Lion-Optimized VMware Fusion 4 Debuts with Over 90 New Features

[KnightWRX]

wish I could run SL client in a VM

Run an SL host with a Lion client.

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No, you're wrong. Those doc's talk all about Snow Leopard as a "Guest" OS, not as a Host OS. that's the point. I know how to run SL Server in a VM, that's not what I need to know.

Actually, they talk about VMware Fusion being supported on "Hosts" and the FAQ I point to makes no distinction between guests and hosts and mentions neither for the Snow Leopard FAQ. It's not clear. Hence why I linked to the trial.

 

[alexz"]

Can you run games in a windows xp version ?

For example, can I play battlefieldplay***** with this news version of VMWare on my mac ?

 

[doubletap]

Great.
Now I can use this on my new mac mini.

1. Install VM Fusion - Check.
2. Put Windows 7 install disc in drive.... oh wait.....hmmm......

External DVD drives. Surely you've heard of them.

dt

 

[KnightWRX]

Can you run games in a windows xp version ?

For example, can I play battlefieldplay***** with this news version of VMWare on my mac ?

About all virtualization software has been able to virtualize the "3D hardware acceleration" for about 2 years now. Does it run well ? Depends on your host computer. It doesn't run as well as running it straight on the bare metal that's for sure.

 

[pdjudd]

External DVD drives. Surely you've heard of them.

dt

Microsoft also provides ISO's of the software if you buy Windows through them.

Heck, they are widely available online. You just need a valid key is all.

 

[commander.data]

Actually, they talk about VMware Fusion being supported on "Hosts" and the FAQ I point to makes no distinction between guests and hosts and mentions neither for the Snow Leopard FAQ. It's not clear. Hence why I linked to the trial.

http://www.vmware.com/support/fusion4/doc/releasenotes_fusion_401.html

Fusion 4 was just released and they already have a patch available in another case of ship first, patch later. In any case, the release notes make clear that hosts can be as old as 10.6.3 as long as you have a 64-bit CPU.

 

[BC2009]

Having everything on 1 computer is the big advantage of running a VM with Windows. Having to manage 2 different computers is a pain.

Not to mention a Windows license + VirtualBox is cheaper than a Windows 7 laptop.

I have to use a Windows VM for work. I wouldn't want to use a separate laptop.

Exactly -- I do the same thing for work. I was hoping for this upgrade prior to my upgrade to Lion. I was planning to upgrade to Lion this weekend, so now I am all set. Can't wait to see what they have done with "Full Screen" mode support in Lion.

I switched from Virtual Box to using VM Fusion simply because I could not get my employer's image of Windows 7 to run on Virtual Box and I was tired of using XP. My employer configures Windows 7 very specifically and has a special installer which failed under Virtual Box -- prior to that I used Virtual Box. Both solutions are better than dealing with two machines.

Major benefit to Fusion over separate laptop: opening some documents in the Mac native programs using the Virtual Box client "Default Host" application.

 

[bmturney]

Available in the App Store?

Is it available in the Mac App Store? (Don't have my Mac with me at this second)

 

[vitzr]

I've never seen the reason for a VM running Windows on a Mac because the price is almost the same as just buying a low-end laptop with Windows 7.

For school, I needed windows and looked into Parallels and realized that for a few dollars more, I could just buy a separate Toshiba laptop. At least this allows for redundancy because if one computer breaks, I have another.

With a VM, if your Mac breaks, it breaks and that's it.

You've chosen an excellent approach.

It's amazing what one can accomplish by simply applying a little common sense.

Cheers

 

[NAG]

About all virtualization software has been able to virtualize the "3D hardware acceleration" for about 2 years now. Does it run well ? Depends on your host computer. It doesn't run as well as running it straight on the bare metal that's for sure.

I was using the beta for version 4 and it does pretty good with games (don't know how well compared to Parallels because I've really only used VMWare). An example is how my i7 2010 iMac could run Mass Effect 2 (got the Windows version with the give away they were doing with Dragon Age 2) well. The only thing it was screwing up on was all the eyes were black (which was a tad creepy). Other than that, it ran great. I don't know if they fixed the black eye issue with the final version.

Is it available in the Mac App Store? (Don't have my Mac with me at this second)

No.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

I've never seen the reason for a VM running Windows on a Mac because the price is almost the same as just buying a low-end laptop with Windows 7.

