The Tech Bench

Sometimes us Mac users find ourselves using a PC. If you’ve got a PC that can support it, Windows 7 is definitely the way to go. Parallels, the makers of virtualization software for the Mac, has just released their Windows 7 Upgrade Tool.

So what does this new software tool do?

1) It makes the process of upgrading an existing PC running any version of XP or Vista to Windows 7 easier. Since Windows 7 requires a clean install, getting all of your files and programs over usually requires external backups and more manual configuring. Think of this new software tool as the migration assistant that should have been included with Windows 7 in the first place.

2) It allows programs that will work with XP (or Vista) but not Windows 7 to continue to run. Here’s where the real value is. This software tool saves the current XP or Vista state and allows programs that only work with XP or Vista to run on Windows 7 within a virtualized (invisible) XP system. There are some licensing questions around this virtualization (you normally cannot use an upgrade version of Win 7 and still run the original OS) but Parallels and Microsoft are partners on the project and enforcement seems to be non-existent.

For $40, this software may make it easier for you to upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7 on your PC, which is a very good thing.

[ Parallels Windows 7 Upgrade Tool ]

Microsoft has announced that Outlook will be included in the next version of Office for the Mac.

Outlook will be replacing Entourage as the email/calendaring application in the Office suite and should bring tighter Exchange integration.

This is very welcome news for IT departments as supporting Entourage in an Outlook/Exchange environment can be frustrating and complicated.

Although the Mac Outlook version will probably be missing some features of its PC counterpart, having Outlook on the Mac will help Microsoft keep Mac users on Office amid growing productivity app competition.

The new version of Office with Outlook for the Mac is scheduled to be released in time for the 2010 holiday season.

[ Mactopia ]