by , 1:55 PM EDT, June 1st, 2007
Parallels, Inc. has announced the release of their Release Candidate of Desktop 3 for the Mac. The new version features: Hardware accelerated 3D graphics, Snapshot backups, and a new suite of security settings that helps secure Windows and Mac OS X from cross-platform contamination.
In addition: "Parallels Desktop 3.0 features SmartSelect, a new built-in integration tool that allows users to open any file from Windows or OS X with any program from either OS. SmartSelect's total application and file integration adds tremendous value to the seamless multi-OS interface introduced by Coherence, Parallels' groundbreaking feature that lets Windows applications run like native Mac applications on OS X.
"Together, Coherence and SmartSelect give users the easiest, most fluid way to run multiple OSes and their applications simultaneously, without rebooting or switching desktop environments," the announcement said.
The release candidate comes at the end of a period of private beta testing.
A complete list of the new features and enhacements is available at the Parallels Website.Parallels Desktop is virtualization software that allows other OSes, such as Windows and Linux, to run simultaneously along with Mac OS X.
Version 3 is priced at US$79.95. Current users will be able to upgrade to the new version from any previous version for US$49.95. However, from now until the final version is released, cutomers can upgrade for $39.95.