Parallels Desktop 5 lets Windows 7 look like Mac OS

Virtualisation firm Parallels has unveiled Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac, bringing official support for Windows 7.

The software lets Mac users run different operating systems, including Windows 7, on their Apple machine.

While version four supported Windows 7, the new edition finally includes full support for Aero. Apple has said it will officially support Windows 7 using Boot Camp by the end of the year.

On top of official support, Desktop 5 for Mac also brings in a new feature called Crystal Mode, which essentially lets the user show as much or as little of Windows as they like.

Virtualised Windows 7 applications running on a Mac could be made to look like they were designed by Apple, as the Mac Look mode lets users style Windows 7 to look and act like a Mac system.

"Windows just disappears - a lot of people might think that's a good thing," Perry Warner, Parallels's Apple channel manager, told IT PRO.

"They can show as much or as little of Windows as they like," he said.

The software also lets Apple tools - like multitouch track pads and remote controls - be used in Windows 7 virtual machines.

Desktop 5 for Mac also brings a USB speed boost and support for card readers, Warner said, as well as complete copy and paste fidelity.

It's not all about Microsoft, as Linux virtual machines should also see a performance boost.

Parallels is also claiming version five is 300 per cent faster than the previous edition, with "near-native speed" and a seven-times improvement to graphics performance, but more details weren't made available to confirm the stats.

Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac is available from today, for 59.99 or 39.99 for an upgrade. Anyone who picked up a copy of Desktop 4 since the beginning of October can also get a free upgrade.