The Covert Family Website

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

The final release version of Parallels Desktop for Mac appeared on 15-Jun-06 for $80, but it costs only $50 for those who order before 15-Jul-06; sorry folks, the $40 price for those of us who pre-ordered is no longer available. [Though if you purchase “Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac”, there’s a coupon at the end of the ebook with which you can save $10 off Parallels Desktop. -Adam]. The final release includes a bonus: the normally $180 Parallels Compressor for shrinking virtual images from multiple products, including VMWare.

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/windows-on-mac.html?14@@!pt=TB834
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/compressor/

The Review—What’s good about the release version? It boots Windows XP SP2 quickly. It runs Windows, Linux, OS/2, and pretty much any other x86 operating system. It supports most USB devices. It runs different operating systems full screen on multiple monitors. You can cut and paste between operating systems. It shares files with Mac OS X. It’s probably faster than your PC.

What’s bad? Not much, to be honest. There’s no support for FireWire or gaming-level graphics, USB 2.0 devices run at 1.1 speed, and some CD/DVD control issues exist.

As with most Mac software, installing Parallels is a breeze. Just download and mount the disk image and double click the installer package. But installing the software doesn’t instantly grant you access to the world of Windows. You’ll still need a Windows install disc and a valid license, and you’ll have to go through a few basic steps. Although Parallels does a good job of simplifying the process, it might be intimidating to a non-technical user who hadn’t read the instructions in “Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac.”

I started by creating a new virtual machine using the included wizard, which does a good job of walking you through the process. I decided on my operating system (Windows XP) and named the virtual machine before being dropped into the console view where I chose various configuration options. The defaults should work for most users, but I did give my virtual machine extra memory (256 MB is the default) and enabled file sharing with Mac OS X (disabled by default to keep those pesky Windows viruses out of your Mac files). I inserted my Windows installation disc, clicked the Play button in Parallels Desktop, and started walking through the Windows installer. From here on the entire process is no different than installing Windows on a new PC. Windows was running in less than 30 minutes, after which I installed the Parallels Tools for better networking, screen, and mouse support before going through the more laborious process of installing all my needed Windows software. In all it took about 90 minutes to install Parallels Desktop, Windows XP, Parallels Tools, and my basic package of Windows software. One caution: you really need a valid Windows license, and you will have to go through the activation process.

The Parallels Desktop interface is clean and intuitive and should feel familiar if you’ve used other virtualization tools like VMWare. Small icons in the lower right corner display your networking, USB, hard disk, and other peripheral status while a moveable toolbar allows you to start, stop, pause, reset, or switch your virtual machine to full screen mode. With Parallels Tools installed, your mouse cursor scrolls cleanly across the guest operating system as if it were part of Mac OS X. For guest operating systems without Parallels Tools you must remember to press Ctrl-Alt to regain your mouse control. Keyboard control can be a bit tricky when moving in and out of virtual machines, since although it looks like just another part of Mac OS X, it’s still a separate operating system with keystroke combinations that might conflict with those in Mac OS X. Parallels Desktop provides a menu to send special commands (like the ever-present Ctrl-Alt-Del) to the guest operating system, but I frequently find myself forgetting that Ctrl-C in the Windows window is very different than Ctrl-C in Mac OS X.

Performance is where Parallels Desktop really shines. It’s the first virtualization software to take advantage of the VT technology in Intel’s newer chips, hardware extensions provided specifically to enhance virtual machine performance. On my MacBook Pro, Windows XP takes about 10 seconds to boot and is incredibly responsive. I’ve seen some outside reports state that performance is only around 2 percent slower than running Windows XP under Boot Camp and is faster than running on some Core-Duo PC systems from other hardware manufacturers. Performance after booting is still strong and easily comparable to my Pentium 4, and is definitely faster than my Pentium M laptop. I can’t express the shock value of seeing Windows boot so fast the progress bar never makes it past the first little dot. Everywhere I go, I end up with a crowd of IT professionals behind me just watching me boot in and out of Windows. If only Apple offered rewards for referrals, I could probably retire in a few more months.

