[IP] Initial experience with Win XP VM with Parallels Desktop for [Intel] Mac
Begin forwarded message:
From: Steve Goldstein <steve.goldstein@xxxxxxx>
Date: July 10, 2006 11:59:01 AM EDT
To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dewayne Hendricks), David Farber
<dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Joe Kissel <jwk@xxxxxxx>, info@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Initial experience with Win XP VM with Parallels Desktop for
[Intel] Mac
I have been running Windows XP as a virtual machine (VM) using
Parallels Desktop for Mac on my new Intel Core Duo iMac for about two
weeks, and I offer some early observations.
INSTALLATION: First of all, installation was a breeze. Basically,
you just move the Parallels icon to your Application Folder, open it,
register it, and set up the parameters of your VM (identity, e.g.,
Win XP; RAM size, hard drive size). Then, you install Windows XP,
just as if you were installing on a real PC.
SLICK 'N SPEEDY: What can I say? I did not attempt any quantitative
testing. But, the speed and responsiveness inside the VM seems
almost as fast as within the Mac OS itself. Certainly as fast if not
faster, than with my old 1.3 GHz PC. The only exception was
yesterday when I was installing HP printers. The Color Laser 2500n
was quick and easy, but the All-in-One Officejet 6310 installation
was like watching paint dry. I cannot recall if it was any faster on
my old PC.
PRINTER SUPPORT: Not seamless, as had been described, but pretty much
like a real PC, so not at all that hard to set up if you are used to
running a PC.
NETWORKING: Seamlessly got its DHCP network connection through my
Mac. Including the networked printers mentioned above, once the
printer software had been installed in the VM. And, the network
connection seemed significantly slower than on the Mac side,
especially for the HP site, and that was probably an end-to-end
phenomenon. Also, "publishing" (updating) a remote web site with
FrontPage (the main reason that I have to maintain a PC capability--
and FrontPage was not my choice, but dictated by the folks that set
up the web site) seemed to go much more slowly than with the real
PC. The underlying transport for that is FTP. But, we're talking
watching "eggs fry," rather than "paint dry."
CURSOR CAPTURE: Your cursor is either on the Mac desktop or on the
Windows desktop, and you can make the transition between each desktop
seamless by adjusting parameters in Parallels--really easy to do once
you know that you can do it. Otherwise, you have to hit the CTRL and
OPT keys to "liberate" the cursor from the VM window.
DISC CAPTURE: Similarly, a CD or DVD disc can be "captured" by either
Windows or Mac, but not both. That took a bit if sleuthing at
first. There is a frame around the VM window, with icons of
peripherals at the bottom. If you click on the disc icon and select
"disconnect," the disc is recognized by the Mac OS; conversely, if
you choose "connect," the disc is captured by the VM. Simple, once
you know about it.
USB IMPLEMENTATION (MY ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT): I am not sure about the
USB implementation. I read and re-read the documentation, and it
just doesn't seem to jibe with my experience using the Parallels VM.
There is a restriction, one that I hope will be removed in
forthcoming versions of Parallels, of only two USB devices that can
be "attached" at any one time. Well, gee, the keyboard and the mouse
are numbers 1 and 2, so that leaves nothing more available. Aside
from FrontPage, the only other real need I had of the PC was to
update the contacts list on my Sanyo MM8300 mobile phone. There is a
Mac application, BitPim, that **just** included support for Sanyo,
but I keep getting error messages that I cannot seem to get past with
BitPim. On the PC, I use the FutureDial software suite, and it works
well, but I cannot connect with my mobile phone through the USB cable
because of the limit of two USB devces. Yet . . . I can see external
USB 2.0 hard drives that are connected to the Macintosh--although
Windows warns me that they are getting only USB 1.x support. These
are drives that I had formatted and used with my PC. And, I cannot
for the life of me, understand why these are not limited by the two-
device rule, whereas my mobile phone connection is. I do so hope
that the folks at Parallels will expand USB support to include more
than two devices and USB 2.0.
BOTTOM LINE: I am delighted that I can get rid of two major heat
generators and a lot of wiring and the electronic KVM box that I
needed with the two machines (the G4 Mac and the HP PC). Now, I just
have one computer running in my office, the 20" iMac Intel CoreDuo,
and it doesn't generate all that much heat. Also, I do not have to
run two separate e-mail clients (I get update into for the web site
by e-mail). So, it has greatly simplified my need for a PC
supporting role. Parallels works inside the Mac OS, so it is not an
either-or proposition like Boot Camp that makes you choose which OS
to use at boot time. If only there were more expansive USB support,
it would be the ideal replacement for an external PC, at least for me.
For those who might like a hand-holding "how-to" e-book, I recommend
Joe Kissel's TidBITS book, "Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac" :
http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/windows-on-mac.html?
14@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@!pt=TB-HOME-SKY
It includes a $10 savings code for Parallels Desktop for Mac if you
redeem it before the end of July.
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