Customer Reviews and Ratings

5.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 111 reviews

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    This has completed my Mac conversion!

    • Written by from North Bethesda

    Other than initial difficulties in transferring my Outlook files from Outlook for Mac to the far more versatile and reliable Office version, Parallels has allowed me to be totally flexible on my Mac, using Office software as needed while having the Mac attributes literally one click away!

    3 of 3 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels Desktop 8

    • Written by from Prospect Heights

    I have a Mac, but needed a way to reliably run programs and applications for business that only come in PC versions. The solution: Boot Camp? Nah-- couldn't get it to work. Buy a PC? Heck, no! The solution is Parallels! I've had Parallels for about 3 years, and it has worked flawlessly. With Parallels, my Mac behaves like a PC-- only better! Parallels is simple and easy to use. The upgrade to version 8 was easy to install, too.

    3 of 4 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Switched from VM Fusion to Parallels 8 and I never looked back

    • Written by from Lynwood

    I have yet to experience Parallels crashing, which is so great! It just works! The switching back and forth from parallels to Mac App. is smooth and the cpu consumption on my mac is lower than VM Fusion. Memory consumption was an issue with VM Fusion, long are those days behind me now. Overall, I give VM Fusion 5 on performance and 5 on UI interface and ease of use.

    2 of 2 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    How a Mac addict can love Windows

    • Written by from Norman

    I have been a Mac user since 1985 so I am biased I admit. In my opinion, Macs are the best computers on the market. But unfortunately, over the years, software makers have not felt there was enough demand to provide Mac software applications for all needs of business users. Well with Parallels that all changes. Now you can run Windows software on your Mac and continue to run your Mac software also. I log in to my business domain every day and use Windows-only software all day long while also running Mac software. Parallels has provided me with the ability to continue to use the Mac hardware and the software I love along with the Windows software I have to use.

    1 of 1 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    PARALLELS

    • Written by from baton rouge

    I used vmware for several years and switched to Parallels 8 when it came out. the performance is very snappy and without any compatibility problems for windows 7 and windows software. Smooth integration with desktops and folders/files between mac and windows. Always had some little glitch or another with vmare. Parallels 8 is great.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Fantastic Product -- Provides the Best of Both Worlds!

    • Written by from Westford

    Parallels does exactly what it says it will. It enables you to easily and conveniently work with your favorite Windows applications in a Mac environment. It is incredibly easy to setup and use, and it provides a variety of different options that let you tailor it to your specific needs.

    4 of 4 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels and Quicken

    • Written by from New York

    As a long time Quicken user, I learned that the only way to continue to utilize Quicken with my new MAC was through Parallels. Quicken remains one of the safest and most complete money management tools and Parallels makes this application available to MAC users!

    4 of 4 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels 8 Review

    • Written by from Buford

    I frequently have to use Microsoft applications and parallels with coherence makes this very easy.

    3 of 4 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Smooth Sailing

    • Written by from Sea Bright

    I am a developer and do a tremendous amount of cross-platform work, often across the different versions of the same operating system. With Parallels it is truly a joy to switch and move between operating systems, environments and access my files and tools.

    It is highly stable, unintrusive and rather easy to manage. I am not a Systems Engineer, so for me I don't want to learn all the knobs and buttons required to get something like Parallels installed. In fact, I have no desire to know about the internals of a VM or how it works. Parallels fits the bill and lets me do what I do best - write code and have a blast while doing it.

    1 of 1 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels Desktop Saves Space On My Desktop

    • Written by from McHenry

    If all web browsers were identical, then I wouldn't need Windows. But I design websites, and I need to view those sites on almost every web browser there is. Using Parallels Desktop for Mac, I can check the layout and function of my sites with all of those browsers; and I don't need a second computer taking up space on my desk. And if I get infected with malware? No problem! I just trash the affected virtual machine and open a new copy.

