Parallels 10 Released August 20, 2014
Parallels® released Parallels Desktop®– 10 for Mac and Parallels Desktop®– 10 for Mac Enterprise Edition on August 20th, 2014. Parallels 10 is the newest iteration of the Parallels software program that allows Mac users to run Windows applications. Parallels 10 was designed to support the newest version of OS X, Yosemite, which is set for release soon. According to this press release, existing Parallels users can upgrade at www.parallels.com/upgradepd10, while new users can purchase Parallels 10 at retail and online stores starting August 26th, 2014. Upgrades to Parallels 10 start at $49.99, while the suggested retail price for new customers is $79.99. The Parallels 10 Student Edition costs $39.99. People who bought and registered Parallels Desktop®– 9 for Macs may be eligible for a no-cost upgrade under the Parallels Tech Guarantee.
Parallels 10 Released: A picture of the upgrade web page for Parallels Desktop®- 10 for Mac.
Parallels 10 offers many improvements. It can enable the launch of Microsoft Office applications up to 50% faster than before and delivers up to a 30% better battery life. It boasts a 48% increase in speed when opening Windows files. In addition, the virtual machines use up to 10% less Mac memory. One terrific new feature is the “Free Disk Space Wizard,” which allows you to review and clean up space used by the Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines.
However, not all of the improvements are limited to “under-the hood” optimizations. Parallels 10 also possesses the ability to link the Windows and the OS X operating system environments together in many new ways. Users can share content from Windows using Internet accounts configured on their Mac, such as Twitter, Facebook, Messages, and many others. When users install new Windows applications, an icon for the application is automatically added to the OS X Launchpad. Users can also drag and drop files to the virtual machine icon in the Dock to open the files in Windows.
If you are interested in running Windows versions of Office, such as Microsoft Access, then Parallels may be just what you are looking for. With so many improvements, now may be the perfect time to pick up a copy of Parallels 10 to enjoy the best of both the Mac and Windows worlds on one Mac.