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VMware Fusion/Fusion Pro 7 ready for OS X Yosemite
With the impending release of OS X Yosemite this fall, the virtual machine wars have heated up with the release of VMware Fusion 7 and Fusion Pro 7 today. On August 20th, Parallels announced the latest version of its virtual machine environment, Parallels Desktop 10; now VMware is making sure that its flagship VM application is ready for Yosemite. The company announced over 50 new features in VMware Fusion 7, which is designed from the ground up for compatibility with OS X Yosemite. The app takes design cues from Yosemite, including the typeface, translucency, and more. Yosemite can be run as a guest system under VMware Fusion 7 on an OS X Mavericks machine, perfect for those who wish to test the new OS but not have to devote a Mac to the testing. Designed for the latest Macs, VMware Fusion and Fusion Pro 7 have been optimized for not only the current Intel Haswell CPUs, but also any future Macs that might run Intel's Broadwell processors. Virtual machines can now have up to 16 virtual CPUs, 64GB of RAM, and up to 2GB of video RAM. As you'd expect with an update, performance has been enhanced significantly. Multimedia apps are doing about 11.5 percent better in performance benchmarks, while more CPU-intensive apps are seeing performance enhancements of up to 45 percent over VMware Fusion 6. MacBook-toting Apple fans will love that the energy impact of VMware 7 is down 42.16 percent as measured by the OS X Activity Monitor app. VMware also took Retina displays into account while updating VMware Fusion. The virtual machine environment now handles Retina displays better, especially in Unity mode. For anyone who is new to virtual machines and VMware in particular, the company has added an enhanced Learning Center providing built-in support and videos. Fusion Pro has been extremely popular with power users and enterprise administrators. Since professional use of Macs is exploding in the enterprise market, Fusion Pro is seeing a lot of growth. The app now supports over 200 separate operating systems, from Mac OS X to many versions of Windows, and countless Linux distros. VMware Fusion Pro 7 can now take advantage of dual GPUs on MacBook Pros, with a selection of either the integrated GPU or a discrete GPU. And there's a surprise in this version -- your virtual machines can now access the iSight camera in your Mac for use in applications like Skype. The new version also allows a connection to vSphere, so virtual machines that are running on other more powerful computers in an enterprise environment can be accessed from rather low-end Macs such as the MacBook Air. If you purchased VMWare Fusion or Fusion Pro between August 1 and September 30, 2014, you'll be able to get a free downloadable upgrade. The cost of upgrading from VMware Fusion 5 or 6 to version 7 is just US$49.99, while the upgrade from VMware Fusion Pro 5 or 6 to version 7 is $79.99. If at any time you decide that you need the extra features of Fusion 7 Pro, you can upgrade from Fusion 7 for $79.99. Of course, all of your Macs -- desktops and laptops -- can run on just one license.
MacTech finds Parallels beating VMWare Fusion again in annual virtualization rundown
MacTech has posted its annual rundown of benchmarks between two of the most popular virtualization solutions out there on the Mac: VMware Fusion 5 and Parallels Desktop 8. Both are of course used to run Windows-compatible software inside of an OS X environment, and especially on the high end IT side (which MacTech covers well and focuses on with its ongoing conference series), just a few measures of speed or performance can make a big difference in productivity. Or, as the benchmarking study shows, game playing. As you can see in the comprehensive report, MacTech set up a series of Mac desktops and laptops, and then installed and ran both VMWare Fusion and Parallels on them, along with a series of games (including the great Warhammer 40000: Space Marine) and other productivity and benchmarking software. So who won? "When we look at the 'big picture' of all the top-level test results," says MacTech, "Parallels is, once again, the clear winner." Parallels has been beating VMWare in these tests for the past few years, and this year won over 68% of the tests by a total of 5% score or more. So if you need a powerful, comprehensive solution for virtualization, MacTech says the choice is clear. However, MacTech also says once again that both of these pieces of software work very well, and that virtualization is more viable than ever as a way to run even the newest Windows software like Windows 8. Bootcamp is still another option for running Windows on your Mac, but if you want to do it without even leaving your OS X environment, either Parallels or VMWare's Fusion will serve you well.
