Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Delivers Experimental Support of Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview as Host and Guest

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac has been updated to provide experimental support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, including simple download and automatic installation of Windows 8 via the Parallels New Virtual Machine Wizard. The update also adds experimental support for OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview as both a host and guest. Mac enthusiasts and developers can safely try Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview in Parallels Desktop 7 virtual machines to protect their Mac from potential mishaps or corruption of important files that can occur with preview versions of software.

Additionally, Parallels Mobile users can remotely access and control their Mac and its Windows 8 virtual machine, applications and files, via their iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

A free trial of the No. 1-selling Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac software is available for download. Current Parallels Desktop 7 users can get the update by selecting the Parallels Desktop menu and clicking Check for Updates.

Parallels makes it simple to get and automatically install the free Windows 8 Consumer Preview by going to the Parallels Desktop menu and selecting File, New and Windows 8 Consumer Preview in the Parallels New Virtual Machine Wizard. In just a few clicks, Parallels Desktop 7 downloads and automatically installs Windows 8 Consumer Preview (English, German, French, Japanese or Chinese simplified) in a new virtual machine so you can safely discover and play with the dramatically redesigned Windows operating system and use your Mac OS X applications and files at the same time without rebooting.

Microsoft released Windows 8 Consumer Preview last week at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. Windows 8 draws inspiration from the new Windows Phone software through a new mobile-inspired tile-based user interface called Metro. Windows 8 is built to run on both PCs and mobile devices. People who prefer a traditional desktop experience without tiles will be glad to know Windows 8 offers that type of user experience as well. Windows 8 features include the Windows app store, integration of touch, Internet Explorer 10, cloud services to link PCs and Windows Phones and new hardware capabilities.

Microsoft recommends that users don’t install Windows 8 Consumer Preview on their primary machine given that is not a final version and could crash, causing the loss or corruption of important files. (See Windows 8 FAQ, click Are there risks to installing Windows 8 Consumer Preview?). If Windows 8 crashes or corrupts files when it is running in a Parallels Desktop 7, you can simply delete the Windows 8 virtual machine and start over without any damage to your Mac.

Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac Free Trial:
http://www.parallels.com/ca/products/desktop/

Windows 8 Consumer Preview:
http://bit.ly/AC9D52

For more information, visit:
http://bit.ly/AuFpXV

Windows 8 Can Wipe A PC Clean In Just Six Minutes

Speaking of Windows 8, BGR’s Zach Epstein comments that to say he’s impressed with Microsoft’s Windows 8 Consumer Preview is an understatement, and that while Microsoft has plenty of work left to do, he found its next-generation operating system to be a breath of fresh air while still managing to stay true to groundwork laid by Windows 7. For example, he notes that Microsoft’s new push-button reset function can return a Windows 8 PC to its factory-fresh state in as little as six minutes according to Microsoft, while a factory reset with Windows 7 took at least 20 minutes to accomplish, and that doesn’t include the arduous set-up process after the fact, and suggests that while speedy reset function on Windows 8 may not seem overly significant on the surface, it is certainly an engineering feat and yet another example of the serious effort Microsoft is putting into making Windows 8 an enjoyable, user-friendly experience from start to finish.

For the full commentary visit here:
http://bit.ly/w6EmBW

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