Parallels Update Installs Unrelated Daemon Without Permission 170
Calibax writes "Parallels recently released version 9 of Parallels Desktop, their popular hypervisor application for Mac. They also released a new product named Parallels Access that offers access to Windows applications from an iPad for $80 per year. Access has received less than stellar reviews. When a user upgrades Parallels Desktop, he is asked if he wants a free six-month subscription to Parallels Access. Even if he says no, the product is installed on his system and the application is started each time the system is rebooted. It is installed with ancillary files scattered around several directories in the system and Parallels has not supplied an uninstaller or listed the steps to fully uninstall the application, despite a number of requests. In other words, Parallels has decided it's a good idea to silently install a difficult to remove daemon application on the system, even if the user has explicitly stated they do not want it. They have not provided an uninstaller or a list of files installed or instructions on how to remove the application files. These are scattered to at least four Mac OS X OS system level directories."
Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
No kidding! (Score:5, Funny)
TFS rants in circles, and the subject of the complaint is a product named "Parallels"?
My head hurts.
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No, it's ok. You posted in parallel.
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Deja vu all over again!
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Holy Department of Redundancy Department, Batman!
Holy Department of Redundancy Department, Batman!
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Holy Department of Redundancy Department, Batman!
Holy Department of Redundancy Department, Batman!
Holy Shit, Superman!
Good to know (Score:5, Informative)
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I've been using Parallels Desktop for several versions now but I won't be 'upgrading' to version 9 until this is resolved. Up to now, Parallels has been a great product.
McAfee, is that you?
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I've been using Parallels Desktop for several versions now but I won't be 'upgrading' to version 9 until this is resolved. Up to now, Parallels has been a great product.
McAfee, is that you?
Sounds like Norton. They used to (still?) installed dozens of aux programs that took over your desktop.
Re:Good to know (Score:4, Funny)
1.Upgrade to 9.
2.Tell the fucking installer to not install that extraneous software on your system.
3.Sue the shit out of Parallels for unauthorized access/violation of the CFAA.
4.????
5.PROFIT!!!!
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without your Mac's ability to run Windows applications seamlessly with Parallels, it's nothing more than an overpriced toy.
You mean like Windows 8?
Lost a customer (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been using Parallels over VMWare Fusion for a few years now (there has been some good bundle pricing on it, and there were some features it had that VMWare lacked at the time when I was deciding, though I don't recall what those were now).
Unless this turns out to be a tempest in a teacup or otherwise invented or overblown, I won't be doing that anymore, and VMWare will have gained back a customer.
Dan Aris
Re:Lost a customer (Score:5, Interesting)
On Mac, it is nowhere near as slick.
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OK, in that case it is more functional. Much better integration with the OS and IMHO the performance is better. That said, I use VirtualBox because I very rarely need Windows on my Mac and so "free" is good enough.
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Parallels is both slick and has significant functionality over anything else out there for a mac. That's why people use it in preference over most other packages by a pretty large margin, from what I can tell. In fact, all the VmWare Fusion installs I've ever met were to seamlessly function with windows and other counterparts, and most had Parallels installed also for their own uses.
To GP's point later on, I imagine Parallels is losing users precisely because windows is becoming less necessary by the day
Re:Lost a customer (Score:5, Informative)
I've been using Parallels over VMWare Fusion for a few years now (there has been some good bundle pricing on it, and there were some features it had that VMWare lacked at the time when I was deciding, though I don't recall what those were now).
Unless this turns out to be a tempest in a teacup or otherwise invented or overblown, I won't be doing that anymore, and VMWare will have gained back a customer.
Dan Aris
Why not just use VirtualBox? Or are you not touching that due to Oracle having their fingers in it?
I've used it, but as MightyYar says, it doesn't do as much as VMWare Fusion or Parallels on the Mac. It 3D support, for instance, still leaves a lot to be desired.
Dan Aris
Re:Lost a customer (Score:5, Funny)
Why not just use VirtualBox? Or are you not touching that due to Oracle having their fingers in it?
I've used it, but as MightyYar says, it doesn't do as much as VMWare Fusion or Parallels on the Mac. It 3D support, for instance, still leaves a lot to be desired.
Yeah, like 3D, or support.
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The thing I see is two-fold
1) people tend to like what they use. Once a decision is made, then it was the right decision and a good decision unles it becomes painfully clear that it was really wrong.
2) I use VirtualBox by necessity because my workplace requires that I input a minute amount of data into Filemaker once a week. Now, if it were up to me I would use kvm. It is better integrated into Fedora than VB and equally free. But my IT buddy who is responsible for my computer and is an old linux sysadmin f
Re:Lost a customer (Score:5, Informative)
Because VirtualBox is slow and lacks features.
