It is Virtualization Sunday on Planet Apple. Thanks to a brand new beta of Parallels, a virtualization software for Mac OS X operating system, the entire mac world is talking virtualization. The fact, that many were singing its praises got us to upgrade our older version. And guess what - its all that and a bag of chips.
We were suitably impressed by a new “Coherence” feature which allows Windows Applications to float on the OS X desktop, with Windows XP hidden in the background. It gives an illusion of Windows apps running natively on the Mac.
Parallels has come a long way from its early beta days, and it is no surprise that Apple doesn’t have any plans to build virtualization into its Leopard version of OS X, according to Andy Neff, an analyst with Bear Stearns. Apple had made similar comments in a chat with Charles Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Co.
Parallels is not the only OS X virtualization offering. VM Ware’s Fusion software is in private beta and is getting good reviews as well. “The release of OS X for Intel has spurred virtualization software development in a way few other demands have. It all adds up to make M(a)cs a smarter and smarter buy,” writes Pete Mortensen on The Cult of Mac blog.
Apple, we suspect is going to let the market evolve, and let these other companies seed and nurture the market. And when time is right, it is going to unleash its own version of virtualization software. Hey they have done this in the past. But if the future unfolds as some think it will, this virtualization technology is going to be pretty key. We are happy to simply enjoy the fruits of labor of the wonderful folks at Parallels.
6 comments so far
9:35 PM PT
they just keep raising the bar…of course, you might also want to mention the even more dreamy recent beta from codeweavers.com (though i’m in parallels now, lovin’ it, because yes, there are many msft products i really do love using)
3:35 AM PT
Apple is simply the best as far as innovation and new ideas are concerned. Would like to try this in the coming few weeks.
Thanks.
9:10 AM PT
Om, I’m no copy editor, but I think you could use one. Lots of misplaced commas floating around in there.
11:51 AM PT
On the subject of virtualizations, check out http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/. Crossover lets individual Windows apps run within the Mac OS, so no need to load all of Windows first.
Crossover is still quite new and has some work to do (esp providing support USB for devices), but I think they are on to a smart idea. I only want specific apps- I don’t want an entire XP/Vista desktop. Sounds like Parallels has the same thought with the Coherence feature.
12:21 AM PT
I think the best virtualisation Apple could do, is to get OSX out there onto PC hardware. That would really help them, I think. Just bump up the buy price of OSX to 80% of what Vista is and then get into production of hardware drivers and driver development partnerships with driver manufacturers. They’re capable of doing it, but its a different ocean in which to swim and there most dominant and sexy Apple brand could start to become browned, in the tainted waters of dodgey mass market unreliable cheap PC hardware. How good is OSX on a crud board with a bog cpu?
Still I think it would be a good move.
Off topic Yes.
Here is on topic.
I’ve run Parrallels for some months now and its pretty solid. On a mac pro its fantastic, on a mac book, its fantastic.
12:50 PM PT
How good is OSX on a crud board with a bog cpu?
You mean like what Apple uses in their own products? It’s not like the hardware inside a Mac is any different from a PC at the same price point. It’s not the inside the box stuff that should be worried about, but all the cheap USB crap out there or worse yet antique serial or parallel port based devices (scanners and printers).
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