Parallels Desktop is a nice solution for Intel-Macs that give you the flexibility of running Windows on a Mac OS X simultaneously without rebooting.

You can use Parallels Desktop for Mac on any Intel-powered iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro Towers.

Now you can take advantage of important Windows-only software applications like Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Project, Quicken, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft SharePoint, SQL Server, and more, without giving up the security, comfort and functionality of your Mac!

Why use Parallels Desktop for Mac?

It's Fast!

Parallels Desktop for Mac is the only solution that automatically takes full advantage of Intel Core Duo Virtualization Technology which allows you to run Windows and its applications at full speed.

It's Secure!

Introducing Parallels Shared Networking. Running Windows in Parallels Desktop for Mac is now more secure than if you run Windows on a PC. Shared Networking enables multiple IP addresses to appear as one IP address on a network and effectively hides virtual machines from the outside world, making them far less likely to be the victim of a hacker attack.

Parallels Desktop virtual machines work as isolated files, not partitions, which means they are totally secure and completely isolated from OS X. There is no chance of infecting your Mac with a Windows virus, spyware or malware.

Because Parallels Desktop virtual machine files can be easily compressed by 50% or more with built-in Parallels Compressor technology, you can easily back up your whole Windows virtual machine on a network or even burn it to a CD or DVD.

It's Flexible!

Introducing Parallels Shared Networking. You can now connect both of your Mac and Windows to the Internet & computer network that only allow you to connect one computer.

Never experience a media or website compatibility issue again! Use Parallels Desktop for Mac to browse the Internet with Internet Explorer or play movies and mp3's in Windows Media Player.

Stay connected to various devices that are not Mac-compatible, like web cameras, Windows Mobile 5 devices, and USB devices.

Use Parallels Desktop for Mac to connect to your company's corporate network and share documents with your co-workers who are working on Windows, Linux, or Solaris computers.

It's Easy to Use!

Introducing Parallels Installation Assistant. We improved Parallels Desktop for Mac with a powerful new tool that helps you to install Windows XP or Windows Vista in a secure, stable virtual machine with a single click! Now your Windows installation on a Mac easier than on a PC!

We've added features in Parallels Desktop for Mac that automatically installs and configures all your hardware drivers for Windows.

We've also included a simple wizard, backed up by easy-to-follow user guides, that enables any user, even a true computer novice, to easily build and configure a virtual machine & quickly install Windows or any other operating system.

Requirements:
· Intel-based Mac (1.66 GHz or faster).
· Memory: 512 MB minimum available memory (1 GB recommended). Support for any memory configuration (up to 16 GB), without modifying your host system

Disk Space:
· Software Installation. 70 MB of available hard drive space for Parallels Desktop for Mac installation. (Does not include hard drive space for guest virtual machine.)
· Virtual Machine Installation. Hard drive space allocation for virtual machines is dependent upon the guest operating system. 15 GB of available hard drive space is recommended per virtual machine for Windows and Linux

· CD-ROM: CD-ROM drive for installation (if applicable)
· Networking: Internet connection is required to receive online Parallels Desktop for Mac product updates
· Display: 16-bit or 32-bit display adapter recommended

NOTE: To be able to use this trial version of Parallels Desktop you will have to request a trial license key from HERE.

Here are some key features of "Parallels Desktop":

· Run your favorite Mac OS and Windows applications at the same time without rebooting
· Work in Shared Networking mode that ensures seamless connection to any network from Windows via any connection your Mac uses
· Achieve a high level of performance for Windows on your Mac by leveraging Intel VT - an industry-leading solution supported by Parallels Software
· Use Coherence mode, drag-and-drop, copy-and-paste, transparent file associations to achieve seamless integration and maintain a single, integrated environment for all of your applications
· Save the running virtual machine state and revert to it at any time
· Quickly create a virtual machine and install the guest operating system with OS Installation Assistant
· Run your Boot Camp partition via virtual machine
· Burn CDs or DVDs from the virtual machine using your Mac optical drive
· Use USB 2.0 devices in the virtual machine
· Achieve optimal virtual machine performance and reduce virtual hard disk file size by 50% or more with Parallels Compressor
· Migrate your Windows PC into a virtual machine using Parallels Transporter
· Browse the images of your virtual machines directly from Mac using Parallels Explorer
· Download and use pre-built virtual machines from Parallels Virtual Appliances Library

Limitations:

· 15 days trial period.

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

Graphics:
· Windows WDDM driver with DX and OpenGL support: allows you to use Aero theme in Windows Vista and Windows 7 virtual machines in any view mode, including Coherence.
· Multi-monitor support for Windows and Linux guest OSs: Use all displays of your Mac in the virtual machine while in Full Screen and Coherence.
· DirectX 9 Shader Model 3 DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 3 is supported for Windows virtual machines.
· OpenGL 2.1 support for Linux guest OSs: Applications that require OpenGL (up to version 2.1) can be used in Linux virtual machines.

Virtualization:
· Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) support
· Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard supported both as host and guest OS. 64-bit Snow Leopard is now supported.
· General performance of virtualization engine improved.
· Improved scalability and performance of SMP.
· 8-way SMP: Users can assign up to 8 virtual CPUs to a single virtual machine.
· Intel VT-x2 (VPIDs, EPT and FlexPriority) support: Intel VT-x2 virtualization technology features support for better performance of virtual machines.
· KVM paravirtualization: improved performance of paravirtualized Linux guest OSs.
· Better handling of Snapshots.
· Improved performance of Boot Camp virtual machines.
· Increased boot speed for Windows virtual machines.