    8 of 9 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best way to run Windows on a Mac

    • Written by from Simi Valley

    MacBook Pro is a great machine. But too much of the business world still runs Windows. I had heard from several friends that the MacBook is a great machine to run Windows on so I used Bootcamp to give it a try. With native driver support built into Boocamp, Windows was fast and stable. Perhaps even more stable then some systems that are specifically designed to run Windows. The only problem was having to reboot whenever I wanted to switch between Windows and Mac OS.
    I had heard about Parallels on a tech podcast so I downloaded the trial version and after a quick install, I was running Windows in a window right beside my Mac OS. While I was expecting it to be slower (being a virtual machine) I was blown away by the speed. The virtual machine was built using the Bootcamp partition so I knew that if I wanted to take the time to reboot, I could still run Windows natively.
    Parallels gives you to ability to use your hardware any way you want to. I understand that most Windows hardware is cheeper but if you have a need to use software on both Windows and Mac OS, why buy two seperate machines when one will do the job.

    3 of 4 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels Desktop 8 is perfect

    • Written by from Saginaw

    I installed Parallels Desktop 8 on both of my Mac laptops running Windows XP Pro and Windows 8 Pro respectively. The software works perfectly and without question each and every time I start up. I recommend it to all my friends who want to move to Mac OS X and still need to use Windows as well.

    0 of 1 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Much Better Than Fusion

    • Written by from Coldstream

    I used Fusion for three years and before that I fudged ways of using Windows. Fusion worked but memory allocation was always a problem and VMware continues to ignore this issue (check their message boards). Available memory would be almost zero and inactive memory would be 3+GB within 30 minutes bogging down the Macs (all of them). I needed Quickbooks so ditching Windows was not an option since Intuit doesn't have a Canadian Quickbooks.

    I switched to Parallels and was instantly amazed at how beautifully it integrated with Mac. Seamless is not an understatement. Memory creeps up but Parallels appears to handle it better than Fusion (I haven't used it long enough to be certain). It's a far better product than Fusion.

    2 of 3 people found this useful

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Big step up

    • Written by from Daniel Island

    I use parallels on my home Mac to access programs at my very large healthcare system that can only recognize Windows. The latest version of parrallels operates much more quickly and intuitively on Windows side. I have already recommended it to colleagues.

    3 of 5 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    PC in a box . . .

    • Written by from Albuquerque

    Yes, I run different versions of Windows on my MAC to support some PC only applications. Parallels has never let me down.

    3 of 3 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels 8 : An Excellent Tool for Macs

    • Written by from Romeo

    I've been primarily a Mac user since"84 and prefer that platform. This program has been an amazing to my older MacBook Pro. It enables me to seamlessly run Windows 7 Pro on my MacBook Pro and tie in to my office network as an additional workstation and do anything I could with a PC, but transfer between platforms any of my digital and radiographic images for review, manipulation and electronic transfer via internet. I 'm impressed by how the Parallels software can seamlessly update even with my office software still running in Windows and then simply resume. The only shortcoming for me is a an overall ( but acceptable for me) reduction in speed, which no doubt isn't helped by my MacBook's is rather limited 4GB of RAM.

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    If you have to use Windows, this is the way to do it.

    • Written by from Washington

    I've been using Parallels for about 6 years now, and it's absolutely worth every penny I've put into it. It's far better than rebooting using BootCamp, as it allows me to maintain access to my OSX apps. As a developer who has to straddle both worlds, I can't imagine working without it.

    1 of 2 people found this useful

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    IT WORKS

    • Written by from PESHAWAR

    AN EXTERMILY EASY WAY TO CONTACT YOUR MAC TO WINDOWS 8

    2 of 4 people found this useful

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels for Financial Success

    • Written by from Peachtree City

    As a retired trader/investor, it is critically important to me to be able to use DDE linked spreadsheets using Excel, and to be able to actually engage my full desktop from my iPad when I am traveling. Parallels 8 has provided me with the most excellent vehicle for both. Works extremely well.

    5 of 11 people found this useful

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Parallels 8 with quickbooks pro

    • Written by from Alameda

    Love my macs, but the windows version of quickbooks pro for contractors is way more robust, allowing for payroll in-house.
    Parallels 8 allows a quick &seamless interface into the world of 'windows', almost like its just another Mac application

    5 of 7 people found this useful