out you will get an email offfering a decent discount

 

[WhoDatWayne]

Thanks for the good suggestions!

Did you guys use the virus software that comes with it? If so, did you use on windows or Mac os?

 

[jdelgado]

Thanks for the good suggestions!

Did you guys use the virus software that comes with it? If so, did you use on windows or Mac os?

I have no antivirus software. However, I restrict network connection from the VM to my local network and selected external sites (software updates).

 

[WhoDatWayne]

Thanks for the info.