Parallels 11 is a polished virtualisation solution that allows Mac users to switch easily between OS X and Windows apps, regardless of which operating system they were written for.
The newest version of Parallels Desktop for Mac — the software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows without having to reboot first — will be released on Tuesday. The software has undergone an extensive public beta test for the past couple of months. A free upgrade for registered users, Parallels Desktop for Mac costs $79.99.
New features in Parallels Desktop for Mac include Coherence, a feature that lets Windows applications operate much like Mac applications by appearing in the Mac OS X Finder’s Dock. Also new is a migration tool called Transporter. It helps users move settings, applications, files and profiles to a virtual machine running on Parallels without having to reinstall Windows. Transporter also works with VMware Workstation and Microsoft Virtual PC (on PowerPC-based Macs).
Another new feature of Parallels Desktop for Mac is plug and play support of USB 2.0 devices, including external hard drives, printers and scanners running at full native speed.
One of the most important changes for Parallels Desktop for Mac is the ability to work with existing Boot Camp partitions as virtual machines. That means you don’t have to install Windows twice on Macs that you’d prefer to use Boot Camp with sometimes, and Parallels for other times.
Other new features in this release of Parallels include drag and drop support, Windows Vista compatibility and full-feature virtual CD/DVD drive use.
This story, 'Parallels Desktop for Mac update emerges from beta' was originally published by PCWorld.
We have just released an update to Parallels® Toolbox for Mac®, with four additional tools and several new features requested by users.
New Tools
The four new tools are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1_The Toolbox menu, always available in the Mac menu bar
They are:
Download Audio – Similar to the Download Video tool but targeted toward downloading audio from the Internet, including multiple track downloads from a single page.
Airplane Mode – Easily disable both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® on your Mac.
Switch Resolution – Enables you to quickly switch display resolutions—perhaps even to resolutions you didn’t know your display supported. This tool will be especially useful to those who consider the Apple® resolution choices a bit too limited. Compare the macOS® choices on an iMac® to the ones offered in the Switch Resolution tool, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2_Comparing the Mac Display preferences to the Screen Resolution tool
Presentation Mode – This tool automatically detects connected external displays or a projector. It also enables several other tools to minimize distractions, such as hiding files on your desktop, disabling notifications, and blocking your Mac from going to sleep.
New Features
Among the features in this update are:
The Download Video tool can be automatically updated. This is especially important since some of the most popular video posting sites (YouTube, Facebook, etc.) change the manner in which videos are referenced. These changes can make the Download Video tool no longer work. This update means that we can fix these issues quickly.
Microsoft For Mac Updates Downloads
The Screenshot tools can now save images in different formats. You set the format you want in the tool preferences, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3_New image formats available in the Screenshot tools
Several different do-not-sleep durations are now available in the Do Not Sleep tool.
Parallels For Mac Activation Key
You can install the new Parallels Toolbox update by using the “Check for Updates …” menu item. (See Figure 4.)
Office For Mac Updates History
Figure 4_Checking for updates of Parallels Toolbox for Mac
Parallels
Every Parallels Toolbox user will receive the new features in this update. Only users with a subscription—either for Parallels Desktop® 12 for Mac or Parallels Toolbox—will receive the new tools.
The tool I use the most is Download Video. Let us know in the comments which tool you use the most.
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