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Microsoft will support Windows 11 on newer Macs through Parallels
Microsoft now officially supports Windows 11 on M1 and M2 Macs, but you'll need to use Parallels' virtual machine.
Broadcom is buying VMware in a $61 billion mega-deal
Broadcom is buying VMware for $61 billion, making it one of the largest tech acquisitions to date.
Parallels Desktop on M1 Macs now runs ARM Windows 10 at 'native speeds'
Parallels Desktop 16.5 has arrived with native support for M1 Macs, promising Windows 10 virtual machines at 'native speeds' — if you don't mind the ARM version.
You can play 'Doom' inside 'Minecraft' using a virtual PC
You can play 'Doom' inside 'Minecraft' thanks to a virtual Windows 95 PC.
Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac upgrade arrives, supports OS X Yosemite
Like the turning of the seasons, we can always expect an upgrade of Parallels Desktop about this time of year. 2014 is no exception, and Parallels announced today that Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac and Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition are now available for current users. As one would expect with an upgrade, Parallels Desktop 10 provides some significant performance enhancements. Windows documents open up to 48 percent faster, battery life on MacBooks is extended by up to 30 percent, the virtual machines take up to 10 percent less of the Mac's memory, Office 2013 apps launch up to 50 percent faster, and the virtual machines now only take up as much space on the Mac hard drive as required. There's real-time optimization that compacts the virtual disk automatically. Setup is now made easier -- new users can select what their primary usage is (design, development, productivity, games) and the VM will be optimized. All virtual machines and configuration settings are now controlled from a new Parallels Control Center, and the process of setting up Windows installations has been streamlined as well. If your Mac is currently using a particular set of regional settings, those are installed by default on the Windows VMs. If you're thinking about giving OS X Yosemite a test drive before release, you'll be happy to know that you can set up the Developer Preview as a virtual machine within Parallels Desktop 10. Once you're running Parallels Desktop 10 under OS X Yosemite, it will provide Windows access to many Yosemite functions such as iCloud Drive. Current users can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac starting today, while the new version will be available for purchase at online and retail stores starting on August 26. The upgrade costs US$49.99 for current Parallels Desktop 8 or 9 users, while the new version is available for $79.99 to new users and at $39.99 for students. TUAW will feature a full review of the new version soon; in the meanwhile, here's a video covering the new version. </iframe</p>
Microsoft delivers Windows Server 2012, puts the enterprise on cloud 8
Forget Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 is where it's at... if you're a corporate IT manager, that is. Microsoft has just posted the finished version of its suit-and-tie OS for immediate sale in download form. Not surprisingly given Microsoft's big cloud push, the emphasis with the upgrade is on improving how well the software scales for internet hosting -- the company wants one common backbone that can handle as little as a small e-mail server to large-scale Azure deployments and virtualization. Server 2012 is also defined by what you won't find: while the Metro-style interface from the platform's Windows 8 cousin shows its face in the Essentials version, it's noticeably stripped down and goes away in the more advanced tiers. The real shakeup for some might just be the new price points, which drop the cost by a large amount for offices that don't need more than a slice of what the all-out Datacenter edition has to offer. We'll admit that most of our attention as end users will be focused on what happens several weeks from now, but if you're one of those rare server operators that can't wait to start testing a new OS release almost immediately, you've got a head start on most of us.
VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion
With Mountain Lion newly available and Windows 8 on the verge of shipping, now was a pretty good time for VMware to update its Fusion virtualization software, dont'cha think? The company just announced Fusion 5 with 70-plus new features, including support for Win 8 and tight integration with OS X 10.8. For instance, you can now view Windows programs in Mountain Lion's Launchpad, while VMware software updates pop up in the Notification Center. Fusion also supports AirPlay for the first time, and you can also run either Mountain Lion or Mountain Lion Server as a virtual machine. The company also added support for Retina Display MacBook Pros, so that everything looks crisp on that 2,880 x 1,800 screen. Also of note: Fusion now supports USB 3.0, and Linux users get some love in the form of Open GL 2.1 graphics support. The standard version of Fusion 5 is available now for $49.99, but people who bought Fusion 4 since the release of Mountain Lion can upgrade for free. There's also a professional version ($100 for one license), which includes all the above features, and also lets IT departments lock down settings for employees' virtual machines.%Gallery-163118%
Windows Server 2012 pares back to four versions, looks to give small businesses more bang for the buck
Microsoft has been devoting most of its OS update attention this year to Windows 8, not its suit-wearing Windows Server 2012 counterpart. Some of the mystery has been cleared up through word of a greatly simplified server OS lineup. Just four versions of Windows Server will sit in IT backrooms versus the whopping 12 from Server 2008 R2, with an emphasis on making the feature slope a little gentler. The biggest improvement is the near-identical feature set of Windows Server 2012 Standard compared to its Datacenter equivalent: the only advantage of Datacenter is the jump to unlimited virtual machines, giving smaller businesses a way to save some cash. Foundation and Essentials will cover the basics for these outfits if just 15 or 25 very real machines need to hop onboard. The base prices of $425 to $4,809 per copy for all but the OEM-only Foundation still make it doubtful that we'll be loading Server 2012 on a PC tucked into a closet at home, but it's evident between this and the streamlined Windows 8 selection that Microsoft wants to avoid the flood of versions that confused buyers during the Windows Vista and 7 days.
Google Compute Engine brings Linux virtual machines 'at Google scale'
As anticipated, Google has just launched its cloud service for businesses at Google I/O 2012, called Google Compute Engine. Starting today Urs Holzle announced "anyone with large-scale computing needs" can access the infrastructure and efficiency of Google's datacenters. The company is promising both performance and stability -- Amazon EC2 they're coming for you -- claiming "this is how infrastructure as a service is supposed to work". It's also promising "50 percent more computes per dollar" than competitors. Beta testers will be on hand at later meetings to give impressions of the service, if you want to know how running your apps on 700,000 (and counting) cores feels. During the presentation we got a demo of a genome app and we're sure if we understood what was going on, it would have been impressive. Hit the source links below for more details on "computing without limits" or to sign up for a test yourself. Update: Looking for more info? Check out the hour long video from Google I/O dedicated to the technical details, embedded after the break. Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012's developer conference at our event hub!
Amazon Appstore's Test Drive try before you buy feature now available on Android phones
When Amazon's Appstore initially appeared on the Android scene last year, one of its most innovative features was a Test Drive virtual machine that let users try out apps for free from their desktop, and now that technology has come back to the handset. In the newest update pushed today and pictured above, release-2.6.53 adds beta support for the cloud-based Test Drive feature to let users try out new software within the Appstore app itself. According to the description the feature is enabled on "select" Android phones and apps, although we didn't find any to try it out with on our Galaxy S II. Check for an update within the app to try it out for yourself or click the Appstore link below from your phone to snag the latest version.
Dell Precision R5500 lets four graphics pros work on one PC, we wish it did gaming
Workstations aren't normally our focus, but when Dell shows off a new Precision system that lets four media pros share its graphics hardware at once, you can be sure the company has our attention. If your IT chief springs for a Precision R5500 with four Quadro 2000 cards, each of those cards can take advantage of a graphics pass-through in Citrix's virtualization to render 3D models at speeds much more like what you'd get if the Quadro were sitting in your own PC. Before you have visions of four-player Modern Warfare parties after-hours at work, the inherent barriers of distance and the virtual machine itself will likely rule out any game sessions.
Parallels Mobile updated for Retina display
The Parallels Mobile app (US$4.99 intro price, regular price $19.99) received an update today that provides support for the Retina display on the new iPad. The update is free to all existing users of Parallels Mobile. Parallels Mobile is designed to allow remote operation of virtual machines running under Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac. According to the company, the user interface and icons of the app were re-created in 264 pixel per inch high-resolution for the best possible user experience. When your Mac or virtual machine resolution is set higher than 1024 x 768, it's now possible to see all of the applications, files and images on the virtual machine with outstanding image quality. Parallels has also improved the login experience for connecting your Mac and remote iPad, and the app now supports international keyboards for the Mac host and Windows virtual machines in all languages supported by iOS.