I can usually sway those skeptics that still balk at the performance by giving them a quick full screen demo. You know that great looking cube effect when you switch users in Mac OS X? That’s one of around a half dozen transition options when moving to full screen mode. The cube rotates and pauses for a second as the video resizes to the MacBook Pro’s widescreen resolution. There it is, looking just like a native Windows machine (without the ugly stickers slapped onto the case). If you have two monitors, you can keep Mac OS X on one and run your guest operating system on the other, full screen, with smooth mouse scrolling across each. Just don’t forget the command to switch out of full screen (Alt-Enter) or you’ll get stuck like I did the first time. For some reason I’ve noticed a slight delay when trying to switch back, and sometimes have to send the command more than once.

Networking support is decent, but definitely weaker than some of the competition (not that anyone else runs on Intel Macs yet). By default, Parallels Desktop creates its own bridged network connection using the host computer’s active network adapter, making your virtual machine look like another computer on the network. You can also specify that it use any network adapter on your Mac. Parallels also supports host-only networking, if you want to isolate the virtual machine or even share your Mac’s existing network connection. I’ve used this to share my wireless EVDO connection over Bluetooth when traveling (you can set this in your Sharing preference pane). Unlike VMWare, you can’t create a complete virtual network on your Mac, a handy feature for IT pros wanting to test virtual systems in a safe, “fake” network.

One of the features I particularly appreciate is being able to run nearly any Linux distribution, including live distributions (like Knoppix) directly from their disk images without local installation. Tools support isn’t available, so you have to remember to switch mouse and keyboard control manually. Hardware support is also more limited, but I’ve tested both Slax and Knoppix-based distributions without any problems. Networking and displays work well enough for most of my needs. Like other virtualization tools, you can point Parallels Desktop at any bootable disk image without having to decompress and install it on a partition.

http://www.knoppix.org/
http://www.slax.org/

USB support appeared in the last few release candidates, and works with the USB devices I’ve tested, including one (my SCUBA dive watch) that didn’t work in earlier betas. Reports from the Parallels support forums indicate not every device works yet, but the development team seems to be making good progress. One big limitation is USB 2.0 devices only connect at the slower USB 1.1 standard. I also don’t recommend having devices connect automatically, or every USB device you connect will be hijacked by your virtual machine. It’s kind of annoying when I plug in my iPod shuffle and it pops up in the virtual machine as a mass storage device instead of opening iTunes.

As with other virtualization products, Parallels Desktop supports multiple operating systems running concurrently - but you had better have enough memory. I upped my MacBook Pro to 2 GB and can run two or three virtual machines comfortably with my usual Mac OS X applications.

Individual virtual machines consist of two files: one hard disk image and a configuration file. Cloning virtual machines is easy, and you can back up your entire Windows installation by simply copying the hard disk file. If only all computers were virtual. Parallels also includes tools for changing virtual disk sizes, but this process is a bit complicated; it’s better to make sure you create a large enough image from the start.

In the Real World—Aside from showing off, I’ve been migrating completely onto Parallels as the beta versions have improved. I’ve moved all but one of my work applications into the virtual machine, and it has increased my productivity. My Windows installation is much cleaner than my “official” work system, since all my personal applications are in Mac OS X and I need only a minimal set of Windows tools. Windows now runs faster, is easier to maintain, and easier to keep locked down. I’m in negotiations with our IT department to create a complete, sanctioned virtual image that’s locked down without administrative rights. Since Parallels also sells Parallels Workstation, a version that runs on Windows, if this experiment works, we’ll have a locked-down, sanctioned image that’s easy to migrate, backup, secure, and distribute. Users can run all the spyware and viruses they want on their host PC (except for us Mac users, of course) while the corporate image remains safe and isolated. I also find myself frequently running multiple versions of Windows and Linux concurrently, giving me a great excuse to bump my system memory up to 2 GB.

