Parallels, Inc. today released Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac Build 9344, an update that enables Macs run Google Chrome OS in a virtual machine. Google Chrome OS is a lightweight, Linux-based, open source operating system designed to run web apps for certain x86 and ARM netbooks and tablet PCs. Chrome OS is in the early stages of development; Google has said that it will release the first stable version later this year.

Parallels Desktop 5 Build 9344 also includes improvements and fixes when running Windows and other operating systems in virtual machines. There is improved compatibility with Cisco VPN, and users can double-click device icons to open USB Flash devices and CD/DVD network drives in virtual machines. Parallels said that aliases for Windows applications that sit on the Desktop now work properly. The update also fixes a bug so that shared Windows applications open correctly when the virtual machine is suspended or paused.

Build 9344 includes various performance improvements, including better performance of Mac OS X Server 10.6.2 and 10.6.3 in virtual machines and better performance of Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) drivers. It fixes a problem that slowed performance in Coherence mode after waking from sleep, and fixes a delay of opening My Computer with Windows XP.

The new build also has some improvements for Linux virtual machines, including added support for OpenGL, better performance of RealFlow in Ubuntu virtual machines, and the fixing of a problem with graphics artifacts in Ubuntu VMs. There are more improvements as well.

The update is available from the Parallels updater feature within the application, or from the Parallels web site.

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