Parallels Desktop 7 updated so you can test Windows 8
Users of Parallels Desktop 7 are used to using a variety of operating systems on their Macs: Windows 7, Google Chrome OS, Fedora and Ubuntu Linux, and even other instances of OS X Lion. An update that was released today by Parallels now adds support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion. The update to Build 7.0.15055 (Revision 740667 if you're counting) can be installed from Parallels Desktop 7 at no cost. Once the update is installed, the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available as a free one-click install from File > New. The Parallels Mobile app (free) can be used to operate the virtual machine from an iPad or iPhone, great for those times when you want to (koff) pretend your iPad is a Windows 8 tablet. A screenshot of Windows 8 as seen from an iPad follows.
Windows 8 will deliver Hyper-V virtualization tech to all, power users rejoice
Hear this nerds? Windows 8 will ship with Hyper-V virtualization software integrated into the OS. Until now Hyper-V was limited to Microsoft's server products, but now consumers (whether they care or not) will be able to fire up virtual machines without the need to download VirtualBox or some other VM software suite. Now, the average person probably won't care too much, but power users will be thrilled. And, if virtualization can be integrated seamlessly to enhance security (through sandboxing) and compatibility with legacy apps (say, via an included XP license), it could be a huge boon to casual users -- even if they don't realize it's there. For more details about Hyper-V from the Windows 8 devs, including a nice demo video, check out the source link.
Parallels Desktop 7 plays nice with Lions and cameras and developers, oh my!
Today sees the release of Parallels 7, the newest version of its popular, competition beating virtualization software. This edition plays nicely with Lion, runs multiple virtual machines and has received several performance tweaks -- for the number obsessed, you'll enjoy knowing that it resumes Windows 60 percent faster than Parallels 6. Gamers will notice a 40 percent bump in 3D graphics rendering and video-chatters will find that Windows can now access your Mac while it's being dictated by OS X. Low end users who don't have Windows 7, fear not -- you can use the "Windows on Demand" service to buy a license via an "easy-to-use wizard" like, erm -- Clippy. Mobile fans will also see Parallels' iOS app give you remote access to your home machine, but be quick -- the price is leaping skyward from $4.99 to $19.99 soon. You can grab the standalone edition for $80, but folks already using versions 5 or 6 can level-up for $50.
Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac: Faster, new features, better mobility
Parallels 7 has just been announced. The latest iteration of Parallels, the virtualization environment that currently has about 75% of the total Mac market share for VM software, ships with more than 90 new and enhanced features. As you'd expect, one of the enhancements is the speed of the app. Based on benchmarks run by Parallels, the app is 60 percent faster than Parallels Desktop 6 when resuming Windows and up to 45 percent faster for 3D graphics. Lion compatibility is also improved in the new release -- the app allows use of Full Screen mode, Launch Pad, and Mission Control while running Windows apps. Want to run apps that take advantage of the Mac's iSight / FaceTime camera in both Windows and Mac OS at the same time? With Parallels 7, that's now possible. Developers will love the fact that they can now run OS X Lion in a virtual machine (see screenshot at top of page) -- it's no problem at all to run multiple sessions of Windows and Lion on your Mac. If you don't currently own a Windows license, Parallels now includes "Windows on Demand," a service that lets you purchase and automatically install Windows 7 in a virtual machine on your Mac. There's also an upgraded capability to connect to virtual machines remotely from iOS devices using the Parallels Mobile App. The app is currently free, but will sell for US$4.99 after 9/1 and eventually jump to $19.99. Pricing for the new version is $79.99, or $49.99 for an upgrade from Parallels 5 or 6. The Student Edition is available for $39.99. A Switch to Mac edition is available for $99.99 and includes a number of video tutorials on how to use a Mac, and Enterprise volume licenses are available as well. A full review of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac and the Parallels Mobile App is coming soon to TUAW, so stay tuned. Show full PR text Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Makes Windows Programs Roar with Mac OS X Lion Features; New Parallels Mobile App Delivers OS X and Windows Control Plus Flash Videos with Sound Launch Pad, Full Screen and other supported Lion features plus 90 enhancements make the No. 1 selling and best performing