VMware announces Fusion 5 with support for Windows 8
Mac users that run Windows on their machines will be happy to know that VMware just updated its Fusion software to support Windows 8. The new Fusion 5 is also optimized for OS X Mountain Lion, so you can run the best of both desktop platforms when Windows 8 debuts later this year. The latest update adds more than 70 new features including support for USB 3.0 devices, better memory management on devices with 16 GB or more of RAM and improved power management. You can also now use AirPlay with the software as well as run Mountain Lion or Mountain Lion Server in a virtual machine. The standard version of Fusion 5 is available for $49.99. Customers who bought version 4 since the release of Mountain Lion are eligible for a free upgrade. There's also a professional version available for $99 that'll let IT administrators deploy Fusion in a corporate environment. [Via Engadget]
VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion
With Mountain Lion newly available and Windows 8 on the verge of shipping, now was a pretty good time for VMware to update its Fusion virtualization software, dont'cha think? The company just announced Fusion 5 with 70-plus new features, including support for Win 8 and tight integration with OS X 10.8. For instance, you can now view Windows programs in Mountain Lion's Launchpad, while VMware software updates pop up in the Notification Center. Fusion also supports AirPlay for the first time, and you can also run either Mountain Lion or Mountain Lion Server as a virtual machine. The company also added support for Retina Display MacBook Pros, so that everything looks crisp on that 2,880 x 1,800 screen. Also of note: Fusion now supports USB 3.0, and Linux users get some love in the form of Open GL 2.1 graphics support. The standard version of Fusion 5 is available now for $49.99, but people who bought Fusion 4 since the release of Mountain Lion can upgrade for free. There's also a professional version ($100 for one license), which includes all the above features, and also lets IT departments lock down settings for employees' virtual machines.%Gallery-163118%
VMware Fusion now virtualizes standard builds of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard
VMware released the latest dot update to its flagship Mac virtualization product today. The free update, Fusion 4.1, improves Lion full-screen compatibility, graphics performance and startup options; it can be downloaded immediately for all Fusion customers. While those changes are certainly nice, they aren't the big story in this build. Macworld's Jason Snell has discovered that alongside the acknowledged changes and improvements, a less obvious adjustment has appeared in Fusion 4.1 in the area of virtualizing Mac OS X itself. Unlike previous versions of Fusion (and other virtualization products for the Mac like Parallels and VirtualBox), which included a built-in limiter to prevent users from installing a non-server version of Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6 in a virtual machine, the new Fusion build simply reminds you to respect Apple's licensing restrictions -- and then lets you go ahead and install vanilla Leopard or Snow Leopard anyway. Up until now, the only versions of 10.5 or 10.6 that were considered 'legal' for virtualization were the pricey Mac OS X Server versions. This may seem like a small difference, but it's a seismic shift in the Mac OS X virtualization landscape, and one that could have a major impact for specific 'abandonware' applications on the Mac platform. With the ability to virtualize Snow Leopard easily, VMware users can create a virtual machine that retains the Rosetta code translation stack Apple removed in Lion -- giving those people back the ability to run PowerPC applications. Quicken Deluxe is the most prominent app on the PPC roster, but older versions of Adobe's Creative Suite and QuarkXPress are also up for revitalization in a 10.6 VM. When I spoke to the Fusion product team during the Fusion 4 announcement, they were somewhat coy about the possibilities for virtualizing Rosetta-capable builds of Mac OS X other than the server versions; the decision on licensing was up to Apple, they said, while they would of course continue to explore their options and keep the lines of communication open to Cupertino. I don't know whether this move towards liberalizing the install was done with or without Apple's knowledge and consent, but I'll ask. In the meantime, if you're still holding off on your Lion upgrade because you've got PowerPC applications that aren't ready (or willing) to make the leap to Intel code, your options just got much more interesting.
Daily Update for November 2, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
MacTech benchmarks Parallels and VMware Fusion
The 2011 MacTech Conference starts up here in Los Angeles today, and TUAW will have reports and interviews live from the conference all week. Before things begin, however, MacTech has been busy benchmarking (as usual). Its latest benchmarking showdown features virtualization software options Parallels and VMWare Fusion. Both apps were tested under Windows 7 and, as with previous tests, Parallels stacked up quite well. Of the top tests, says MacTech, Parallels won 60% by a factor of 10% or more, and Parallels Desktop 7 beat VMWare Fusion in nearly 75% of the tests run. VMWare was faster in a few different places, as you can see on the full worksheet on MacTech's site. The software ran quicker during some of the virtual machine functions, like starting up or shutting down the virtual Windows machine running inside OS X. But on nearly all other points, Parallels topped the speed charts, including the 3D tests and tests of most commonly used apps on the system. The report concludes by saying that virtualization software is better than ever -- if you've ever needed to run Windows 7 (or even a virtual OS X installation) inside of your Mac operating system, Parallels will help you do it well. As usual, MacTech's report is extensive and conclusive. Stay tuned all week long for more from the conference.
