VMware Fusion Beta 4 Released
Following Parallels release of Desktop 3.0, VMware has released a new beta of VMware Fusion for the Mac with a new ‘Unity’ feature to compete with Parallels’ Coherence.
VMware Fusion for Mac is a desktop application that lets you create and run virtual machines on your Intel-based Mac. VMware’s first product for the new Intel Macs makes it easier than ever to take advantage of the security, flexibility, and portability of virtual machines. VMware Fusion provides an intuitive user interface for creating virtual machines, and for running preconfigured virtual machines created with VMware Workstation, VMware Server, and ESX Server. With VMware Fusion, you can run your favorite Windows applications on your Intel-based Mac. You can also download virtual machines from the VMware Technology Network (VMTN) Website, which has a growing library of virtual appliances with a wide range of pre-installed and preconfigured applications and operating systems.
Features of VMware Fusion:[list]
[*] You can use 32-bit and 64-bit guest operating systems in VMware Fusion virtual machines. VMware Fusion supports Windows, Linux, and Solaris operating systems in virtual machines.
[*] Fusion supports all Intel Mac hardware.
[*] Your virtual machines can have multiple virtual processors, taking advantage of the Intel Core Duo chips in today’s newest Intel Macs.
[*] VMware Fusion supports high-speed USB 2.0 for a huge range of devices. Even devices that do not have drivers for Mac OS X will work in a virtual machine.
[*] Virtual machines seamlessly integrate with your Mac: you can cut and paste text between your Mac and your virtual machines, drag and drop files between your Mac and your virtual machines, and create shared folders on your computer so you can easily share files and folders between your Mac and your virtual machines.
[*] VMware Fusion Unity view displays your Windows virtual machine applications directly on your Mac desktop. The virtual machine window is hidden, and your virtual machine applications are displayed in the Mac dock, so you can use them just as you use your native Mac applications. See Using Unity View.
[*] You can burn CDs or DVDs to your Mac’s rewritable optical drive from within your virtual machine.
[*] You can resize your virtual machine’s display dynamically.
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[B]New and Improved Features in Beta 4[/B]
This Beta 4 release of VMware Fusion for Mac includes the following new features and feature improvements:
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[*] Unity — The seamless way to run Windows applications: Run Windows XP applications alongside your favorite Mac applications and switch between any open application with command-tab or Exposé. Leave the Windows desktop and Start menu behind and use the VMware Fusion Launch palette to quickly find and launch your Windows applications. Save your favorite Windows applications to the Mac OS X Dock. Even use familiar Mac keyboard shortcuts to seamlessly copy and paste between Windows and Mac applications. See Using Unity View.
[*] Boot Camp improvements — You no longer have to choose between Windows or Mac-run Windows XP with Mac OSX off your existing Boot Camp partition. Beta 4 adds experimental support for Microsoft Vista, greatly improves Boot Camp partition detection, and when you are running the Boot Camp partition in a virtual machine, VMware Fusion automatically updates the Boot Camp partition to use drivers that are optimized for your virtual machine.
[*] Improved performance — Virtual machines boot faster and applications launch faster from virtual hard disks. Interactive performance is improved over previous betas and VMware Fusion now uses Apple’s multithreaded OpenGL engine for improved performance.
[*] Improved user experience — The toolbar is greatly enhanced and is now completely customizable. To make the display less cluttered and easier to use, the virtual hardware buttons have been moved from the toolbar to the status bar. The virtual machine hardware editor is a now sheet attached to the virtual machine you are editing.
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For more information or to download the VMware Fusion beta, visit http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion/index.html.
Tags: Intel, Virtualization