software for running Windows on Macs better than ever Renton, WA. September 1, 2011 – Parallels® today announced the September 6th availability of Parallels Desktop® 7 for Mac (www.parallels.com/desktop/seven), the fastest, most intuitive and immersive version yet of the No. 1 selling software for running Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on a Mac without rebooting. Over three million current Parallels Desktop users can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 starting today. More than 90 new and enhanced features in Parallels Desktop 7 include Mac OS® X Lion integration, performance boosts and a powerful new Parallels Mobile app and My Parallels services platform for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices. Parallels Desktop 7 is packed with features most desired by users, extending its lead as the best solution for businesses and consumers worldwide. "As Macs have become more popular than ever, a growing number of Mac users, including enterprises, find they need to run critical Windows programs on their Macs. Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac lets you run popular apps like Windows Internet Explorer, Access, OneNote, Quicken and more, even the most demanding graphical programs, without rebooting and without compromise on speed and usability. Run Windows applications like they were made for your Mac," said Parallels CEO Birger Steen. "The people have spoken and Parallels listened to make the best even better. Whether you're a business, individual or student, Parallels Desktop 7 gives you the best Windows on Mac performance plus mobility from any iPad, iPhone or iPod touch." According to results from more than 4,000 benchmark tests conducted by independent publisher MacTech, Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac outperformed its closest competitor in 92 percent of 3D graphics tests and 84 percent of general performance tests.1 Parallels Desktop 7 performance is even faster. It outpaces its competitor by 120 percent when copying files within Windows, and 40 percent when starting and resuming Windows, according to testing conducted by Parallels. It is also 60 percent faster than Parallels Desktop 6 for resuming Windows and up to 45 percent faster for 3D graphics in some applications. Parallels Desktop 7 delivers the most immersive and integrated Windows on Mac experience ever so customers can enjoy the full benefits of the Mac hardware they love. Highlights include: Enjoy Lion functionality including Full Screen, Launch Pad and Mission Control, for your Windows programs Run multiple copies of OS X Lion or Windows and their applications on your Mac Use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to watch and listen to Flash videos in Windows on your Mac; access and run your OS X, Windows, Chrome, Ubuntu and other operating systems, their applications and files on your Mac anytime from anywhere Windows on Demand - purchase and automatically install Windows on your Mac right from Parallels Desktop 7 in the U.S. – Parallels does all the work for you! 1 MacTech Labs: Virtualization Benchmarks, Jan. 5, 2011, www.mactech.com/2011/01/05/virtualization-benchmarks  For people who want to switch from PC to Mac, Parallels also announced the availability of Parallels Desktop 7 Switch to Mac EditionTM, which includes Parallels Desktop 7 plus Parallels High Speed USB transfer cable, as well as almost two hours of video tutorials that make it easy to learn how to use your new Mac. Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Enterprise Edition (www.parallels.com/desktop/enterprise) empowers businesses and IT departments to support Windows based business applications for Mac users with a configurable, policy-compliant solution that easily fits into existing business processes and helps reduce the cost of deploying and maintaining client-based software. Today Parallels also separately announced (www.parallels.com/press) the new Parallels Mobile app with My Parallels service for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices works with Parallels Desktop 7 and is for sale in the App Store on (or shortly after) September 6th. The new Parallels Mobile app lets you remotely access and control both your Mac and Windows applications, and files from anywhere. Its new Windows features include audio support for Flash and the ability to copy and paste text between Windows programs on your Mac and your Apple mobile devices. Details are available at www.parallels.com/mobile. Parallels Desktop 7 has more than 90 new and improved features including: Simple Switching, Simple Daily Use You asked for it: New look and feel delivers on top customer requests for usability Make Windows programs roar: Enjoy Lion functionality including Full Screen, Launch Pad and Mission Control, for your Windows programs. Keep your routine: Run Windows programs like they were made for your Mac, with seamless integration, improved