Parrallels is a nifty piece of software. I've tried it on Windows and Linux and have to say it is one of the best.

I've found VMWare to be faster, though.

Only runs on Mactels, not PPC though?

Yes BC, only on Macs w/ Intel CPUs. My father bought Parallels for Mac to run on his Mac Book Pro. I loaded Win2K on it for him and worked like a charm. The only issue I know of is the USB support. He wants to run windows so he can use his GPS unit and mapping software (Windows only). The last time we talked about it, his GPS was still not being recognized by Parallels. I think working on that will be one of my projects over Christmas. One thing he has not done is connect the Windows virtual machine to the network. He has not loaded any anti-virus or firewall software on the Win2K build. A must for any Windows machine, real or virtual.

BTW, have you heard about the newest changes for Parallels? It is supposed to recognize if your Mac has a Boot Camp partition and can use that partition for your virtual machine. I believe it is in Beta right now.

Why Mac's are Bad
Why macs suck (Rooster Teeth)

Last edited: Saturday, December 09, 2006 at 3:58:51 PM

Awesome :), I do not have an intel mac (yet ;) ).. But ill have one before 2008. Probably next summer.. In Belgium Parallels is included for free in the software package.

^ Awe-SOME!!! With Linux, we get Xen, which is free off the bat, but still... Parallels is supposed to be easier to use. Still no 3D...
^^ Mind coming up with some explanations of your own , that you didn't have to Google for?

Xen isn't very good. I've always found on linux that VMWare is fastest. The beta even has experimental 3D support...

^^^^ Dude, you do realiuze the guy in the first link is an avid mac user himself. He was just making that for fun. I still find it funny, But almost nothing is true. The only real point he made was about the DOS and Norton. HOWEVER, with the new mac anf leapord coming out soon, both of those are completely fixed.

For the second one, this is ONLY because microsoft seems to have a monopoly on everything, and everyone os afriad of everything besides Winblows. In fact, I beleive Linux is truly a better gaming system (not sure though, Racer/dj correct me). Macs are awesome. Period.

Linux in general runs a good deal faster than windows, but there are far less commercial games that support linux (but many cool open-souce games). So take your pick.

I don't like Macs because the lack of hardware flexibility, the cost, and the OS just doesn't appeal to me. A bit too simplified IMO. But they obviously work well for quite a few people on PTT (^, ^^^^, ^^^^^^, ^^^^^^^, ^^^^^^^^^)

Anyway, I really have no want or need for virtualization, but I might go ahead and try xen since it's free :P

Quake 4 for Linux Official FAQ
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for Linux Pre-order
Nexuiz - Free Online Quake-style FPS

Cedega, run popular windows games under Linux

I wouldn't say gaming on linux is dead. :P Don't forget, many of your favorite game servers are hosted on linux.

Anyhow, let's not make this another OS wars thread.

Nice review Flea. I have had my eye on this for some time now, and it is nice to hear a first hand experience. Thanks.

^^ Not dead, I think it's just starting to wake up ;)

I was just trying to offer some friendly discussion, not start a war, but I guess we should keep the discussion to Parallels.

Flea, if you've ever booted windows instead of running it through Parallels, how much performance is lost by running it through Parallels (if any)?

Nexiuz works for Linux? Duuuuuude...
Racer has a point. In TT, each server shows which OS it runs. You'd be amazed how many servers are hosted on Linux- Dash uses it, and NUTS! Is an avid Slaxor (Slackware user). Me? I use Xubuntu, TT crashes less often on it than on Windows. I used to use Zenwalk, which OWNED. Both consistently play laglessly, fast, and clearly. I have some problems with running AIGLX in the background (Fedora, Mandriva), but on other distros, it's fine- Zenwalk even has its own site for gamers. Next stop: joining the Ubuntu "herd" and beta-testing v7.04.

^ I know that Saint Jimmy is planning on buying a PS3 and then installing Linux onto it.

@ Player:
From my experiences at the mac store ( :( I know ), the comp only loses RAM while using Parallels which is logic.

@ Player
Most of the sites that have reported on Parallels say most processes run at about 95 percent the speed of a real boot up. I believe it. XP on the Mini is as fast as any Windows I have used on PC's. I really was quite floored with the speed, again this was because I was used to emulation in the past. Virtual PC worked but it was not fun. I'll try Bootcamp after I do a good backup :)

(Some reviews say that Windows under Bootcamp on Macs runs faster than on PCs. There is so much "ya buts" in that kind of blanket statement it's hard to take seriously though.)

It's the 3D acceleration that get borked with Parallels. No 3D gaming with Parallels, must use Bootcamp for that, but Coadeweavers is working on an interesting alternate solution for both Linux and Mac.

I wouldn't get my hopes up for Codeweavers's solution. So far, the very few games that work are still riddled with all sorts of problems, and pretty much any game with a disc copy protection method - which would be 95-98% of all games - doesn't work. Besides, their solution is mainly meant for office programs and the like. Gaming is only a side project; it's certainly not their main focus.

I'm hoping for Parallels to find a way to access the graphics card. Yes, Bootcamp runs fine and dandy, but having to re-boot over and over again becomes a real nuisance, after a while.