You’ve no doubt heard by now that Microsoft released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview last week, and maybe you were even one of the million users who downloaded it. If you’re still stuck on how to get it installed on your Mac, the folks at Parallels have arrived with help.
Parallels has announced the availability of Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac version 7.0.15055.740667 (whew!), a free update for current users that brings experimental support for Microsoft’s new Windows 8 Consumer Preview as well as Apple’s developer-only OS X Mountain Lion (as both a host and a guest). As always, a free trial of the software is also available for new users considering a purchase.
“Now Mac enthusiasts and developers alike can safely try Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion 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,” Parallels notes. “Additionally, Parallels Mobile users can remotely access and control their Mac as well as its Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion virtual machines, applications and files, via their iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.”
Installing Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a snap. Just like the previous Developer Preview, Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac automatically downloads and then installs Windows 8 Consumer Preview (English, German, French, Japanese or Chinese simplified) in a new virtual machine, where the beta software can be put through its paces without disturbing your existing Mac installation.
The Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac update released on Monday adds Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview to the software’s extensive New Virtual Machine Wizard, including Windows 7, OS X Lion (guest only), Google Chrome OS and Fedora/Ubuntu flavors of Linux.
To install the latest Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac update, simply run your existing copy and follow the prompts, or download the trial version from the Parallels website.
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