And I just can’t fully express the “Wow!” factor. When people, especially IT professionals, see Windows running comfortably on a Mac with full functionality, you can see prejudices melt from their eyes. When they realize my Windows virtual machine is running faster than their new dedicated PC, you can feel the envy ooze out of their pores. The effect of seeing the cube transition to full screen can only be described as the geek equivalent of those swooning teenage girls in those old Elvis movies. This is the future of computing on any platform.

Looking Forward—Although Parallels Desktop/Workstation is available on Mac and PC, the greater standardization of Mac hardware may afford opportunities to improve the virtual experience. Today the one glaring weakness of virtual machines is much weaker video support. Without direct access to graphics cards you can’t support the advanced features needed for gaming and other visual elements (as we might expect in Windows Vista). The Parallels development team is rumored to be working hard on the problem, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the next version supports advanced graphics applications. Hopefully, we’ll also see better networking support, better USB (and even FireWire) support, and I wouldn’t mind some interface improvements when selecting and switching between different virtual machines. While the average user just running a single instance of Windows on their Mac will be satisfied with current features, Parallels definitely has room to improve features for IT pros. It also lacks any of the centralized management tools for multiple images needed for large enterprise deployments.

Outside of additional product features, Parallels Desktop is one of the only applications I’ve seen that could change the world’s perceptions and acceptance of Macs. It’s right up there with Mac OS X, iLife, and Microsoft Office for Mac in the category of “this changes everything.”

If you’re not convinced, consider this: Apple has dedicated a page to Parallels Desktop linked to their new “Get a Mac” advertising campaign under the banner “You can even run Windows software.” You’ll notice a distinct lack of any reference there to Apple’s own Boot Camp (though the reason could be that Boot Camp is still in beta). Could we see Parallels become part of the Apple family? Maybe, but Parallels is an up-and-comer in the world of virtualization and has a healthy future even without gaining the Apple name. Either way the Mac community wins, not that I’d complain about it being built into Mac OS X.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html

Thanks to Parallels Desktop, running Windows on a Mac - without diminishing the Mac (or Windows) experience - is now a reality. I can highly recommend Parallels for anyone with an Intel Mac and a need (because it probably isn’t a desire) for Windows.

Installing Adobe’s Creative Suite adds another Fonts folder (in /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts), and if you have Microsoft Office, you get yet another (in /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Fonts).

http://www.adobe.com/creativesuite/
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/

Many people, when faced with this seeming mess, decide it’s ridiculous to have fonts spread all over the place and start shuffling the files around, combining them in only one or two Fonts folders.

Despite the apparent simplicity, wholesale consolidation is a mistake, because where your fonts are stored controls what applications (and, on a multi-user Mac, which users) can see those fonts. Most fonts are stored in various locations for good reasons. Here’s the scoop on each of the Fonts folders listed above.

System Fonts Folder—Tiger installs 30 fonts in this folder (/System/Library/Fonts). Several of them are so important that if you remove them, your menus and dialogs can implode into gibberish and your Mac will refuse to start up. These all-important fonts are LucidaGrande, Geneva, Monaco, and Helvetica. Only slightly less important are Keyboard and LastResort, fonts that don’t even show up in your Font menus. Whether or not the two AquaKana OpenType files are dispensable is a matter of some debate; my considered opinion is that, since Apple went to some trouble to keep them invisible - they don’t show up in Font menus - you should leave them alone. In fact, leave the System Fonts folder completely alone: don’t put fonts in it or take them out.

The System Fonts folder has its own unique way of interacting with you when you try to remove any of its fonts: drag a font out and a copy is automatically made in the destination, with the original left in place. The only way you can really remove a font from this folder is to send it directly to the Trash: drag it there, or select it and press Command-Delete, or Command-click or right- click on the icon for a contextual menu and choose Move To Trash. You’ll have to supply an administrative password along the way. But while that’s good to know in an academic sense, all these safeguards against accidental removal of system fonts should remind you to leave them all alone!