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 Fusion gets an update with some important Mac fixes
VMware has pushed out an update for their virtual machine software for Intel-based Macs. Version 3.1.1 includes: Improvements to iSight Camera access Fixes an issue where an incorrect disk error message pops up after A Mac hard crash while working in VMware Fixes audio recording issues when the device output was not 44.1 kHz The update is free for all VMware Fusion 3 users, and the update notice should appear when you launch the app. This is the 4th update to version 3 since it was launched in October of last year. VMWare Fusion 3.1 is available for US$79.99 as a download, and you can add a subscription to all updates for 1 year for an additional twenty dollars.
Mac virtualization face-off: VMware Fusion 3 vs. Parallels Desktop 5 (video)
With Steam officially hitting Mac in just a few weeks many Apple gamers have suddenly lost their need to emulate. But, for those who are hoping to get busy in a little Command & Conquer 4 under Snow Leopard this week -- or any of the other myriad of PC-only gaming options -- virtualization is the only way to go -- short of rebooting into Boot Camp, of course. Parallels is the most commonly used solution, but how does VMware's Fusion 3 stack up for gaming? Not too well, as it turns out. MacTech sat the two down together on matching Mac hardware and ran them through a number of benchmarks, including 3DMark. The results of that test fall heavily in the favor of Parallels, offering better framerates and far more consistent visuals, which you can see for yourself in a video below. Most of the many, many other tests run favor that option as well, but we won't spoil all eight pages worth of results just waiting for you on the other end of that source link.
Ask TUAW: Power adapters, Windows 7, iWork refresh, and more
Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about MacBook power adapters, Windows 7 in Boot Camp and virtualization in general, resetting the Mac Setup Assistant, the next iWork refresh, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.
VMware Fusion 3 supercharged for Snow Leopard
The latest release of VMware's top-notch virtualization software "Fusion" has been announced and some of the new features are definitely worth taking a look. For the uninitiated, virtualization is the act of simulating a guest operating system while running a host operating system. Put simply, it allows you to run Windows without having to reboot. VMware Fusion 3 features highly improved Snow Leopard support. Most notably, Fusion now sports native 64-bit compatibility and support for the 64-bit kernel. What this means for the average user is improved performance for both the host and guest operating systems. Further, with support for OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3, gamers will now be able to play more demanding 3D games without the use of Boot Camp. Fusion 3 will also work beautifully with Microsoft's latest operating system by enabling the full Windows 7 experience, side-by-side with your Mac via Unity, complete with Windows Aero and Flip 3D. VMware Fusion 3 is available for pre-order now and will be on store shelves October 27. Suggested retail price is $79.99US and on the day of launch upgrade pricing of $39.99US will be available for existing customers with previous versions of VMware Fusion. I use Fusion 2 when I'm at my home office and while the performance has been good, I am really looking forward to Fusion 3's 64-bit support. Any other Fusion users out there, how will you make use of VMware's latest foray into the desktop virtualization game?
