Pros: Fast, Easy to use, VMWare Desktop users will like this
Cons: Learning Curve for some Keyboard functions & Media Handling
Parallels Desktop is one of the best products I have found for my Macbook Pro. I purchased my first Intel Mac with some hesitation because at first there appeared to be no good PC emulation. Microsoft’s product does not work on Intel Macs and performs very poorly on my Power Mac G5. I discovered Parallels Desktop and I’ve been in love with it ever since.
I was able to quickly - even faster than some PC’s I’ve used - to load Windows XP Professional and other versions of Windows with ease! It’s awesome and for users of VMWare Workstation on the PC you’ll slip right in and feel very comfortable.
This product has eased my switch to the Mac and now I can run some PC only products like Microsoft Project and Visio under this emulation and have all the software I want to use, etc.
If your serious about switching to the Mac and still need a Windows product now and again Parallels is definitely the way to go. You can use it for productivity, etc. Training for that next Microsoft Certification exam, etc.
The only minor issues is getting used to some of the keyboard functions and special keys. Also handling some media between the Mac OSX and PC emulation is something you have to learn to work thru, but it’s not a big show stopper. You get used to it after a while.
Here’s a great deal I found for Parallels:
Buy Parallels Desktop for Mac and get $20 Apple Gift Card for free!