Parallels, maker of the Desktop virtualization software for Mac OS X,
launched the Parallels Technology Network (PTN) on Thursday. The network is
designed to foster communication between users and developers, and helps users get the best software from all OSes on their machines via free, pre-packaged, community-developed virtual appliances.
The PTN contains a directory of community-developed “appliances” which
are free to PTN members. There are levels of involvement that ”
range from basic community participation to deep technical engagements with Parallels,” according to the announcement.
“Weire taking ease of use to another level by facilitating the availability and adoption of virtual appliances that run on a PC or Mac regardless of the operating system,” said Benjamin Rudolph, Director of Corporate Communications, Parallels. “Parallels Virtual Appliances are the ultimate in hassle-free technology, as they give our users access to pre-configured applications running self-contained in pre-built Parallels virtual machines.”
An example of one virtual appliance (VA) available from the Parallels Technology Network is an OpenOffice running the popular open-source software suite with Microsoft Office-like word processing, spreadsheet and presentation functions.
Users can simply download the VA and run it, without any manual configuration or setup, on any Mac or PC powered by Parallels virtualization.
The Parallels Technology Network is now live
and provides more information on the associated Knowledge Base and Community Forum.