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Let me start by saying that I’m a huge fan of Parallels Desktop for Mac. In the year since it’s introduction, I’ve installed it on a dozen systems and use it 95% of the time I am at my Mac (I keep one fullscreen window open all the time and switch using VirtueDesktops).

I’ve championed it’s use at work and have even asked our developers to look into writing code for our product that will detect a Parallels VM and act accordingly (watermarking occurs otherwise). Regular readers know of my love of Parallels.

But I’m increasingly disappointed with how Parallels (and by extension, their parent company SWSoft) are marketing the product. I’ve been involved in software development since the beginning of my career, both as a successful shareware author and as the manager of a 100 developer team that pumped out 3 retail Linux apps in a year. I know software and it’s cycles…I know the ups and downs and tribulations involved.

So it’s disheartening to see Parallels taking advantage of their position as the Mac VM leader by milking their users with the third ‘major’ release* in a year (v3 was released today) and charging a $49 upgrade fee (instead of the normal $79).

Numerous articles have been written about software subscriptions and their pros/cons, and typically I would eschew any such agreement. But in the case of a product evolving as quickly as Parallels, I think that a subscription model would benefit the end user far more than the current upgrade scheme. Offer free upgrades for a year, instead of charging twice or thee times in the same time period! But of course, a subscription model should only be used on software that is, you know, complete, which unfortunately Parallels is not.

In the coming months, the virtualization market is going to shift dramatically. VMWare Fusion is making serious strides in functionality, Crossover is getting stronger and stronger, and rumors persist that Leopards BootCamp will be implemented in such a way that Windows can be accessed from within OS X. And have no doubt that at this very moment, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of coders out there writing their own versions of virtualization software. The Mac shareware community is experienced, smart and hungry…they see the gaps in the market and you can be sure they are ready to step in with lower cost or feature specific replacements.

Normally in a situation like this, a product would be free of charge. Because, let’s face it, Parallels is still beta software. They are still discovering what can be done and with every minor or major release, some new tweak has been added. And considering that there are still no true 3d graphics, firewire or bluetooth support (all of which Fusion has), we hardly have a finished product installed.

As an example, look at VMWare Fusion. It’s been in development for nearly a year, and the beta is still free, but in most regards, it is as fully functional as Parallels. And let’s not kid ourselves that Parallels charges because it’s a small software company that needs funds to develop new versions. Parallels is owned by SWSoft, one of the most prolific and well known providers of virtualization software in the industry, so that’s no excuse for being greedy.

I’m not saying I want everything for free…I was willing to plunk down over a thousand dollars in Parallels licenses this past year, but I’m a bit peeved that to reach the same functional level as free software, it’s going to cost me another $500.

Parallels is at a crucial juncture. They have what is without a doubt the most functional and powerful software in this space, but unless they rethink their pricing and distribution model, they are going to be left behind.

But the big question is whether they are going to be a leader and innovator or if they are simply going to make a quick buck before the party gets crowded.

*2, 2.5 and 3.0

Bring a home theater in your living room and give an impressive look to your room. With a small home theatre you can enjoy movies and soaps with your family with a bowl of popcorn in your lap and enjoy the big-screen experience at home. A complete home film theatre system requires the stated equipment. The plasma tv in this system is used for display. You can play movies etc through dvd players but can use them for other purpose too. You can make a video from your camera or cell phone and later convert it to dvd format. Use your computer and supported software to convert video to dvd.

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