Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Apple, Microsoft
Parallels for Mac hits 1,000,000 users
by Drew Olanoff Jun 10th 2008 at 6:00PM
Parallels for Mac, the crazily popular utility for Mac users to run Windows on their Apple computers in...a window has said the product's user base has hit 1,000,000 users.That's a really nice pace for a piece of software not blessed by Mr. Jobs himself we'd say.
Right now the company's running a special where you can get 2 copies for $129. Kind of cool if you have multiple Macs around the house like a lot of you do.
Our question is this though:
Do a lot of people get Parallels and run Windows because they want to, or because they have to? Do people secretly love Windows XP (or egads Vista) but want to feel like a cool kid by having a shiny sexy Apple product?
Tell us what you think in the comments, if you're one of the 1,000,000 users of Parallels, why do you run Windows at all anymore?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dolores Parker said 6:13PM on 6-10-2008
Drew,
I run VMWare Fusion and it was only $59.99. I only did it because egads some programs only run on Windows. Needless to say, I very rarely power it up.
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Drew Olanoff said 6:29PM on 6-10-2008
I run Parallels and I'll agree, I rarely power it up.
I got it so that I can test multiple browsers and platforms. And now check out cool appz for DownloadSquad posts.
revolutiondude said 6:16PM on 6-10-2008
Well, I run Ubuntu and use VirtualBox to run Windows XP.
I don't secretly love Windows, but I do need it for things Ubuntu can't do.
There are programs that only Windows can run (even games), so we are, kinda, forced to use it.
For everything else, all I need is Ubuntu (and for some people's cases, Macs).
I guess Windows is one of those things you want to get rid of, but you know you just can't go without it.
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Drew Olanoff said 6:29PM on 6-10-2008
Windows, We just can't Alt-Ctrl-Delete you!
avionicsman said 7:19PM on 6-10-2008
just can't escape that windows thing!! Firefox and safari will not run the realty program. so off to IE I go...
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Richard said 10:31AM on 6-13-2008
Two words: online poker
My favorite poker site is windows only. I don't use Windows for anything else.
I have a programmer friend that switched completely. He runs Windows once a week for his legacy QuickBooks data.
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julian said 7:34PM on 6-10-2008
i do Qemulator and virtual box
but just to know that if i want to open up ruckus (University music player) that lets you get music for free
I also like to play around with ubuntu so virtualization prgms are key.
If i did pay i would go for fusion though way cooler how you can get rid of windows and just have the program
not a fan of windows though
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Jason M. Lemkin said 8:39PM on 6-10-2008
Why Parallels: (1) test IE 6.0 and 7.0; (2) LivePerson (same client not on Mac); (3) outlook web access on IE -- much better AJAX client than on FF/Safari; (4) for some reason, Yahoo IM! for Mac won't handle my old (199X) Yahoo ID ...
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Ron Larson said 9:07PM on 6-10-2008
I use it for development work. There are many things that run better on Windows than Mac. Example, DVD Fab Platinum. It is the only program that will rip DVDs that all my Mac rippers won't. And it is Windows.
Now that being said, I've worked on some Mac's with VM Fusion, and I find Fusion to be better. I wish Parallels would catch up.
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Rose H said 9:50PM on 6-10-2008
I definitely DON'T secretly love Windows. In fact, I find it to be the most evil of all computerkind. But, alas, I use Paralells so that I can download software and games that don't support mac. In no way is that macintosh's fault, though. As soon as people get with the program and start making everything mac friendly, I'm gonna throw it out! Macs are taking over, so hopefully it shouldn't be a long wait. =]
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Michele said 7:54AM on 6-11-2008
They want to feel like a cool kid by having a shiny sexy Apple product (because that's what it is: shiny, sexy and cool).
Too bad, they don't know how to use it (Apple products aren't designed for beginners and the average level of people literacy is very low).
So they have to stick to the 'good, old' Windows, way easier to use (or better, the features they need - games, chatting and other crap - are easier to use).
Finally, the answer is they have to. Because it's the easy way. And people generally love the easy way. Personally I don't; that's why I'm the proud owner of an iMac and the only thought of having something from Microsoft on it (even just the brand itself) makes me shiver.
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Votre said 3:39PM on 6-11-2008
I provide field support for Macintosh OS and apps and have done so since System 6.0.4.
The attitude expressed in your post is one of the reasons why the Mac will always face an uphill battle for widespread acceptance. Nobody enjoys dealing with elitists who say "I'm the proud owner of a Mac" in much the same way some women say " I married a wealthy man."
Remember the ad that said "Think Different"?
Well, there's a lot more to being different than just not being like everyone else.
alf said 6:28PM on 6-11-2008
Both work and a secret dirty love.
Work: Windows-only apps like e-prime, and software that my work only has licenses for on the mac (damn you AcqKnowledge).
Secret dirty love: I heart Office 2007, the ribbon bar makes me swoon. I hate Office 2008.
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Jens Wedin said 5:11AM on 6-11-2008
When doing front-end hacking I use it to check IE on Windows. I also use Axure (UI prototyping) which is only on Windows at this time.
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Drew Olanoff said 5:28AM on 6-11-2008
Lovin' the honesty here. You guys rock.
Even when we switch to Mac, giving up Windows is hard to do because a lot of us have to still cover all bases.
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E.J. said 6:17AM on 6-11-2008
I run XP on Parallels for website testing, Windows Live Mail Desktop (because I can't effectively search my Hotmail on the site), playing some indie games, and running XNA Game Studio.
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revolutiondude said 6:46AM on 6-11-2008
We would be able to completely forget about Windows if there was 100% compatibility for Windows programs on Macs and Linux.
If only there was a way to have support for .exe files out of the box....it would make life easier. Sure there are things like Wine and CrossOver (for Ubuntu, at least) but it would be a lot better if it was out of the box and fully compatible.
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McQ said 9:41AM on 6-11-2008
I develop multi-platform software (eclipse.org). Being able to test two flavors of windows and two linux's without rebooting significantly improves productivity.
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adamzeit said 12:09PM on 6-11-2008
Only run VMWare (sorry, not Parallels) for 1 reason....our business Accounting Software only runs on Windows....and I'm in and out of it in all day. So it stays open on my desktop and I'm always hopping back and forth....but I surely don't WANT to be....Blah...!
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Drew Olanoff said 12:52PM on 6-11-2008
So do y'all think that Apple needs to do a better job with making better built in apps than Microsoft? Or does the apple dev community need to up their game?
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