virtual printing, shared folders and more. Moving to Mac made easy: Move your programs, files, and user settings – even browser favorites – from your PC to your Mac with a complete set of switching tools. Make your new Mac just as familiar as your old PC. Webcams: Enjoy using your Mac's iSight or FaceTime HD camera in both OS X Lion and Windows programs Windows on demand: U.S. customers can purchase and automatically install Windows on your Mac right from Parallels Desktop 7 – Parallels does all the work for you2 Speed and Performance Fastest ever: Start, stop and resume Windows more quickly than ever. Access and work faster with Windows and Mac files. Brilliant graphics: Experience Parallels' maximum speed and performance for 3D and graphic intensive applications with improved full screen support and up to 1GB of video memory Richer audio: Enjoy music, movies, videos and games more than ever before with support for 7.1 surround sound and a new 5.1 sound driver Mobility and Manageability Get more done: Work or play longer with improved battery life performance Connect anytime, anywhere: Access Mac or Windows applications and documents from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch with the new Parallels Mobile app – including new capabilities such as audio support and cut-and-paste within Windows applications running on your Mac Flash video with sound on the go: New audio integration with Flash means you can watch and listen to Flash videos on your iPad and iOS devices by remotely running Windows Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player on your Mac with the new Parallels Mobile app Multiple virtual machines: Run multiple copies of OS X Lion or Windows and their applications on your Mac. Easily open virtual machines created by other Parallels products as well import virtual machines created in third-party software. 2 English-language version only, United States   Anti-Virus and Internet Security for both Mac and Windows: Enjoy peace of mind with a free 90-day trial of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac and Kaspersky Internet Security for Windows. Availability and Pricing Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is available today as an upgrade for current Parallels Desktop users. It will be available to the general public, both a downloadable version and packaged software for delivery, from www.parallels.com starting on September 6th. Packaged software will also be available starting September 6th at Apple retail stores, Apple.com, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, MicroCenter and hundreds of other retail locations nationwide. The standard retail price (SRP) of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is $79.99 and a student edition is available for $39.99. Parallels Desktop 7 Switch to Mac Edition is $99.99. Special pricing of $49.99 is available for customers currently using VMware Fusion who want to have a solution that is fully compatible with Lion. Upgrades are available now for existing Parallels Desktop for Mac customers for $49.99. Details are available online at www.parallels.com. Volume pricing and site-license opportunities for Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Enterprise Edition are available by contacting the Parallels Sales Team at http://www.parallels.com/desktop/volume-licensing. Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Japanese. Additional localized versions will soon be available in, simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, Czech, Polish and Portuguese. A free trial of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac is available starting September 6th, along with in-depth information, videos and screenshots of the new features at www.parallels.com/desktop/seven. Customers who purchased Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac from an authorized reseller on or after August 1, 2011, are eligible to upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac at no additional cost. If you purchased from parallels.com or have registered your product activation key you will automatically be emailed instructions on how to upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 at no additional cost. The new Parallels Mobile app is available in the App Store on (or shortly after) September 1 with a $4.99 introductory price; the standard retail price is $19.99. Current users of the free Parallels Mobile app will receive a free upgrade to the new Parallels Mobile app when it becomes available by simply updating the Parallels Mobile app on their mobile devices. About Parallels Parallels is a global leader in hosting and cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with more than 800 employees in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.parallels.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ParallelsMac and Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ParallelsDesktop.
