It’s been quite a while since Parallels Desktop has had a new version. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as development was formerly at breakneck speed and this slowdown shows that some stability has come to the product. It’s here to stay. Let’s take a look at the newly announced Parallels Desktop 4.0.
There are plenty of reasons to upgrade. Some of the highlights for me are 64-bit OS support, 4-way multiprocessor support, 8 GB allocable to the guest OS, DirectX 9 with Pixel Shader 2.0, OpenGL 2.1, 256 MB of video RAM allowed (up from 64), and even Leopard Server as a guest.
That’s right, this update is chock full of substantial upgrades. These aren’t just usability upgrades. Parallels has more of those too. Its new Safe Mode allows you to run a Virtual Machine in a mode such that you are offered the choice to save changes at the end of the session. It’s perfect for installing new software that you’re not sure of. If you decide it was a mistake, you can opt to not save. You can even control Parallels with the iPhone’s Remote application. Fancy.
If you’ve never bought it before, Parallels will cost you $79.99, while an upgrade will cost you $39.99 until the 30th, at which point you’ll pay $49.99.