For school, I needed windows and looked into Parallels and realized that for a few dollars more, I could just buy a separate Toshiba laptop. At least this allows for redundancy because if one computer breaks, I have another.

If it's for school then you were doing it wrong.

EDU version of Fusion (don't care about parallels) is $19.99. Many schools offer windows for free, or perhaps through MSDNAA. At the very least you could get a student copy (aka 'ultimate steal') which is Windows 7 for $29.99. I doubt you could find a laptop of any reasonable quality for $49.98.

 

[AttilaTheHun]

why the don't have price for update

I bought the VM 3 12/2010 why can't I get a spacial price to updated to # 4?

 

[Prynce]

I wish there was an upgrade price for those of us with Fusion 3. :\

I saw a note on the vmware website when checking my own licensing o vmware 3, can't remember where it was that said the Fusion 3 upgrade path would become available the week of September 19,2011

 

[Lesser Evets]

I've always wondered why Boot Camp never allowed windowing of Windows. never made much sense to me. Having to restart with a different OS was hell.

 

[cgc]

I bought the VM 3 12/2010 why can't I get a spacial price to updated to # 4?

You can, according to VMWare's site the Licence Upgrade Manager will be oeprational by September 19 so all you'll have to do is log into your account on their webpage and click on the link that says you're eligible for an upgrade. I'm eligible but until the License Manager goes live I can't see the pricing.

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I've always wondered why Boot Camp never allowed windowing of Windows. never made much sense to me. Having to restart with a different OS was hell.

Prolly because BootCamp simply allowed dual boot (plus drivers and partitioning) while Parallels and Fusion both provide virtualization...two totally different yet seeminlgy similar activities.

 

[KnightWRX]

I've always wondered why Boot Camp never allowed windowing of Windows. never made much sense to me. Having to restart with a different OS was hell.

Bootcamp is not a virtualization package.

 

[Platypusman99]

By the way, I tried the discount code from above and it cut $10 off the price.

 

[linux2mac]

Definitely will upgrade to Fusion 4 for my desktops. However, it would be nice if ESXi was supported for Mac Mini server hardware.

 

[pdjudd]

http://www.vmware.com/support/fusion4/doc/releasenotes_fusion_401.html

Fusion 4 was just released and they already have a patch available in another case of ship first, patch later. In any case, the release notes make clear that hosts can be as old as 10.6.3 as long as you have a 64-bit CPU.

Not surprising actually - software development isn't all that linear. It's not that out of the ordinary to release a product only to release a patch not long after release. Software companies work to get a stable version that they can sell based on timelines that they have to stick to. It's a process that have to stick to. Bug fixes (even initial ones) are done in tandem

I bought the VM 3 12/2010 why can't I get a spacial price to updated to # 4?

Because VMware chooses not to offer upgrade pricing discounts.

 

[Marx55]

To control external machines via USB, VMware Fusion is the only one that works.

 

[jowie]

There's a discount code that knocks $10 off or £6.57 if you're in the UK - it should work for other currencies too.

Use FUSION20

For UK users it brings it down to £26.28 but there's VAT to go on top
Final UK price is £30.22

I've been holding out for another promotion in order to buy Fusion... Now I get the latest version and a double discount! Thanks for this.

Bought and downloaded!

 

[godrifle]

I've never seen the reason for a VM running Windows on a Mac...

Uh, web development is one reason. Software development is two reasons. Integration and deployment testing are reasons three and four. Running an unlimited number of versions of Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8 beta), various linux flavors, BSD and Solaris are many other reasons.

Doing all this on a single machine is another reason.

 

[Hikkadwa]

Lion for windows

I would suggest Apple sort out Lion for the Mac first. Those of you who use Keynote will know what I'm talking about.

 

[KnightWRX]

Doing all this on a single machine without having to reboot is another reason.

Fixed that there for you.

At one point in the 90s, my PC was quad booting OSes (Linux, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and BeOS ... was it 5 that had a free x86 version ?).

 

[vitzr]

I've enjoyed very good service from VMware. Plus we use it at work, therefore it's a preference for me.

I don't really focus on cost, if it does what I want, I have no problem paying the price.

After all this is AppleLand where everything is relatively expensive