



The Parallels Desktop beta program was multi-stage (six betas and two release candidates) and included more than 100,000 users from 75 countries, Benjamin Rudolph of Parallels told Macsimum News. The final product offers such productivity features as fullscreen/dual monitor mode, file sharing, cutting/pasting between operating system (via Parallels Tools, which is included with each copy), and can run any version of Windows (3.1-XP/2003), Linus, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation and DOS
Parallels Desktop for Mac includes Parallels Compressor, a disk management tool that can purportedly compress virtual hard drives by 50 percent or more. This is a very useful tool, especially if you're working on a laptop with a relatively small hard drive, Rudolph says. Compressor Server -- which has a retail price of US$179.99 and is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and 2003 -- is the specific version included with Desktop.
Parallels Desktop's "near native" performance and stability is driven by its "hypervisor-powered virtualization engine" and support for Intel Virtualization Technology, which is included in all new Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro computers, said Parallels CEO Nick Dobrovolskiy. You can share files and "cut and paste" data between Mac OS X and Window apps.
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"As a special thank you to the Mac community for all of their great support, we'll be making the product available for only $49.99 (a $150 savings versus buying Parallels Desktop and Compressor Server separately) through July 15th," Rudolph says.



