Back in August, Parallels Desktop 8 was released, and many vented their frustration at the company’s decision to only offer support the Retina display to those who’d bought the previous version of Parallels after Apple released Mountain Lion OS X. Today, Parallel’s 8 has been updated once again, and steering clear of controversy, actually brings a bunch of useful new features.
For the uninitiated, Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is one of the many software packages bringing the Windows experience through to OS X. Far from being an also-ran, it’s actually favored by many for its ease of operation, and with Windows 8 having just been released, it’s not too surprising to see Parallels push out a few new implementations tailored for the brand new Microsoft operating system.
Now, there’s full USB 3.0 support, as well as a multitude of new features for those using a Retina display MacBook Pro. With the new 13-inch model now added to the Retina roster, it wasn’t just new software Parallels has had to contend with, but the latest update should have everything operating in perfect harmony.
As well as properly supporting the USB 3.0 standard, those using USB 3.0 should experience "smooth[er] transitions when entering and exiting Coherence mode," and with newly-increased virtual machine limits for running large apps, Parallels 8 is – on paper – the most feature-fortified edition to date.
There’s also now support for tablet gestures, including a novel Windows 8 tile allowing users to navigate to shared Mac apps. Of course, the latest version is adapted to OS X Mountain Lion, and although Parallels issued warnings last month urging Mac users not to upgrade to Windows 8, everything has now been sorted out.
Those using new hardware or software should not have any problem using the newly-updated Parallels 8, and should now go ahead and update. If you don’t own a copy of Parallels, but were instead sensibly waiting for the arrival of Windows 8, then you can buy right now directly from the Parallels website. One license will set you back $95.19, although a dual license is only $118.99, so you may want to find a friend who’s willing to go halves with you.
The skewed pricing is probably a factor in why Amazon has it priced at around 60 bucks, and if you want the very best deal, you should go there.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.
