Pros: An idiot proof gateway drug for virtual machines. I have been using this for over 7 years and they are getting better and better at this. I bought this on sale and I already had another copy of parallel 9 on my desktop, this was for my work machine. It can auto configure just about any os iso and discover what it is and boom you are off. I have tried windows xp, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 with this. I have also tried an x86 android vm with this which worked very well minus bluetooth sharing (VM ware did this better). Virtual box does the job, but I just want something that I can just quickly set up and quickly make changes when I want to test things. This is also much better for gaming than the other two.

Cons: Parallels is greedy wanting you to buy a new version all the time. Most of these tech companies are like this now so this is the market place. Parallels 10 is much better sadly VMware does a better job in certain areas, but this is very very good for the average human.

Other Thoughts: I got this on sale for $14.99 and I already had parallels 10 and parallels 9 on my desktop. A no brainer at $30 or less. Virtual box is amazing for what it does for free! I would recommend it for the average poor college student, but for someone that has a little $ to spare you can't beat the reliability and support.

Pros: Perfect for those who love their Macs, but have to use Windows products (Internet Explorer) for certain classes and websites.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I had heard about Parallels from a co-worker, and at first wasn't sure if I needed it. Then as I got into school work and noticed I needed to use IE for certain sites, I decided to try out the product. Parallels 8 was fantastic, but 9 is even better, runs faster, more options and doesn't seem to eat up as much memory as the older version. I love the fact of being able to run OS Mavericks and Windows 7 on the same machine at the same time.

Pros: The software appears to be very stable. Whenever I have a question, I can Google it and find the answer either in online documentation or forums. I only needed to use their other support once and response was excellent.

Cons: Haven't found any

Other Thoughts: In these days of software with almost no documentation, Parallels desktop is a refreshing change. It is well that it is. I am a Mac newbie and wanted to still be able to run some Windows programs on my MacBook Pro, so I bought Parallels immediately after receiving my Mac. This is a situation where if something doesn't work in Windows, you're not sure who to contact, Apple, Microsoft or Parallels. I found that typing my question into Google would almost always yield an answer either from the Parallels documentation or its forum, so I have had to rely on direct support only once. My Windows in Mac clothing has been doing all I have expected of it.

Pros: Access to my work

My virtual machine runs as fast as a Windows laptop. With Parallels 9 I have all my OS X and Windows work with me all the time. All my windows programs work correctly, and moving files between OS X and Windows is seamless. Use this emulator for whatever you need to do and it should work.

Cons: None

Pros: Believe the performance was much better that VM on an aging Macbook Pro running Mavericks OS X 10.9
Cost less than upgrade needed for VM.

Cons: None so far.

Other Thoughts: So much better......

I had to make a choice because of the recent release of Apple's new OS - Mavericks. I had been a constant user of VMWare for years, but when I was forced to upgrade my virtual environment because the version of VM that I had would not work, I decided to do an evaluation. WOW!! Performance was much better and ease of use still there. Migration from my old VM to Parallels was a snap. Bottom line - glad I made the switch. Cost was lower as well!!

Pros: I love Parallels, it lets me have access to my MAC and Windows OS without having to reboot. Due to work related issues I am unable to open some of the software we use in the MAC OS and with Parallels everything works great letting me run those programs in windows.

Cons: None found

Pros: Just plain works, I've been fixing people's computers so I had to know how Windows 8 works... Windows is perfectly happy running on a virtual machine and doesn't seem to know the difference from a real machine.

Cons: None that I can think of.

Other Thoughts: I've used Parallels for various purposes for years, it always does the jog.

Pros: Excellent resource for graphics programs that otherwise would be unavailable,

Cons: None that I can see.

Other Thoughts: I am able to use techniques in those Windows programs that I do not have on the MAC programs.

Pros: I use a Macbook but have a few applications that only run on Windows. This product makes it all work for me.

Cons: Consumes disk space equivalent to a full Windows environment

Pros: 1..The software walks you through the entire process--great for techheads AND novices alike.

2..It uses a reasonable amount of memory (even when you make it use less, it works great).

3. It runs Windows (gasp!) better than Windows has ever run on my PCs.

4. It allows you to run Windows-only software.

5. Dropbox and Google Drive Integration.

6. Drag/Drop or Copy/Paste from Mac to Windows--amazing!

Cons: 1. It's slow loading from Application launch to Windows log in. Perhaps that's a function of Windows, but you'll still click it and have time to get that cup of coffee.

2. Although the virtual machine is stable, Windows is still Windows and you'll not going to have any assistance from Parrallels when solving the Windows-esque issue of suddenly forgetting where the printer driver is.

Other Thoughts: Parallels is the standard by which all virtualization software should be measured. It walks you through everything from partitioning to installing Windows. And as it runs alongside your Mac environment, it doesn't hog an unacceptable amount of system resources.