Amazon.com lets you play with an Android virtual machine, try apps before you buy them
When Amazon's Appstore rolled out last week, we glossed over one detail that merely seemed neat. Today, we're inclined to say that Test Drive may be the most significant part of Amazon's announcement that day. Basically, Test Drive allows US customers to take apps for a spin at Amazon.com, with all the comfort that their tried-and-true desktop web browser brings -- but rather than sit you down with a Flash-based mockup of the app, Amazon is giving you a taste of bona fide cloud computing with an Android virtual machine. In other words, what you're looking at in the screenshot above isn't just a single program, but an entire virtual Android smartphone with working mouse controls, where you can not only try out Paper Toss, but also delete it, browse through the device's photo gallery, listen to a few tunes, or even surf the web from the working Android browser -- as difficult as that may be without keyboard input. Amazon explains: Clicking the "Test drive now" button launches a copy of this app on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), a web service that provides on-demand compute capacity in the cloud for developers. When you click on the simulated phone using your mouse, we send those inputs over the Internet to the app running on Amazon EC2 - just like your mobile device would send a finger tap to the app. Our servers then send the video and audio output from the app back to your computer. All this happens in real time, allowing you to explore the features of the app as if it were running on your mobile device. Today, Amazon's Test Drive is basically just Gaikai for mobile phones -- its purpose is simply to sell apps, nothing more. But imagine this for a sec: what if you could access your own smartphone data, instead of the mostly blank slate that Amazon provides here? %Gallery-119809% [Thanks, Ryan]
IcedRobot Android fork to sidestep legal battle between Oracle, Google
We'd prepared ourselves for a drawn-out legal battle between Oracle and Google when we heard the former was suing the latter for Java-related copyright infringement, but fortunately for Android enthusiasts, not everyone was so resigned. A team of developers are working on an Android fork called IcedRobot (yep, that's the logo) to separate the offending Dalvik Virtual Machine from the OS, hopefully circumventing this epic argument altogether. The project seeks to create a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that is based on OpenJDK (an open-source implementation of Java), avoiding Oracle's Apache Harmony, and to allow Android to run on just about any PC with the use of Hotspot, another device non-specific JVM using open-source Java. It's a tall order, and the devilish little Android has already gained a healthy amount of tech industry skepticism, but we're interested to see if these guys can make it work. Either way, we're pretty sure we've still got years of legal volleying to go before Google and Oracle can play nice again -- this ain't no People's Court, folks.
Bloomberg: RIM working to let BlackBerry PlayBook run Android apps, but Dalvik's not the way
We'd heard sweet, sweet rumors that RIM would include a Java virtual machine in the BlackBerry PlayBook and even bring Android apps on board -- and lo and behold, Bloomberg's corroborating those claims with no fewer than three anonymous sources. Where the new rumor diverges is that the Dalvik virtual machine used in Google's OS reportedly won't be part of the formula; RIM considered it, these sources say, but decided it didn't want to get involved in the Oracle / Google legal fracas. Apparently, the company's working on this secret project in-house and targeting a possible release in the second half of the year. We have to say, the ready availability of roughly 200,000 Android programs could be quite the shot in the arm if WebWorks and AIR don't produce killer apps right away.
BGR: BlackBerry PlayBook to possibly use Android's Dalvik virtual machine, might run Android apps
RIM's been hyping AIR apps and web apps for the PlayBook for a while now, but there's a chance much bigger things are in the works: BGR says the company wants to add in Java compatibility for legacy BlackBerry apps, and that among other options it's considering using the Dalvik virtual machine found in Android to get there. That makes a lot of sense -- Dalvik is one of the most advanced Java(ish) virtual machines out there, and it's open-source, so RIM could conceivably take it and tweak it to work with existing BlackBerry apps, which are built in Java. Clever, clever. But that's not all: BGR goes on to speculate that using Dalvik will also allow the PlayBook and future QNX devices to straight-up run regular Android apps, which is obviously a much bigger deal than simply using the same virtual machine. Exactly how or why BGR's making that leap is unclear, since running Android apps on the PlayBook would require porting much more than just Dalvik, but it's out there. In fact, it's been out there since December 7, when Fortune picked up a note from Gleacher & Company analyst Mark McKechnie suggesting that RIM was planning to offer Android compatibility, so we're curious if this rumor's just taking another trip through the internet meat grinder. Honestly, our bet is that RIM is far too proud to offer Android compatibility and that it's just investigating Dalvik as a Java environment, but we'd love to be proven wrong -- we'll see what happens.