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Lacking what features? VMware Workstation and Fusion are slow too. :(
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> To run office VB is a better value.
I use both VB (for browser testing) and VMWare (for running apps), and afaik Virtual Box doesn't have a seamless window mode or any of the other GUI integration features. At least for normal user activities, VM/Parallels seems vastly superior.
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Ok.
Arstechnica.com mentioned this a few years ago for a MacOSX centric review. Windows seamless mode is available in the Windows version and I just assumed it was in the mac version as well. I stand corrected then if it is not there.
I wonder if Virtualbox is more crippled in non MS operating systems then?
Performance wise at least on Windows 7 it has to go with Virtualbox on my 2.6 ghz system. Perhaps on a newer icore7 extreme this might not be true?
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VirtualBox has had perfectly working "seamless" on Linux for at least 5 years. I've been using it for Visual Studio when somebody demands .NET shit because they're used to people who are too dumb to write good C++.
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For me, VirtualBox is Good Enough, but there's definite room for improvement and so I can understand why other people would pay for VMWare.
For most people, the free version of VMware Player (they now have a license for Player which will help people using it with mass deployments) will do everything they need to do, so I can't understand why people would use Virtualbox. VMWare is not perfect, I've had it bluescreen itself and so on, but it's worlds better than Virtualbox. Are you worried about government backdoors or something?
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Will player let you make machines? I thought it left that out. Will it do snapshots?
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Yes and no, in that order. It used to not let you make machines, but it has done for some time now. Still no snapshots, that's still a Workstation feature.
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Based on that VirtualBox seems better on OSX and KVM for those who know what they are doing on linux.
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Based on that VirtualBox seems better on OSX and KVM for those who know what they are doing on linux.
Snapsnots are nice, but what's really nice is having stuff work. VMWare wins there. If you need snapshots, and you either don't want to spend money or don't want to use a closed-source hypervisor, then it's understandable that you might choose to use something else.
If you're running Linux under Linux, then probably most of the options are adequate. If you want to run Windows in a VM, then only VMWare doesn't blow.
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In what way does stuff not work with virtualbox?
I run windows and linux in Virtualbox all the time on an OSX machine. Work provided.
Windows runs fine in KVM. If you are running linux under linux, containers are a better way.
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In what way does stuff not work with virtualbox?
3D Graphics. Every time I try them Virtualbox crashes. Last time I tried running virtualbox with 3d, fucking dxdiag caused the VM to asplode.
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I have never had that work well save for KVM and that more or less lets the guest directly attached to the graphics card. I have not tried in VirtualBox, but I just have not had that need.
Direct access to 3d hardware is a huge security risk for a tiny gain. Since that means that guest can write to a device that has DMA. Using something in between instead sounds like a performance hit.
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Sorry it's a fact. On the desktop and on clustered racks VMWare wins hands down in features and performance. While there is a roadmap to match KVM with ESX feature-for-feature it will not reach parity for a few years yet assuming VMWare stays fairly static.
I work daily with every large scalable deployments of every virtualization solution on x86 and PPC. Nothing touches VMWare on x86 in the present.
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Wow. For an Anonymous Coward, you sure sound like a paid shill.
Department of redundancy department. (Score:2, Redundant)
remote access (Score:5, Informative)
The most important part: what this daemon does is allowing remove access to the computer, through Parallels' servers, using closed source code on both sides. Let's see, is there anything nefarious possible?
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It's not ... it's pretending to be something else.
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This make sense but effective backdoors belong to the OS level, the controllers' level, the hardware level. Not to some half-assed installer of a daemon.
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Should be simple enough if you already know where the files are.
More correctly with a Mac it would be a simple shell script with elevated privilege to write to core directories. Same thing basically as a bash script run as root. Remember when Sony put a root kit on audio CDs? There were actually repair utilities created to remove it because the core files were so obfuscated in Windows that it was hard to remove at first until all the registry changes were found out.
Sony did not cave in at first LOL it took a concerted effort from users and sites like Slashdot to get t
Burning bridges (Score:5, Insightful)
When you decline to install something you expect that it doesn't get installed. Parallels is going to burn a lot of trust by pulling this stunt. The cost of acquiring their customers has certainly got to exceed the profit from people who decide that they will change their mind and want to run this software anyways.
At a bare minimum they need to start by building a package that will remove all traces post haste for the anyone that wants it. For people that don't want to run the package explicit instructions need to be made available about how to completely remove this. Any number of companies have screwed up royally before this, those that are still respected are the ones that instituted proper damage control.
