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Mac OS X

Parallels Debuts Switch to Mac Bundle

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Parallels today unveiled a complete solution designed to simplify the process of “switching” from a PC to Mac. Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition empowers users to effortlessly make the move to Mac without the risk of losing familiar and important data and applications on their Microsoft Windows-based PCs.

The product combines a set of easy-to-use tools and interactive tutorials with Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac to help “Switchers” understand how to operate Mac OS X, transfer all PC data and applications, and seamlessly run their Windows applications on their new Macs.

Switching from PC to Mac is on the rise: analyst reports on operating system market share show that Mac OS X market growth comes at the expense of Windows’ market share. While the overall PC industry saw declines of 3% for the quarter ending in June 2009, Apple sales were up 4% year over year. According to Apple’s Q309 report, half of the Macs sold were to customers who had never owned a Mac before.

Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition is an industry-first solution that addresses the challenges facing prospective PC-to-Mac Switchers:

  • Learning Mac OS X — The Switch to Mac learning tools are designed to specifically address any questions or concerns associated with the transition from Windows to Mac. More than two hours of interactive video tutorials help users learn the new interface and functionality of the Mac platform step-by-step, starting with the Mac equivalent of tasks performed on Windows. A quick reference card identifies the most common Windows and Mac command/function differences and puts the correct keystrokes at users’ fingertips.
  • Making the Move — Also important to new Mac users is getting files and media from their old computer to their Mac. Parallels recognizes that many people need help with this process, and developed a “plug and click” method that moves the entire PC (licensed operating system, applications, files and data) to the new Mac. This includes the Parallels High Speed USB Transfer Cable that connects the two machines and the Enhanced Parallels Transporter: simple, wizard-driven software that walks the user through the move in a few easy clicks. The seamless Mac user experience now starts on the PC side.
  • Running Windows and Mac side-by-side — Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition includes Parallels Desktop for Mac 4.0, the number one Mac system utility, currently used by more than two million people to run Windows side-by-side with Mac applications. This award-winning virtualization software provides a fully integrated seamless experience, offering users the greatest stability and performance available for running Windows on a Mac, as recognized in 3rd party industry benchmarks³. Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac incorporates a range of security, backup and power saving features to give Mac users the easiest way to run Windows on a Mac.

Parallels Desktop 4.0 Switch to Mac Edition is available from today at Apple stores, at Apple.com and through other preferred retail partners in English, German and French. The suggested retail price (SRP) of the product is $99.99.

OpenOSX Releases WinTel 3.0, Speeds Up Virtualization Performance

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OpenOSX Thursday announced WinTel version 3.0, the company’s Windows, Linux and other OS virtualization solution for Mac OS X.

WinTel is an application that allows host operating systems (and applications) such as Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux to run in protected, virtual environments within windows on Mac OS X. WinTel’s new virtualization performance is comparable with the performance of VMWare’s Fusion and Parallels Inc.’s Parallels Desktop software.

According to OpenOSX, the update allows users to run most of the instructions of the virtual machine natively, drastically increasing performance in the process. The firm said performance was comparable to VMWare’s Fusion or Parallels.

The OpenOSX WinTel product is available immediately for US$30 plus shipping delivered on CD-ROM, with download-only delivery available for US$25.

DiscCloud Launches Virtual Appliance for Mac OS X

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DiscCloud today announced the release of the DiscCloud Virtual Appliance, the world’s first desktop virtualization platform designed for Mac OS X clients.

With DiscCloud, Mac desktops can be centrally administered, supported, and maintained using trusted and well known practices used by VMware professionals. The DiscCloud Virtual Appliance runs as a Virtual Machine on VMware Server and ESX class products, and hence on vast assortment of standard x86 platforms.

DiscCloud extends existing capabilities of the Mac desktop, via advanced VMware features such as automated backup, continuous availability, storage scalability, mobility, and desktop disaster recovery.

DiscCloud’s approach to desktop virtualization is 100% Apple license compliant, and supports Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) clients.

