Working with Parallels

After weeks of thinking about it, I bought a copy of Parallels and installed it on my MacBook Pro. The store copy was build 3160 and did not feature the option to run using Boot camp. The newest build is 3188 and does have it, so I downloaded it and installed it as an upgrade to my “current” version. Even so, I still had to re-enter the key code that came with the store-bought version to get the thing to activate.

When I launched XP using Parallels, it told me I needed to activate. However, even though Parallels was configured for Shared Networking, it could not find a network connection that worked. I followed the troubleshooting steps listed at the Parallel’s website using both Bridged and Host-Only Networking and using both Airport and Gigabit Ethernet, but nothing worked. On a hunch, I completely uninstalled Parallels and installed only the 3188 build I had downloaded, and XP saw the network using Shared Networking the first time it launched. It activated and quit shutting down, though by then I had been reminded multiple times about why I hated working with Windows.

I tried selecting Coherence mode, but clicking on its button did nothing. Figuring that XP played a role in configuring for Coherence mode, I clicked on the “Install Parallels Tools” menu item, and it did just that. The next time I selected Coherence mode, it worked. I have to say it is my favorite way of working with XP under OS X.

I run my OS X Dock as a vertical strip on the right side of my screen and that fits perfectly with Coherence mode since it places the XP Start menu and the toolbar at the bottom of my Desktop window. This enables me to select either OS X or Windows XP applications with just a mouse click or two, especially since I keep my Application folder located just above the Trash Can in the lower part of my Dock. Since I have Office 2007 (for Windows) on XP’s Quick Launch Toolbar, I can click on the Word 2007 icon and it magically launches onto my Desktop, just like I was working in XP alone. I can tell there is a minor speed hit for working with Word this way, but it’s no slower than working in Office 2004 is under Rosetta. The only hang-up I’ve seen so far is that Norton Anti-Virus is squawking at me that it has a license problem when Word tries to use it to do a virus scan. More licensing/activation crap!

Overall, Coherence mode is really great because I have some applications that are Windows only and work fine in Parallels. I now have the capability of calling them up, working with them, saving their products back to my Mac Desktop, and then opening those files in a Mac app and continuing to work with them. (Though it took me a while to understand that the way to access my Mac desktop and all my other Mac files is by setting up Parallels Shared Folders and putting a shortcut to them on the Windows Desktop.)

The only drawback to Parallels is its single machine license, which means I’ll have to buy a second copy to run on my Mac Pro. I understand they’re holding to the same line as the operating system manufacturers, but I still think that allowing a second installation on a home or notebook computer is not out of line. That said, the newer builds of Parallels are definitely worth the money; you really do get all the best out of both the Windows and Mac worlds by having a copy on your machine.