Library Fonts Folder—Fonts in this folder (/Library/Fonts) can be “seen” by all user accounts, so they’re available to every user of the machine. On a single-user Mac, there’s really no difference between storing fonts here or in the User Fonts folder. Tiger puts 35 fonts in this folder; Apple’s iLife and iWork applications put their fonts here, too.

User Fonts Folder—Each user account on the Mac has its own Fonts folder (~/Library/Fonts); the fonts in it are available to only that user. Tiger doesn’t install any fonts in this folder; Microsoft Office puts its fonts here - Office X provides 15 fonts, but Office 2004 donates a generous 77 font files! If you’re the only user, this is where you should put any fonts you install. On a multi-user Mac, you might want to keep some fonts private to a specific account (so they don’t clutter other users’ Font menus); to share them with all the users of a specific machine, they must be in /Library/Fonts.

Classic Fonts Folder—If the Classic environment is installed on your machine, only the fonts in the Mac OS 9 System Folder (/System Folder/Fonts) are available to Classic applications (they’re also available to your Tiger applications). Unlike Tiger’s wider choice of font types, only Mac TrueType and PostScript Type 1 fonts work in the Classic environment. Tiger automatically smoothes fonts on the screen in only the Mac OS X environment, so if you want your Type 1 fonts to be drawn correctly on the screen (instead of with the famous, dreaded “jaggies”) in Classic, you need Adobe’s ATM Light version 4.6.2 or later installed in Classic.

http://www.adobe.com/products/atmlight/main.html

Adobe’s Fonts Folder—As befits the inventor of PostScript fonts, Adobe provides a generous assortment of fonts with its applications. But when they’re in their default location, only Adobe applications can access them (/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts). If you want to use these fonts in all your applications, you must move them to the Library Fonts or User Fonts folder. That sounds like a good deal until you see how non-Adobe applications handle the plethora of typefaces for these OpenType fonts: Warnock Pro, for instance, has 32 different typefaces that Word lists in about two dozen entries! Moving a few of your favorites, and turning them on and off through Font Book, is a better plan than indiscriminately moving all of the Adobe fonts to another folder. (Note that you won’t see these fonts in Font Book unless you move them to one of your Tiger Fonts folders; Adobe’s folder “belongs” to Adobe’s applications, so Font Book doesn’t manage its contents.)

Another mistake users make in regard to the Adobe Fonts folder is deleting it after moving its fonts to another Font folder. Adobe buried a subfolder in it (/Library/Application Support/ Adobe/Fonts/Reqrd/Base) that holds more fonts, ones that are used by Adobe applications for things like its tool palettes. Without these fonts in that folder - in that specific folder path - Adobe applications don’t even open.

Microsoft’s Fonts Folder—This folder (/Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Fonts) is a red herring that leads to quite a bit of confusion in the category of “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” If you know that Tiger supports “application Fonts folders” such as the Adobe one just described, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that this folder holds fonts for Microsoft applications - especially because each of the fonts in it shows up in your Fonts menu. The confusion starts when you take a font out of the folder and realize it still appears in your Font menu. Or, you add a font to the folder, and it doesn’t show up in your Font menu. Or, you notice that all its fonts are also in your User fonts folder and you decide to delete one or the other copy of the over six dozen duplicate files.

This folder is a mere storage bin; Tiger doesn’t access it at all, which is why altering its contents has no effect on your Font menus. Microsoft Office copies these fonts into your User Fonts folder the first time you run it; the originals stay in place, to be copied for the next user account that runs Office, and so on. Tiger accesses only the copies in the User Fonts folder.

Fonts, Fonts, Everywhere—Don’t assume that just because Tiger uses so many Fonts folders that it doesn’t matter which one you use for your fonts, or that the best approach is to collect all your fonts together for easier management. It’s better to understand the differences between the folders and store your fonts based on how (and who) you want to access them.

Sharon Zardetto Aker, who has written about the Mac since its birth in 1984, made her first foray into electronic publishing with her recent “Take Control of Fonts” titles. Between them, the two ebooks contain over 350 pages of this kind of information about fonts.