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Bigscreen's 'VR LAN party' comes to the Oculus Store
Bigscreen's promise to bring the environment of a LAN party into virtual reality is becoming more credible, now that it's also available in the Oculus store. The free software has been "completely cross-platform" since launch, ready for sharing with friends using Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets, and now you can get it in a new place. As the name implies, it syncs a virtual space so people can show what's on their desktop to everyone else, even if they're not physically looking over your shoulder.
Virtual Desktop for VR is a glimpse at a future without monitors
I can trace my computing history along a path of display milestones. The 10-inch VGA monitor that came with my Packard Bell desktop in the '90s was a huge leap forward from the low-res Apple II displays I used in school. Then there was the 20-inch Sony Trinitron flat CRT that I brought to college with my first custom-built desktop, which served as my dorm entertainment center for years. These days, I rock two 24-inch 1080p LCDs at home, and I'm eyeing an ultra-wide screen upgrade at some point. After spending several hours with Virtual Desktop, a $15 app developed by Guy Godin for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that brings the full Windows experience to VR, it seems like we're close to yet another display revolution.
VMware launches Fusion 6 virtual desktop for Mac with Mavericks support, Windows Store app integration
VMware regularly upgrades its Fusion virtual desktop client to support major new operating systems, and it's keeping up that tradition with today's release of Fusion 6. The new Mac app is optimized for OS X Mavericks' most important features, including a reworked full-screen mode that plays nicely with multiple displays. The software is equally ready for Windows 8.1 virtual machines, and lets users place shortcuts for Windows Store apps in a Mac's Applications folder or the Dock. There's also fine-tuning for Haswell-based Macs, a simplified setup assistant and support for virtual machines with up to 16 processors and 64GB of RAM. Fusion 6 Professional users get a few business-friendly upgrades, such expiring virtual machines and cloned machines that link back to master copies. Both variants of Fusion 6 are available today, although pricing has increased significantly since Fusion 5. It now costs $60 for a stand-alone purchase of Fusion 6, and $130 for its Professional edition. Anyone who buys Fusion 5 between August 1st and September 30th can get the newer version for free, but they'll otherwise have to pay either $50 (for a standard copy) or $70 (for Professional) to stay on the cutting edge.
Parallels Access for iPad offers a truly touch-native remote desktop (hands-on)
Many attempts at tablet-friendly remote desktop still present a traditional desktop to the user; they deliver a lot of control, but they're unwieldy on touch-only devices. Parallels' just-unveiled Access client for the iPad could provide a simpler, more consistent experience. Rather than recreate the full desktop of a host Mac or Windows PC, Parallels Access provides a streamlined app launcher with controls that are largely iOS-native. Text selection, gestures and even multitasking behave much like they normally would on Apple's tablets. The approach sounds intuitive, but is it worth Parallels' $80 yearly subscription fee? Read our hands-on after the break to find out.
VMware's WSX promises to bring virtualized desktops to the web browser with HTML5
It's not quite ready for widespread use just yet, but it looks like we could soon have yet another way to virtualize one computer desktop on another device. Tentatively dubbed WSX, VMware's latest option relies on HTML5 to do away with plug-ins or dedicated applications altogether (a "lightweight Web server" acts as an intermediary), which means that you'll need nothing more than a web browser to run Windows or other operating systems on any capable device. As of now that includes laptops and desktops running Firefox, Chrome, and Safari, as well as iPads, but not Android devices (though that is apparently in the works). What's more, while it's still described as experimental, it apparently offers "near-native quality and framerates" when viewing 720p YouTube videos, and VMware is already toying around with optimizing it for the new iPad's Retina display. Those interested in a sneak peak can try it out with VMware's Workstation Tech Preview for Linux, although there's no word yet on a wider release.
Citrix Receiver comes to PlayBook, RIM maintains enterprise credentials
RIM has always been a business thoroughbred, and this lineage continues with the release of Citrix Receiver for its PlayBook slab. Currently in beta, the remote access / virtualization tool is available via the BlackBerry App World, and boasts a smorgasbord of features sure to keep even the most tortured of Sys-Admins happy. Like? The ability to control which of your company's applications are available, multitasking, single sign-on access, and of course secure access to your enterprise systems. This ain't the first slate to offer up the service -- HP's now-defunct TouchPad had it months ago -- but at least it's keeping the enterprise happy while dodging that consumer-focused firestorm.
VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows
Leave it to VMware to put the spotlight back on Lion when this is, without a doubt, Windows 8's week. The company just announced Fusion 4, the latest version of its virtualization software, and, as you'd expect, it pledges to play nice with Apple's newly minted OS. In addition to fully supporting Lion features like Spotlight, though, it makes Windows look more like, well, a Mac. The software includes improved support for Expose and Spaces on the Windows side, and adds the ability to use Mission Control and launch Windows apps from Launchpad. Additionally, you can run Lion as a virtual machine within Snow Leopard and VMware makes vague claims about improved performance, 3D graphics and resource-hogging. It'll cost $50 through the end of the year, with the price jumping up to $80 in January. Fittingly enough, VMware picked up on the fact that Apple's moving away from optical drives, and instead chose to ship the software with a USB drive (you can also download it and do the whole drag-and-drop installation thing). Oh, and if you bought the last-gen version of the software on July 20th or later, you'll get the new version gratis. Lots of screen shots below, and full PR after the break.%Gallery-133556%
VMware View brings virtual desktops to iPad with touchscreen-friendly controls (video)
Remote controlling your personal desktop from an iPad is one thing, but today VMware is offering something a little heftier -- a streamlined app to connect to enterprise-class virtual desktops. Like Citrix Receiver, the idea is that you'll get the iPad client for free, and hopefully pay to have the cloud computers served up, but instead of streamlining applications for tablet use, VMware's app hands you customizable PC-like controls. There's a handy-looking virtual touchpad you can use for fine control over the mouse cursor if your fingers prove too pointy, a set of Windows shortcut keys at the top of the virtual keyboard, multi-finger gestures and more -- but why not just watch the video after the break to see what's in store?
Neverware's Juicebox 100 squeezes new life into aging school computers (video)
Your typical school computer is probably not a machine you'd like to use on a daily basis -- perennially behind the curve in terms of technology, since educators can't afford smokin' hot video cards and primo processors year after year. Budgets and the resulting reluctance inevitably lead to stale hardware which then goes obsolete... but a tiny startup called Neverware thinks it can end the cycle of woe with virtualization technology. Its single product, the Juicebox a100, can serve up one hundred Windows 7 virtual desktops to existing hardware, pretty much regardless of its age -- all computers need is a working LAN jack, a 500MHz processor and 128MB of memory, so schools could keep their beige boxes and just upgrade the Juicebox instead. Founder Jonathan Hefter doesn't have pricing worked out yet -- and his tiny company only has three of the boxes working at present -- but he's piloted the technology in a pair of schools and is planning a beta soon -- all the while dreaming about how our mountains of e-waste could be transformed into useful computers for the poorer nations of the world. Good luck, dude! Video after the break.