VMware Fusion 2.0.5 update squashes bugs, adds 10.6 support
VMware Fusion has now been updated to version 2.05. The release number is Build 173382. It is a free update to all Fusion 1 and Fusion 2 owners. The update includes: Support for Mac OS X Server guest operating systems with Intel Xeon 5500 and 3500 series processors Experimental support for Snow Leopard Server as a guest OS (32 bit only) Experimental support for Snow Leopard as a host OS (32 bit only) Reduces CPU usage when a VM is idle Contains more than 80 bug fixes I applied the update this morning and had no issues. You can get a look at the release notes here. Your Fusion app should update automatically on launch, or you can download the update from the VMware support web site. Thanks to Martin for the tip
Installing Windows 7 RC1 on your Mac... for free
Sometimes you have to use Windows. Supporting clients in multiple-OS environments makes this a necessity for some Mac users, while others want to run applications that are available in Windows only. You can get a preview of the latest flavor of Windows, Windows 7, by running Release Candidate 1 of the new OS either in a virtual environment such as VMWare Fusion, Parallels, or VirtualBox, or in Apple's own Boot Camp. Christina did a thorough rundown of the options for running Win 7 on Mac back in January.Of course, you may not own Fusion or Parallels, and perhaps you don't want to have to boot into Windows separately. In that case, you can download a copy of Sun's VirtualBox application (it's free) and then download a copy of Windows 7 RC1 from the Microsoft website (it's free, too!). Follow these detailed instructions or watch the video, and you'll have a free way to test Windows 7 until at least June 1, 2010. Windows 7 will shut down after every two hours of use after March 1, 2010, which is Microsoft's subtle way of telling you to buy the OS or update to a later build. If you're a VMWare Fusion user, the VMWare team has instructions and a video available here. Want to try out Win7 RC1 with Boot Camp? There are instructions here. For Parallels 4 users, I was unable to find a good set of instructions, so if any TUAW readers can provide me with a link, I'll update this post.How is Windows 7 RC1 as an operating system? It's faster than Windows Vista on my 3 year old iMac, and some features look surprisingly Mac-like. I'll leave it to you as an exercise to see how much you like or dislike it.
Parallels Desktop 4 updated
Popular virtualization software Parallels has been updated to build 3810. The software offers many upgrades and fixes, including Windows DirectX 9.0 with Shaders Model 2 support, as well as "experimental" support for Snow Leopard and Windows 7 beta. The "experimental" caution, as you might surmise, means not all features will work. For example, in Snow Leopard, there is no USB support, and Parallels notes there is no shared networking support.Parallels has been running a competitive race against VMware Fusion as each software solution tries to out-feature and outperform the other.The Parallels update can be downloaded at this link, or you can select "check for updates" from the Parallels application help menu. A complete list of the enhancements in this build can be found here. Some users are reporting faster performance and some improvements with use of peripherals.
VMWare Fusion - 50% off, today only
As if all the deals from "Black Friday" weren't enough, the good folks at VMWare are keeping the love going through today with this stellar deal offered exclusively for "Cyber Monday." Here's all the details, directly from the virtual horse's mouth:Get 50% off automatically when you purchase VMware Fusion online, using the coupon code "CyberMondayDeal" for one day only. *Regular Price: $79.99 Your Price: $39.99 *Offer Expires at 11:59PM PT on Monday, December 1, 2008.So, even if you love the Mac but still, on occasion, wish you could run that particular Windows app just like your Windows-loving friends, today is the day to get your hands on a tool that will enable you to do just that. Note that if you already own a license for Parallels or Virtual PC that you bought from a small selection of online retailers, you can get an additional $30 rebate when purchasing Fusion -- check it out.
VMWare Fusion 2.0 is released
Great news for any virtualization junkies out there (I know I'm not the only one). VMWare Fusion 2.0 has just been will be released Tuesday! Fusion 2.0 is a free upgrade for all existing 1.x customers, and it adds more than 100 new features and enhancements.[Note: VMware's product manager told us an official announcement time of 12:01am Tuesday morning, EDT; however the final version of Fusion 2.0 has not appeared on VMware's website yet as of 12:45am, as pointed out by Jonathan 'Wolf' Rentzsch. –Ed. Update: as of 1 am EDT, the Fusion page has been revised to include the 2.0 upgrade information. –Ed.]I've been using Fusion 2.0 since it first entered beta during the summer and have been very impressed with its performance and feature set. In addition to TUAW, I also write for Download Squad, where we've been a little bit Chrome-Crazy for the last couple of weeks. Although I have access to a few Windows machines, because all my tools for writing and screenshots and graphics are on my Mac, I've been using the beta and release candidate versions of VMWare Fusion 2.0 for all of my testing. Fusion 2.0 features lots of improvements and new features, but the most significant feature, from a technology-pushing perspective, is probably the ability to run Leopard Server as a virtual machine. When Apple made the decision to allow for server virtualization right after Leopard's release, both VMWare and Parallels announced plans to integrate that feature into their respective products. Parallels released Parallels Server back in June, targeting the higher-end enterprise market. VMWare decided to include the feature in Fusion 2.0 to give consumers a taste of the good life. Although my year-old MacBook isn't really the ideal platform to run a virtual instance of Leopard Server, I did give it a go with one of the RC releases and was pleasantly surprised to find I could run a stable local MAMP server off it, and it withstood a pounding from my boyfriend's MacBook and the other media computers we have scattered around our apartment. On a loaded iMac or Mac Pro, I could see Fusion being very handy for testing or replicating a production environment.Another new feature to Fusion 2.0, which first appeared in one of the release candidates, is a 1-year subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus. Although I personally prefer NOD32 for Windows anti-virus protection, having anti-virus software already built into the virtual machine is a great step, especially for users who might be new to virtualization and/or the Mac. There is no longer an excuse to not have some sort of protection on your Windows installs.VMWare Fusion 2.0 is $79.99 for new users, and free for existing customers. VMWare offers a 30-day free trial, if you want to try it out before buying. You need an Intel Mac running OS X 10.4 or higher. Like all virtualization products, the more RAM you have in your machine, the easier things will go.
