This is a paid upgrade, even for 3.0 users Minimum cost is $40. Understanding a determining what to purchase is very confusing. The download store automatically opt you in for a $7 download privilege that you do not need if you backup the download or burn it to a CD. Unfortunately it is not obvious how to opt out of this and the site provides no information to do this. It took 2 phone calls, several transfers, and an hour of time just to contact Tech Support to find out about this. Installation of the product after download is a very lengthy process and can be very problematic. In my case I lost all cursor control in Windows, and could not get Parallels tools to install properly. It also required me to reactivate Windows. Getting in touch with Tech Support is a nightmare from you know where. They do not want to talk to you unless you are willing to pay for it, even if it is an initial installation. Free support is only via email with no expectation of when they will get back to you. When I protested this policy I was transferred to support where I waited for over a half hour before being hung up by the system which indicated it was too busy to take my call. Given the install made my Windows XP unusable and I could not get any help to resolve it. I called customer service and was finally able to speak to a live person. When I asked for a supervisor I was told that they had all gone home. So I demanded my update licensed be canceled and I be given a refund, which they did with no protest. They did not seem to care whether I remained their customer or bought their competitors product. Unfortunately I thought I could simply delete the product and support files and reload Parallels 3 from Time Machine. Not so as it would not work. So I tried to reinstall Parallels 3 from an update image but it would not let me, complaining that server software was still present but providing no clue as to how to resolve it. A Google search on the subject was of little help. I finally resorted to reinstalling Parallels 4 then immediately uninstalling it with its uninstaller. That trick finally allowed me to reinstall Parallels 3. In any case please, for your own good, do not even think of Upgrading to Parallels 4 unless you are sure you have a complete backup of your Windows installation from Parallels 3. Additionally if you have more than a single license, you have to order each update as a separate order. Since I never got Parallels 4 to work properly I have no idea how it compares to Parallels 3.

In summary, upgrading to Parallels 4 can be extremely problematic and turn into your worst nightmare. Installation Tech Support, based in India, is virtually nonexistent if you need it in a timely manner.

Recommendations: I would suggest avoiding the current upgrade at all costs unless it absolutely necessary that you need to preform it, unless you want to be a Beta Tester, or a masochist.. If you still want to upgrade, I would suggest waiting for the next update, when hopefully they will have worked out some of the bugs. Right now given its installation performance and Tech Support issues, I do not feel it is ready for 'Prime Time.' It is a costly upgrade, even with the discount, and given its problems and support accessibility, a savings of $20 off the suggest price simply is not worth the pain of being an early implementer. As for my own plans. for now I will continue to use Parallels 3, and given Parallels current level of Tech Support, I am going to take a serious look and VMFusion. I see no reason to pay for or support Parallels products in the future, given the grief they have caused me today unless they improve their support access and and the products stability.