New Review: Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac

Parallels released Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac almost a week ago. Since then, I’ve been trying out this latest virtual machine technology that can run Windows and Unix/Linux operating systems concurrently with Mac OS X.

Parallels was the first to market with a virtualization system for the Mac, and for a while, the company had the market to itself. Eventually, VMware, a well-known provider of virtualization technology, decided to enter the Mac marketplace, and quickly captured a prominent share. Of course, it didn’t help that Parallels Desktop 3 was known to be a bit flakey. For example, it crashed my Mac Pro a few times a month, something that’s not all that easy to do.

As soon as Parallels released Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, I quickly grabbed a copy and started testing it. I’m happy to report that this version offers new stability and dramatically improved performance. Since installing Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac last week, I haven’t experienced any system crashes. The one time that Windows XP crashed on its own, Parallels caught the crash and kept the virtual environment intact, allowing me to restart Windows without affecting the Mac.

Needless to say, I’m impressed by this release. Read the review to find out more. If you install Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, add your own review and product rating, so About: Macs readers can get the benefit of a wide range of user opinions.