VMware Fusion vs Parallels Desktop

In the latest Macworld there is an excellent article comparing thesa two applications.

And yes, Fusion won. Like I felt it, but for other reasons than mine.

I bought Parallels recently to make my Bootcamp accessible without rebooting.

Why Parallels and why I think I have made a mistake.

They both had New Years special offers. Both approx. 50$. However very different offers.

Fusion alone was almost 50$ (but I found out from the Macworld that a single licence is valid on all my Macs). Thank my poorness that I have only one Mac that is able to accomodate a Win! I would have been very disappointed if I had 2 such Macs...

Parallels were offered in a bundle with couple of other applications that might be usable and with a bunch of applications I have never needed and never wanted. However I have not installed any of those other applications which made me think of that offer as better one.

I have tried Fusion some years ago. After trying it I ended up with clean install of Mac OS, because that was the only way to fully get rid of Fusion. It pretty much behaved like a virus even after I had “uninstalled” it with their “uninstaller”.

It was not advertised enough that they have solved this issue and installing does not require an installer. That nothing is running after quitting the application - (c) Macworld.

Parallels on the other hand still have an installer and some processes running (consuming some small part of resources) even after quitting.

For Win already installed on Bootcamp there was no choice between running like a Win or like a Mac. It is just Win. In a single window. No Coherence mode. It is disabled in menu. Somewhere in the small print there was mentoned that Coherence mode is available only with truly virtual Win.

I do not know wether Fusion’s Unity mode works with Bootcamped Win, but it could not be any worse.

Oh, and Win’s max resolution with Parallels is 1920x1200. iMac is capable of much more. =No full screen without some sick stretching. Could not be any worse either.

The reason I wanted Windows on my Mac is work applicatons (including some developer ones) that are available on Win only.

I do not play any games on my Macs. That means: the only advantage of Parallels that was found by Macworld is useless for me.

Even being a recent Parallels customer, I am suggesting to everyone, but gamers, to think twice before buying it. It is quite OK, but Fusion is much better for the same price...

Try learning from my mistake, before making your own.