Parallels Desktop was the first software that let you virtualize Windows on an Intel Mac (and is current archrival of VMWare Fusion). Today, Parallels is announcing that it’s releasing a new version of the software aimed at an obvious audience: folks who are moving from a Windows PC to a Mac.

Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition includes Parallels Desktop itself–which, as usual, lets you run Windows within OS X in a window, full-screen mode, or the cool Coherence view that puts Windows apps right inside the OS X interface. It bundles it with software and a USB cable for transferring your current Windows setup–OS, applications, and files–from your old, real PC into a virtual one on a Mac. I haven’t had a chance to try this utility, and system-transfer tools are one of the tougher things to do in software. (Even Apple’s own Mac-to-Mac Migration Assistant doesn’t always do the job without glitches.) But it’s a nifty idea if it works well, since it would simplify moving a licensed copy of Windows you’ve already paid for onto the Mac so you wouldn’t end up having to pay for a new copy of the OS.

The package also comes with two hours of interactive training that introduces OS X and helps Windows types make the leap:

Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac costs $99.99 (not including a copy of Windows). That’s twenty bucks more than the standard version–not unreasonable if you need the transfer software and hardware and would find the training useful.

I’ve used both Parallels and Fusion over the years and have been mostly happy with both; I’ve been running Fusion lately but plan to give this version of Parallels a whirl once I get my hands on a copy. Windows-on-Mac users: Which virtualization software do you prefer, and why? Anyone out there still using Apple’s Boot Camp?

I may have missed the boat completely here and its been there a while, but while I was shopping my local Target for blank DVDs (so I can finally get around to installing Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro) I came across something I didn’t expect.

Sitting there all by their lonesome were several copies of Parallels 3.0 for Mac for $79.99 (although yes, we’re now at 4.0, which was released in November of last year). They were almost lost in a sea of Windows software, but yes, they were there. This surprised me–while I’d expect the software to be available at electronics retailers, I wouldn’t expect it here.

After all, those shopping in Target are likely not there to buy technical software like Parallels. Also, the stereotype of the Mac user is more affluent than what may be considered the “average” consumer for a Target or Wal-Mart type discount establishment. Who needs Mac software other than us techies? The Mac is still just an elite club…right?

Not anymore.

Even just a year ago, it would have been unheard of to see Mac software (or heck, hardware for that matter) anyplace but from Apple itself or its then considerably smaller network of Apple Authorized Resellers.

Now, with the Macintosh experiencing somewhat of a rebirth through the ‘halo effect’ of first the iPod and now the iPhone, jumping on the Apple bandwagon is in vogue.

Big name retailers like Target are much more cautious in deciding what gets put on their shelves because shelf space is at a premium. Everything must make money–they cannot specialize in one thing because consumers expect them to carry everything.

In other words, this means only a select number of products from each category make it onto the shelves. For Parallels to convince Target that it is indeed worth it speaks volumes to the Mac’s newfound retail power. Here’s hoping that this isn’t the last piece of Mac OS software to make it to Target.

So I’m curious. Where are you all finding Mac software and accessories where you haven’t before?

Parallels Desktop for Mac was the first software product that let you run virtualized copies of Windows within OS X on a Mac. It was a feat which created the closest thing in existence to an ideal computing platform, as far as I’m concerned. But Parallels ended up in fierce competition with VMWare’s Fusion, and version 2.0 of Fusion was the most highly-evolved way to run Windows on a Mac.

The rivalry between Parallels and Fusion remains one of the coolest ones in computing: Both of these nifty products keep getting better. And today, Parallels is back with Desktop for Mac 4.0.

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