Sun xVM VirtualBox 2 enhances the free virtualization experience
Sun xVM VirtualBox 2.0 has arrived! We did a detailed review of VirtualBox 1.6 back in July, and now a shiny new version is available. If you want to set up a virtualization environment on your Intel Mac, but don't want to spend money on Parallels or VMWare Fusion, xVM VirtualBox 2.0 is a free and full-featured package that may fit your needs very well.What's new in version 2.0? Mac users will see the following changes: 64-bit OS guest support (only on 64-bit hosts, as one might expect) New native Leopard user interface on Mac OS X hosts New-version notifier Guest property information interface Host Interface Networking on Mac OS X hosts Framework for collecting performance and resource usage data (metrics) Added SATA asynchronous IO (NCQ: Native Command Queuing) when accessing raw disks/partitions (major performance gain) A list of bug fixes can be viewed after the break. xVM VirtualBox 2.0 can be downloaded here.
VMWare Fusion 2 Beta 2 available now
The VMWare team has just released the second beta for VMWare Fusion 2.0, the company's popular virtualization program for the Mac. The new beta adds a TON of new features, as the video above demonstrates. I got a chance to talk to VMWare today about the new beta and it is HOT. I'll be posting a more in-depth overview tomorrow, but until then, here are some of the highlights: Unity 2.0 - The newest version of Fusion is really focused on better Windows-Mac integration. You can now launch Windows programs from the dock or access Mac programs from within your virtual machine. You can also link folders like Documents, Pictures and Music on your virtual machine with those folders on your Mac. Multiple Snapshots VMWare has worked really hard to bring a Time Machine-like ease to backing up and protecting your virtual machine. You can now designate how often you want to take full system snapshots of your VM, whether once an hour, once a day or once a week, and how many copies you want to keep. Better Video and Graphics Graphics and shading support has been improved for Macs that have higher-end graphics cards, and even integrated Macs can now play 1080p HD video in virtual machines with considerably less CPU overhead. Support for more client OSs, including Leopard Server You can now run Leopard Server as a VM in OS X 10.4 and 10.5, even on client machines (virtualizing Mac OS X client is blocked by Apple's license terms). Support for the latest version of Ubuntu (Hardy Heron) is also available right out of the box with Unity integration. Power users can now designate up to four virtual CPUs per virtual machine, which is great for anyone wanting to take an XServe or Mac Pro to the next level. VMWare Fusion 2.0 beta 2 is available for Intel Macs running OS X 10.4 or OS X 10.5. New users can try the beta for free and the upgrade path (including future betas and the full version of Fusion 2.0) is free for all existing Fusion 1.0 customers.
TUAW Labs: VirtualBox
Running other operating systems on a Mac is nothing new, and with the advent of Intel-based Macs we've seen a flood of virtual machine software: Parallels Desktop for Mac, VMWare Fusion, and Codeweavers CrossOver Mac. These products enable you to run Mac OS X and another operating system simultaneously.For many of my consulting clients who are switching from PCs and who already have a licensed copy of Microsoft Windows, I've been using Sun's Open Source xVM VirtualBox product. Why? xVM VirtualBox works very well and it's free. If you're new to virtual machines and want to know how to do this, follow along as I set up a Windows Vista virtual machine on an "old" 2GHz Intel Core Duo 20" iMac. This post is continued after the break.
