Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac out now

Parallels have launched Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac, the newest version of the No. 1-selling software for running Windows and Mac applications simultaneously on a Mac without rebooting.

Starting August 30, current Parallels Desktop users can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac at http://www.parallels.com/desktop. For new customers, Parallels Desktop 8 will be available for purchase at retail stores and via the Parallels website on September 4.

New and enhanced features of Parallels Desktop 8 make life even better for people who love their Macs and want to simultaneously run Windows apps like Internet Explorer, OneNote, Quicken and more. Bringing together the newest versions of the world’s two most popular operating systems –OS X and Windows – opens up a world of opportunity by allowing users to choose how they want Mac and Windows to collaborate. From having the familiar Windows desktop in full screen to having Windows run invisibly, Parallels Desktop 8 delivers powerful performance to run Windows applications, even graphic-intensive ones, like they were made for a Mac. Use Mountain Lion’s Dictation feature in Windows apps, organize Windows “Metro-style” applications in Launchpad, and enjoy the brilliant Retina-display resolution in Windows applications.

Last week at IFA, we talked briefly to Birger Steen, the CEO of Parallels and we got a short demo of one of the new features:

Here is a list of the improvements and enhancements in Parallels Desktop 8:

• Life Simplified
  Speak, don’t type – Use the new Mountain Lion Dictation tool across both Windows and Mac environments
• Open in Internet Explorer – When a website doesn’t render well within Safari, launch it in Internet Explorer with a click of a button
• Drag and drop email attachments – Simply drag and drop files from the desktop onto the Dock icons for Outlook and other Windows email clients to attach and share them
• Multilingual keyboard – Keyboard language changes made on the Mac automatically sync, to simplify switching languages in Windows
• Parallels Wizard – Download and automatically install Windows or other operating systems (OSes) including Google Chrome OS, Ubuntu and Android on your Mac.
• Parallels Desktop customers have downloaded more than 500,000 copies of Windows using the Parallels Wizard to-date, and many additional customers have moved their Windows PCs to their Mac or added Windows and other OSes
• Bluetooth-sharing – Multiple Windows and Mac devices can now share Bluetooth connections
• Windows apps on OS X Launchpad – Add Windows applications to the Mountain Lion or Lion Launchpad to quickly launch Mac and Windows applications used most
  Consolidated notifications – Integration of Windows notifications into the Mac OS X Notification Center makes it easy to stay updated on Windows virtual machine operations
• Resource monitoring – Disk space and memory usage of virtual machines are conveniently displayed for easy customization and management
• Mountain Lion gestures for Windows apps – Enjoy seamless integration of Mountain Lion gestures with Windows apps such as pinch to zoom, Mission Control, three-finger drag, swipe between full-screen apps, two-finger scroll, Launchpad and rotate
• Visually Stunning
  Brilliant Retina display support – Enjoy stunning Retina display resolution in Windows OS and Windows applications to see crisper fonts, vivid photos, images and animations
• No-hassle presentations – The new Presentation Wizard makes presentations interruption-free by disabling screensavers on Mac and Windows, optimizing the full-screen display and automatically adjusting resolution
• Improved graphics – Don’t compromise, even with graphically intensive applications

Proven Performance

• Unmatched performance – Enjoy improved Parallels Desktop 8 performance that is up to 30 percent faster for input/output (I/O) operations, 30 percent faster for games and up to 25 percent faster for virtual machine operations such as boot, suspend, shutdown and resume, when compared to Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac.

We should have our review of Parallels 8 available shortly.

Are you using Parallels? Let us know by leaving a comment below. I use it all the time on my Mac!