Parallels Desktop for Mac 2.5 is Out in Final

Parallels released the final build (3186) of Desktop for Mac v2.5 after a lengthy public beta program. It is available from this Parallels Web page. Desktop for Mac allows one to run Windows, including the latest Vista, on an Intel-based Mac without shutting down the Mac and restarting in Windows like Apple's Boot Camp beta requires.

The major new features in version 2.5 are:

• Parallels Installation Assistant making installing Parallels Desktop for Mac easier than before
  
• Parallels Coherence providing seamless integration and allowing you to maintain a single, integrated environment for running all of your applications
  
• Parallels Transporter allowing you to easily migrate your existing system to any Parallels enabled computer.
  
• Full USB 2.0 support allowing you to connect all of your favorite devices to your operating system of choice
  
• Full support for OS X and Windows Vista
  
• Automatic network configuration seamlessly connecting your new virtual system to the Internet without any manual network reconfiguration
  

We tried to download a copy but all attempts (more than 20) ended prematurely, the largest file being 32MB out of 57.4MB before the download ended abruptly. It reminded us of the good old days of dial-up trying to get the latest Mac OS update. We have provided a brief hands-on report after each public beta of v2.5 was released but we will have to wait until we can get a copy. [Bill Fox]