Re:Burning bridges (Score:5, Interesting)
When you decline to install something you expect that it doesn't get installed. Parallels is going to burn a lot of trust by pulling this stunt. The cost of acquiring their customers has certainly got to exceed the profit from people who decide that they will change their mind and want to run this software anyways.
At a bare minimum they need to start by building a package that will remove all traces post haste for the anyone that wants it. For people that don't want to run the package explicit instructions need to be made available about how to completely remove this. Any number of companies have screwed up royally before this, those that are still respected are the ones that instituted proper damage control.
This is not the first time Parallels has failed to uninstall things; I ran an installer of a trial product of theirs a few years back, and after uninstalling, still had to go in manually and clean up some components that wanted to run some sort of service. I haven't touched Parallels since. VirtualBox allows me to write my own additions, and if I need something more polished, VMWare Fusion is still rock solid.
So it will be interesting to see Parallels' response to thiis, as it definitely puts their (paid) installer solidly in the category of Potentially Unwanted Application alongside the CNet downloader and all the bundleware coming out of Russia and China.
Wont matter much in the long run (Score:2)
Most end users wont even know it took place. The few that do wont make a dent in their customer base.
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Apple itself does this kind of crap. Back when QuickTime was necessary to view some online video, they'd bundle iTunes and not allow you to remove it.
Everyone does this, this happens all the time. I really don't know what the big deal is, I've installed many programs that had extra crap I didn't want and this is nothing new. Use a different product if you don't like the package.
Firefox didn't ask me if I wanted their update service installed either, it's probably an NSA spy machine.
Difference is that is a Windows problem. Macs are better in that you have simple folders and no registry. To back up a program you copy it to a source then copy it back and run it. No install programs that install malware. Windows users are just used to bad things.
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> To back up a program you copy it to a source then copy it back and run it. No install programs that install malware. Windows users are just used to bad things.
Not always true, unfortunately. Quite a few mac applications come with installers if they're doing anything even remotely clever with the underlying OS - Parallels does, as does gimp-print.
It's not unusual to find that bothering to write an uninstaller in the first place - never mind one that actually uninstalls everything - simply never happens.
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It is fairly rare but getting more common as Apple adds more complex things and folders sadly.
As I said I am a Windows 7 user and a former Linux user and not a fanboi. I went to school late in my life and saw all the students using Macs. If you have no must have business app the mac is a better value.
I hated Windows with a passion for years, though NT was a nice start MS plagued it with garbage like registry editors, buggy MFC classes, proprietary browsers, and no real cohesive design with all of its compon
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I think you guys need to go back and read the screen a little more carefully! It does not say it will not install it, what it says is that it will not enable it!
From TFS: and the application is started each time the system is rebooted.
Sounds Like They do enable it...
Doesn't seem all that hard to diff (Score:2)
or am I missing something?
Make 3 partitions on an OSX drive. Install OSX into all 3. Now on /sda install Parallels. /sdb leave vanilla. Boot into /sdc and mount /dev/sda /mnt/A. mount /dev/sdb /mnt/b. Diff a and b.
Granted your average user won't do this, but anyone wanting to play hero should be able to do it easily.
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And when a new service/process/task is installed with Windows software average users, nay nobody, even cares at all.
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Your approach would show you everything that installs when installing Parallels, but doesn't tell you what is installed for just Parallels Access (the unwanted portion of the Parallels Desktop install).
Step 1: Clone install
Step 2: Install then remove Parallels Desktop on cloned install
Step 3: cmp
Step 4: Profit!
That's the new normal (Score:2)
So what's the problem here?
Parallels indeed (Score:1)
Microsoft, Sony, any other?
That is why you have something to remove... (Score:3)
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If you have to run cleaners then why switch to the Mac?
I can see why mac users are all saddled up while Windows users are sratching their heads thinking it is normal, but man if this is becoming a problem why pay the premium?
Was going to buy... (Score:3, Informative)
I was going to upgrade to Parallels Desktop 9 but after reading about this I might as well switch to VMware fusion 6.
Overblown (Score:3)
First of all, there was ONE "less than stellar" review. The Ars review was pretty pathetically trollish, I have no idea why. Check Google if you don't believe it. http://www.google.com/search?q=parallels+access+review [google.com]
I used it in beta testing and its head and shoulders above other remote access tools. Their pricing is out to lunch, but it is an excellent tool.
Second, Parallels always has done stuff like this. The last version or two has been popping up ads. It's lazy of them and stupid but it's not really an "unrelated daemon".
Don't expect their support to give you instructions on how to uninstall it, just run something like CleanMyMac2 and move on.