New User Interface:
New Virtual Machine window:
· Quartz Composer animations added.
· Coloring synced with virtual machine list.
· Improved look-and-feel and simplified controls.

Improved Virtual Machine Configuration editor:
· Better-organized settings
· Improved look-and-feel

Improved Parallels Desktop preferences:
· Improved look-and-feel
· Better organized settings

Improved Virtual Machine List:
· Drag-and-drop support Add existing virtual machines by dragging their files to the virtual machines list.
· Virtual Machines ordering using Drag-and-drop Rearrange the list by dragging your virtual machines.
· Colored virtual machines Highlight your virtual machines by applying different colors to them in Finder or in the virtual machines list.

· Simplified Parallels Desktop menu structure: More intuitive menus.
· Active Screen Corners in full screen specify an action to perform when you move the pointer to a screen corner in the full screen mode.
· Lockdown: Lock the Parallels Desktop and virtual machine settings to prevent changes.
· Changes in New Virtual Machine assistant: better organised new virtual machine assistant.

Integration Tools and Features:
· Crystal mode: A view mode that provides you with all the benefits of Coherence and at the same time allows you to hide the Parallels Desktop interface elements and work only with Windows applications side-by-side with your Mac applications.
· Improved Coherence work in Windows programs with incredible performance on all your Mac displays. Aero theme is now fully supported in Coherence.
· MacLook Windows look metamorphosis. Now your Windows programs can look like native Mac applications.
· Improved handling of 3rd party virtual machines VMware and Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machines are automatically added to the virtual machines list and can be easily converted into Parallels virtual machines.
· Smooth upgrade from previous versions Painless upgrade from the previous version of Parallels Desktop, no conversion needed.
· Parallels Icon in the Mac Menu bar: new menu bar icon in Crystal mode allows to access Windows Start Menu straight from Mac menu bar.
· Virtual machine is paused when no applications are running in it: with this feature enabled, the virtual machine will be paused automatically when no Windows applications are in use, causing the CPU and memory resources to be released back to your Mac.
· Windows Applications folder in the Dock: new and simple way to open Windows programs straight from the Mac OS Dock.
· Improved tray notifications in Coherence: You can see the Windows notifications in Coherence.
· Improved Shared Folders: Exchanging data through shared folders has been significantly improved.
· Trackpad Gestures support : multi-touch trackpad gestures (swipe, rotate, pinch) can be used with Windows applications, including MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and others.
· Apple Remote support Apple Remote can control Windows applications like MS Power Point, Windows Media Player, Winamp, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and others.
· Horizontal scrolling: Support for mouse devices that provide horizontal scrolling.
· Virtual Links: Use aliases to Mac OS files from Windows virtual machines.
· Shared Clipboard for Linux guest OSs: Copy items between Linux guest OS and Mac OS.
· Copy & paste formatted text Copy and paste formatted text between different Windows and Linux virtual machines and your Mac: the formatting will be preserved.
· Copy & paste pictures Copy and paste pictures between different Windows and Linux virtual machines and your Mac.
· Improved Drag & Drop: Drag email attachments between Windows virtual machine and Mac OS.
· Improved Shared Profile Windows Movies and Downloads folders are accessible from both Mac and Windows.
· Improved Smart Mount Select which types of devices connected to your Mac should be mounted to Windows as volumes.
· Contextual menu items "Show in Finder" and "Run on Mac" items in the contextual menu for the files stored in Mac OS folders that are shared with Windows virtual machine.
· Isolated virtual machine Allows you to isolate your Mac from the virtual machine for the purpose of security or other reasons.
· Universal keyboard switch: use the same shortcuts to switch keyboard input language in Mac and the virtual machine.
· Keyboard Autocapture keyboard input is automatically captured inside the virtual machine when Parallels Desktop is in focus.

Virtual devices support:
· Improved USB speed: USB speed has significantly increased.
· Improved USB compatibility: more types of USB devices are supported.
· Bridging VLAN on Mac: allows the users to access the Mac OS X VLAN from virtual machines.
· Automatic compressing Automatically reduce the virtual hard disk size as the unused space on it grows.
· Virtual network adapters are not listed in Mac OS System Preferences anymore.
· CAC reader devices support Common access cards are now supported in virtual machines.
· Flexible Boot Camp partitions configuration If you have several Boot Camp partitions, you can choose which to use in the virtual machine.
· Built-in disk resizing tool Now you can change the size of your virtual machine's hard disk directly from the Virtual Machine Configuration the file system of your virtual machine will be resized accordingly.

Guest OS installation:
· Windows 7 express installation: Windows 7 can be installed in unattended mode.
· Linux express installation: Most popular Linux OSs can be installed in unattended mode.

Additional Tools:
· Parallels Transporter: Migrate your physical computer or a 3rd party virtual machine (VMware, Microsoft Virtual PC, or VirtualBox) to a Parallels virtual machine. Microsoft Windows 7 is fully supported.
· New Parallels Image Tool: Allows you to resize the virtual disk and change its format.
· Experimental support for Windows trial virtual machines you can now download Windows virtual machines with trial versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008 operating systems.