Hardware Support
When Parallels first came out, its support for USB devices wasn't great. Things have improved since then. It now supports USB 2.0, and more devices work. I had no trouble getting Windows XP Pro to recognize a 1GB memory stick; USB hard drives work, too. I was even able to use my Wacom Intuos 2 graphics tablet. You may still run into problems with things such as USB dongles, which some programs use for copy protection, but most other USB devices should work just fine.
Networking support is good; I had no issues printing to a networked laser printer, and I was able to see the other Macs on the household network.
What hardware won't work with Parallels? Pretty much anything that connects via FireWire, Bluetooth, or ExpressCard. (The main exception is FireWire drives that have been mounted in OS X.) If you have peripherals that rely on these technologies and that need access to them in Windows, you should consider using Boot Camp. Also, Parallels can't take advantage of both cores on Core Duo chips. In my experience, that didn't interfere with performance much, but if you have processor-intensive Windows apps, it might.
Who It's Good For
With its excellent application support, well-integrated Coherence mode, drag-and-drop capabilities, and overall level of performance, Parallels is a great match for people who need to run the full Windows OS on their Macs-- or people who'd like to experiment with other operating systems, such as Linux. But if you need accelerated 3-D graphics support or have FireWire and Bluetooth devices you need to use in Windows, look to Boot Camp.
This article is part 2 in a four-part series; for more info, read part 1, "Four Ways to Run Windows on a Mac."
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