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So only one site had the balls to say something negative about a Mac product despite the fact that it had it coming. That is nothing to brag about. All this does is reinforce the idea that Apple users subscribe to a mindless groupthink.
The fact that this app has been doing abusive things in the past does not excuse the fact that they are doing it know.
And why should you use 3rd party cleanup tools on a Mac? That's the kind of crap that WinDOS is supposed to be famous for.
Your response is a total fanboy fail
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Read Ihtnako's review. That one is bang on, not the Ars piece. Yes it's flawed, and OH MY it's way too expensive.
If I'm a fanboy then I must be the worst in history...
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Parallels is head and shoulders over RDP? ...
No, not anywhere close. There is nothing on the planet that competes with RDP for remote access. Your statements show that you are truly ignorant of the world around you.
Try again shill.
*rdp includes citrix
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Yes it's head and shoulders above other remote access tools for the iPad. I thought that was obvious. Or are you truly ignorant of things like, oh I don't know, TFA?
RDP is nice but it doesn't have the integration that this does to make things finger-friendly.
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Mac OS X OS system? (Score:4, Informative)
Mac Operating System X operating system system?
This is a new record for redundancy records.
What's the big deal un-installing this? (Score:2)
I have installed Parallels version 9 and tried out their access program, since it was free for six months. It works as advertised, although on our slow Internet connection it is essentially unusable. Trying to do work on a standard iPad screen that is normally displayed on a big PC monitor or even a big laptop makes for pretty tiny print. $80 per year is pretty steep. $20-$30 is about the maximum I would pay even if our Internet connection for up to par. It will not work on a LAN over Wi-Fi. I have no tro
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Actually I did tell them that I wanted to try this thing and it actually worked as advertised. I just don't find it useful enough to use, especially since it is very expensive.
I blame Apple (Score:1)
Seriously, isn't Apple supposed to do all my thinking for me? Why the hell should I have to use my brain and think critically about what software I install on a computer I own is doing? I pay Apple to do that for me. This is bullshit.
Back to the Future (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah, the advantages of OSX. No "ancillary files scattered" all around the system when you install something. Remember when all you had to do to uninstall a Mac app was drag it to the Trash?
But the most unsettling part of this is the fact that Parallels had to know they would be found out, and went ahead anyway. When a company gets caught with its pants down, at least there's an indication that they realize there was something wrong with their behavior. This is much worse, because they just didn't care what you think.
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But the most unsettling part of this is the fact that Parallels had to know they would be found out, and went ahead anyway.
This may just mean they had no choice in the matter. Imagine NSA shows up on your door, tells you you will create a remote access backdoor into your product and not tell anyone or they will screw up you and your company, you will do it too. Any corporation will. It's not NSA writing all those backdoors, it's the poor blackmailed companies themselves, for their own money, with their own know how of their product! And yeah, we can assure the public, NSA does not put backdoors anywhere, right? It's the compani
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We now have precedents of companies that will shut down a service or product rather than comply with the NSA.
That's my gold standard for companies: resist the NSA or I won't use your products or services. And if you DO resist the NSA, I will be a loyal customer.
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Not that I disagree with you, but thus far resisting the NSA has meant tanking the company. Just how will you be a loyal customer when the company's shuttered?
Sony RootKit moment (Score:1)
Use my EA case as an example and SUE (Score:2)
EA got it's ass handed to it in court for pretty much this exact same reason - installing shit on your system without your permission.
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McQuown vs Electronic Arts - nailed their ass for SecuROM.
Glad I saw this in time. (Score:1)
Redundant to add at this point but ... (Score:2)
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I thought you were serious until I clicked on your Apple link.
Re:Macintosh's ease of use (Score:5, Informative)
Parallels is NOT sold in the AppStore. It's installed via a custom stand-alone installer.
Of course it is [apple.com]...
You do realize that's not the App store, but Apple's store where they ship you a box with the software?
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You do realize that's not the App store, but Apple's store where they ship you a box with the software?
I notice you ignored the second link: Which shows that malware can and has been uploaded to the app store, which was my original point; The OP said that nothing like Parallels Desktop could be in the app store because it was too "low level".
I'd consider something that steals my credit card info and takes over my browser pretty "low level". The reason why Parallels Desktop isn't in the app store is because it loads kernel modules, not because the app store is somehow 'more secure'.
But hey... I already got a
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You do realize that's not the App store, but Apple's store where they ship you a box with the software?
I notice you ignored the second link: Which shows that malware can and has been uploaded to the app store, which was my original point; The OP said that nothing like Parallels Desktop could be in the app store because it was too "low level".
