Lars Pind

internet software, coaching, and entrepreneurship

Lars Pind - internet software, coaching, and entrepreneurship
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Parallels desktop in Coherence mode rocks

December 21, 2006 · 4 comments

I’ve gotten Windows installed on my MacBook Pro, and running it in Coherence mode, which basically means the Windows windows blend right in with the OS X ones. This is a brilliant way to be able to test on IE and access the few stupid sites that don’t work well with other browsers, while only having to suffer minimally from Windows.

The only problem I have with this setup is that Command-Tab doesn’t invoke the OS X app switcher, but rather, Command acts as the Windows key. That is so frustrating. I’m using to making a change in TextMate, then Command-Tab’ing to a browser, reload, then back to make another change. Now I have to grab the mouse and click somewhere to get focus back to OS X and make Command-Tab work. It’s killing me, and just about a million other people. Still, it’s so much better than having to use a PC.

Now I just need to lay my hands on a legit copy of Vista somewhere, I hope they carry it in the store down the corner. It’s weird how bothersome it is to purchase a copy of Windows. Ideally I’d just visit microsoft.com, pay with my creditcard, and download an ISO file that I can then mount and install straight into Parallels from. But of course, that’s not how it works. I know they have their whole dealer setup to work with, but it still feels so wasteful and old-sk00l.

Se Carson’s details on the setup.

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4 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Hartvig // Dec 27, 2006 at 08:00 PM

    > It’s weird how bothersome it is to purchase a copy of Windows Isn't it the same with Apple and OS X or is it just me ;-) I know it's very unpopular to actually claim that Microsoft are doing some things right, but with an MSDN subscription you actually get all microsoft software available as ISO files. Of course this is rather expensive or requires one to be a partner, but it really rocks.

  • 2 Lars Pind // Dec 27, 2006 at 08:57 PM

    True, that is how you buy OS X, and that's equally annoying, but it's not how I buy all the other software I use. That I can just pay for and download online. I agree MSDN is awesome, from what I hear. I've never been anywhere that had it, but it sure sounds nice.

  • 3 Jesper Hvirring // Jan 25, 2007 at 02:20 PM

    > The only problem I have with this setup is that Command-Tab doesn’t invoke the OS X app switcher, but rather, Command acts as the Windows key. Just in case you haven't seen it already: The latest build fixed this. I'm running build 3120 and Command-Tab'ing works now - with an annoying catch though. You need to disable "access for assistive devices" in the Universal Access preferences pane, which effectively kills support for apps like Textpander and Witch. There's already a request have this fixed, so hopefully we can have our cake and eat it too in the final relase.

  • 4 Lars Pind // Jan 25, 2007 at 02:25 PM

    I had noticed, but I didn't know of the catch, so things had deteriorated so bad that I had dropped using coherence mode entirely. I'm going to give it a try again now, thanks a bunch for the tip.