TOLIS Group Teams Up With Parallels, Its Backup Solution Gets Certification

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TOLIS Group yesterday announced a partnership with Parallels, as its BRU Server network backup solution has been successfully tested for compatibility with Parallels Server for Mac virtualization software. BRU Server is now listed in the Parallels Certified Products Catalog.

“In virtualized system environments, BRU Server’s advanced architecture simply treats the host and guest systems as networked client systems,” said Tim Jones, president and CTO of TOLIS Group. “Both file by file and disaster recovery compatible image backup and restore of guest systems are supported using normal BRU Server operations – no special treatment is needed. BRU Server and Parallels work together seamlessly.”

BRU Server’s agents provide full backup support for all guest systems including: x86 Windows, Solaris, Open and FreeBSD, Linux, and Mac OS X. Additionally, TOLIS’ OFM module allows the proper management of open file environments such as Exchange, FileMaker and Active Directory running on Windows virtualized machines.

Parallels Releases Server 1.0

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Parallels announced today that Parallels Server for Mac, the former SWSoft’s hypervisor solution for server virtualization, is now available. Parallels Server for Mac can run on any Intel-powered Apple hardware, including the Xserve and Mac Pro, running OS X Leopard Server and comes to market after a worldwide beta testing program involving Mac, Windows and Linux server professionals.

Parallels logo

“Parallels Server for Mac opens the door for virtualization on Apple servers and represents an important step in delivering on our ‘Optimized Computing’ vision by adding hypervisor-based server virtualization,” said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels. “Parallels Server for Mac will be a catalyst in driving Mac server adoption in the enterprise, as it is the first product ever to enable IT professionals and developers to capitalize on the power of OS X Server while keeping the flexibility to run Windows and Linux workloads.”

Parallels Server for Mac includes support for OS X Leopard Server as a guest OS in a virtual machine. Running OS X Leopard Server in a virtual machine enables Mac server administrators to run multiple, isolated workloads on a single OS X Leopard Server-powered Xserve, providing the ability to test and sandbox with more agility than ever before.

Parallels Server includes the following features:

  • Virtual Support for 4-way Symmetric Multi-processing (SMP), which lets users assign up to 4 virtual cores to a virtual machine for exceptional performance under heavy workloads. 2-way SMP is also supported, giving users an unsurpassed level of virtual machine customization.
  • The inclusion of key next-generation technologies such as an ACPI BIOS, and support for up to 32GB of physical RAM.
  • Support for Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT-x) technologies to take full advantage of hardware-assisted acceleration.
  • A fully Scriptable Multi-client Parallels Management Console that lets users manages virtual and physical servers locally and remotely. The Parallels Management Console’s APIs are completely open and scriptable with Python, enabling administrators to automate common server tasks straight from the command line.
  • An Integrated Toolset that enhances and simplifies the user experience.The toolset includes: Parallels Tools, a set of helpful utilities that make working with virtual servers easier and more productive; Parallels Transporter, a built-in, assistant driven physical to virtual (P2V) and virtual to virtual (V2V) migration tool; and the Parallels Image Tool, which lets users modify settings of their virtual hard disk.
  • The ability to run any combination of more than 50 different x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) guest operating systems, including the just released Windows Server 2008 in secure, high-performing virtual machines.
  • A Powerful SDK that enables third party vendors to integrate Parallels Server support into their products. The SDK is the same one used by Parallels engineers to build the Parallels Management Console.

A full list of features and specifications is available here. This version is priced $999 for an unlimited number of cores.

Next VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta Will Support Mac OS X Leopard Server

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Last January, at Macworld, VMware delivered a preview of Mac OS X Leopard Server installing and running as a virtual machine on Mac OS X. In honor of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, the VMware Fusion team has announced that Mac OS X Leopard Server support will be available in VMware Fusion 2.0’s next beta.

This is a result of changes in Mac OS X Leopard Server’s license agreement, which now allows users to run multiple copies of Mac OS X Server on a single Apple computer.

“Virtual Leopard Server is a huge leap forward for Mac server administrators, developers, and more, and we’re truly excited to bring this to the Mac community, in VMware Fusion 2.0, which will be a free upgrade for all VMware Fusion 1.x customers.”

Here’s a short video the team put out:

[Source: VMTN Blog]