/dev/random

I like to use split disks with my Parallels virtual machines, since it makes backing up the drive image a lot faster and easier. It seems that Parallels Compressor isn’t able to properly compact a split disk, though.
Today I decided to run Compressor since my Windows XP virtual disk was over 15 GB, even though [...]

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I’ve set up my iMac to triple boot Windows with Boot Camp, Leopard, and Tiger. It’s not too difficult. You need to back up all data on your machine first.

Format the drive as a single partition and install Leopard

Install Windows with Boot Camp

Open disk utility, shrink the Leopard partition, and create a [...]

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I’ve been using the new version of Parallels for about a week because Windows feels more responsive under Parallels and I really like the features. However, I find that it slows down my entire system very badly and uses a lot of CPU time even when Windows is idle. I finally decided to go back [...]

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Competition is definitely a good thing for Mac virtualization software. I had switched to VMware because I found it to be faster than Parallels (at least on my old MacBook Pro). When Parallels released their new beta yesterday I decided to give it another chance and I was pleasantly surprised.
It now feels faster than VMware [...]

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This benchmark comparison from CNet Labs confirms my own subjective non-scientific observation: VMware is a lot faster than Parallels. I found that Parallels would sometimes make my old MacBook Pro freeze for as long as several minutes while starting up Windows, which didn’t happen with VMware Fusion. I haven’t installed Parallels on my Core 2 [...]

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I was puzzled by why Parallels 3.0’s Windows sharing feature didn’t work on my MacBook Pro, although it did work when I tried Parallels under Leopard. This item at TUAW explained it.
I had installed MacFUSE 0.4 so I could experiment with procfs, which makes a lot of hardware and software information available as a file [...]

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One limitation of Parallels Desktop 3.0 is that you can no longer resize a disk image (although Parallels says that will be fixed in an update to be released soon). If you need to resize a hard drive now, I found a good work-around for Windows XP: Acronis True Image Home.
The free trial copy [...]

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On the flight to San Francisco, I was sitting next to someone who worked for a software company that specializes in virtualization (not Parallels or VMware). He told me that Apple hired several people to work on virtualization. I suspect Boot Camp in Leopard will involve virtualization.

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Right now I’m at YVR waiting to board my flight in a few minutes. While I was waiting I installed VMware Fusion beta 4. I had previously installed Parallels 3.0 so I got a chance to compare the latest versions of both applications. So far Unity looks very cool – unlike Coherence, Windows applications aren’t [...]

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Parallels released Desktop 3.0 today, which I pre-ordered as soon as it was announced. Coherence got even better – you can now open Mac applications from Windows or tell Windows to open web pages in the Mac browser. It also seems to use less CPU and doesn’t slow my machine down as much as the [...]

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For the last few days I’ve been fighting with Microsoft VSTS to get my source code checked in. Whenever I try to get latest changes to my VMware shared folder, it always fails with error 1359. Just for fun, I tried using the virtual C drive instead of my Mac OS X home directory and [...]

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I need to run several Windows applications for work (Outlook, Visual Studio Team Server, and a custom database application), so I’ve been using Parallels Desktop since the first beta. Their Windows support is excellent and the new Coherence feature makes the experience of running Windows on a Mac almost seamless. However, I also need to [...]

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I’ve been using Parallels Desktop since the first public release. Although their Windows support gets better with each release – I love coherence mode in the recent betas, their Linux support remains abysmal. They still don’t have Parallels Tools for Linux, which keeps the virtual machine’s clock synchronized and lets you move the mouse in [...]

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The new beta of Parallels Desktop is awesome! I just realized that I can double-click a Windows application icon in the finder and have it launch parallels and open that application. Parallels is turning into a real killer app and makes running Windows on a Mac a truly seamless experience.

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Simple, obvious bugs with a quick fix are always fun. In some old code, I found this:

fread(&type,4,1,pkginfo);
if (type == ‘APPL’) ….

Guess what happens on an Intel Mac?

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I noticed a nice new feature in the Parallels Desktop update. It now shows the OS type as a badge in the dock icon.

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Windows Vista

Originally uploaded by mike3k.

I downloaded the preview version of Windows Vista and I’ve been trying it out on my MacBook Pro using Parallels Desktop. It’s very pretty, but it feels annoyingly “dumbed down”.

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I tried the CrossOver Mac beta and I found it to be pretty bad. It really isn’t much better than the original WINE beta I tried a few months ago. I gave up and deleted it after installing & trying IE6.
CrossOver has a built-in installer for supported Windows applications, including Internet Explorer 6 SP1. I [...]

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I finally returned my Developer Transition Kit, which should have been returned to Apple a few months ago. Due to several mixups (Apple originally shipped it to the office and they shipped it to me) and probably a few people dropping the ball, it was sitting here since I got the iMac in January. All [...]

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Via Slashdot: Paul Thurrott answers the question that some IT folks are asking: ‘Is Windows Vista Ready?’ His answer is not only no, but ‘No. God, no. Today’s Windows Vista builds are a study in frustration, and trust me, I use the darn thing day in and day out, and I’ve seen what happens when [...]

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