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Parallels 4 Review

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I’ve been beta testing Parallels 4 for a couple months, and the final product was released.  I was impressed with the product, but very much disappointed with the customer service and support given.

The product had some good development.  I was impressed how much the coders frequented the forums, and took some issues with the product to heart.  However, not all of the issues were addressed.  I noticed that there had been many comments in the beta forums about the user interface, and how the new icon just didn’t fit.  There was no redesign on that part, which was frustrating to many of the testers.  The same types of comments are now coming up in the general Parallels Desktop; the icons are pathetic.

The interface is improved from Parallels Desktop.  This makes the program much easier to use, and fits with the Apple operating system much better.

There are more options for Parallels itself, and improvements with the configurations.  The program has vastly improved, all with the help of many beta testers reporting specific bugs and finding what happened to be causing them.

This is where things get interesting.  Usually, at the end of completing a beta, the testers are offered complementary keys to the product, because of the work we put into the product.  Parallels had given us very little information, even ignoring the testers, and questions about whether keys would be available.

Threads are appearing about this issue on the parallels support forums.  These are titled “Is Parallel’s taking its’ users for granted?” were users are complaining of the support options of Parallels.  The product may be great, but the support is very subpar.  It is impossible for my virtual machine to go back to Parallels 3, because I converted it for use in Parallels 4.  But we are not hearing anything useful.  There is a discount available until 11/30/2008, but the tester’s do not want to purchase if we are going to end up getting free keys.

I caution you to purchase Parallels.  It may be a good product, but the support will never help you if you need help.  You are basically just buying the product, don’t expect anything else.  I would be willing to retake a look at Parallels if I see a change in support.

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