Parallels Desktop For Mac

Virtualization solutions are great if you want to be able to run apps developed for other operating systems on your Mac, without having to make it dual boot or rebooting to switch between systems.

Parallels Desktop is one of these solutions and enables you to create Windows, Linux, and even macOS virtual machines. Parallels Desktop can also download free systems, such as Chromium OS, Ubuntu, Fedora Linux, CentOS Linux, or Debian GNU/Linux.

To access the Parallels Desktop user interface, you need to sign up for an account free of charge: to streamline the procedure, you can simply connect using your Google or Facebook accounts.

Worth mentioning is that, after the trial period, you will be able to run and create Windows virtual machines only if you get an annual subscription. However, even if you don’t upgrade your plan, you will still be able to work with Linux virtual machines.

To get started, you can either opt to get Windows 10 from Microsoft or install other Windows versions or any other operating system from a DVD, USB drive, or image file. For your convenience, Parallels Desktop comes with a streamlined setup wizard that takes you through all the necessary steps.

Once the virtual machines are configured, you can interact with them using Mac gestures. Both the time and the mouse actions are synced between the two operating systems, and you can use the clipboard to transfer text content in both directions.

You have the option to drag and drop items between the main OS and the virtual machine and vice versa, share certain directories on both platforms, share location information, or communicate with printers.

Naturally, Parallels Desktop delivers control over all the technical details related to your virtual machine: the startup and shutdown habits, if you want it optimized to have a faster virtual machine or a faster Mac, the shared folders, the full-screen optimization mode, and so on.

Parallels Desktop offers you the possibility to work with Windows or Linux applications on your Mac without having to reboot to switch the operating system. In fact, you can also use the virtualization solution to create macOS virtual images.

Bottom line, the software solution delivers a time efficient solution to run Windows or Linux apps on your Mac, without the constraints of a single operating system.