I'd consider something that steals my credit card info and takes over my browser pretty "low level". The reason why Parallels Desktop isn't in the app store is because it loads kernel modules, not because the app store is somehow 'more secure'.
But hey... I already got a -1 everywhere else for pointing out that it's not all sunshine and kittens in AppleLand and got furious anger and rage from the fanboys... so what's a missed point between slashdotters?
You have no idea how bad you have it with Windows. I say this as a Windows 7 user too. The reason it is a big deal is former Windows users who switched to the Mac left XP/Vista because of this kind of crap!
Registry entries, malware, every free app including malware to slow down yoursystem including sourceforge using i3, eyecandy, ask, or whatever michevious crap! With a mac you want to transfer MS Office to a newer computer? Just copy the files to your phone and copy them back and run them. That is it. No f
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You have no idea how bad you have it with Windows.
Yeah, it's terrible. Having to worry about whether the latest game will run on the operating system I'm running... or buying hardware at OEM pricing online and incrementally upgrading my system instead of just buying a new one every year... and then there's that pesky problem of having to lug it into an official microsoft store whenever something breaks on it instead of the nearest 14 year old kid. It's rough.
Registry entries, malware, every free app including malware to slow down yoursystem including sourceforge using i3, eyecandy, ask, or whatever michevious crap!
Yes. Because malware authors target the OS with the biggest marketshare. Should Apple one day rule
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I notice you ignored the second link:
Oh my God, you WERE serious.
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I "ignored" it because I read it and saw it had nothing to do with the misstatement I quoted, but was another point entirely.
Re:Macintosh's ease of use (Score:5, Insightful)
Funny enough, a software like Parallels Desktop needs such low-level access to the system that it would most certainly be prohibited from being approved into the Mac App Store. Apple is pretty strict about what kind of low-level access its App Store apps are allowed and where they can install their stuff.
So if the user would have stayed inside the walled garden, he would actually be safe from this particular threat.
I do not want to say that the walled garden is flawless or does not have some significant problems, but your guess is really simply wrong in this case.
Re:Macintosh's ease of use (Score:5, Informative)
And, also that is definitely not for download, because, you know there is a shipping estimate there? And the first picture actually shows you the physical box the software is shipping in?
Besides, that box also contains the old version 8 which does not have the obnoxious behavior written about here. That one is new for version 9, which is not in your link.
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No matter what you say, they'll take the most insignificant thing and say "See! See! This tiny little bit right here is wrong! You spelled the product name wrong! That means everything you said must also be wrong!"
Half of your post in #44780265 [slashdot.org] is wrong, and basically all of your post in #44780073 [slashdot.org] is wrong, except the parts where you start making your own opinions based on the wrong information. Is it not fair for people to point that out? If I made a post that was half full of misinformation, I would expect to be called out for that.
Perhaps you would like to think that although all your premises (the most insignificant thing!) are wrong, your conclusions (the important part, yea?) are still correct. But if that is s
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First, that link isn't to the app store. That's the boxed edition. Second, you'll notice that in the product description for this feature, there's a ** that says "Separate purchase in the App Store".
So unless that page you linked to is lying, the App Store version does not do what they're talking about here. Only the separate installer that you get directly from Parallels installs the daemon in question.
Re:Macintosh's ease of use (Score:4, Insightful)
What exactly does Apple have to do with shoddy 3rd party software?
Neither Parallels or VMWare Fusion are in Apple's App store. So if grandma is going to the store to buy virtualization software, I would hope she has some idea of what she is doing.
Also, if grandma happens to hose the Ubuntu machine you gave her and she has to look at this:
~#:_
Does that mean Linux is shit and just for freetard lusers?
Re:Macintosh's ease of use (Score:4)
Let me guess? Approved in the app store. And that ease of use that's touted by Apple means that it's helluva hard for the average person to get under the hood. Imagine grandma looking at this:
Parallels software is _not_ available on the App Store. If you look at what this software does, there is not a chance in hell that it would be allowed on the App Store. So your little rant is completely missing the point. So when you say it is "the problem with the walled garden", you are completely wrong: This app is _not_ inside the walled garden. It does things that the "walled garden" would protect you from.
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(She?) has always been pretty active, and used to be fairly insightful even if occasionally oversensitive about certain subjects and sometimes misinformed (but not usually to the point of repeatedly stating a false claim). No big deal; we all have our buttons and we all make mistakes. Overall, her posts were a definite benefit to the community.
That was, oh, up until a couple years ago. I couldn't give you a precise point, but these days it sadly does seem more like a troll account. Sad, because the points a
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