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VMWare Fusion 4
- Thread starter Farplaner
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Fision3 has been rock solid for me, I use it daily for work and I transfer images to/from customers. Can't see everyone upgrading to 4 so I guess 3 is where I'm at for a while. Unless I can find a good justification to upgrade.
i have tried both [well the previous versions at least Parallels 6 and VMWare Fusion 3] and to be honest, Parallels was the one for me. I just did not like WMWare's way of putting things, it felt different [ granted that i had first used parallels for a while, and then i installed VMWare for fun and couldn't get used to it..]
I've owned both Parallels and VMWare. For gaming, Parallels seems to be the fastest (but then again, it's a virtual machine, how fast can it be?). For business, VMWare. VMWare isn't as fast, but it is more stable. It also is cross platform thus you can create images in Fusion, copy them to your PC or your Linux box and run them with the VMWare Player for that system. Parellels is only for Mac, thus it can't be used to virtualize windows within windows.
As I mentioned, I use VMWare for work. I use a Mac for engineering. Many engineering tools are windows only; thus I need it for that. But even better is when we contract a company to build a product, I create a new Image, install all the tools there, do all the development in that Virtual Image and then in the end deliver the Virtual Image to them. Since they are typically on PC, this works out.
Overall, I've been more impressed with the VMWare fusion solution then the Parallels; in fact, I had a bug in my Parallels code that would prevent it from launching and they couldn't solve it. Eventually they suggested upgrading to the latest version and seeing if that would fix the problem. I didn't upgrade but I tried the free trial and it didn't solve the problem. In the end, they just said, "Oh well." and never found a way for me to even launch parallels again.
I prefer Parallels 7 over VMware Fusion 4. Runs way cooler, more features and customization, faster, etc. Just my opinion.
In comparing the two, I've not noticed any major difference in speed. I will offer this one caveat, I don't play games so I can't compare how directx and game playing is on either platform.
In comparing the two I found parallels interface to be more Lion like and polished and in an un-Vmware like fashion Fusion's interface is less polished and not as intuitive as it used to be. The library window to manage VMs is less stream lined.
Given the "chatter" on the Fusion form over on vmware, I see my opinion is not the sole voice in the wilderness. Others are unhappy with some of the interface changes. In fact many people (there) feel Fusion is a rushed product not quite ready for prime time.
I have used Parallels with almost every version and VMWare up to 3. I think Parallels is more Mac friendly. They are close enough for me that unless VMWare is way better, it isn't worth it to be to recreate my virtual images.
I think the differences between Parallels and VMWare is much less than say Xbox vs Playstation or Mac vs PC. Either one is fine.
I think the differences between Parallels and VMWare is much less than say Xbox vs Playstation or Mac vs PC. Either one is fine.
It all boils down to personal preference. In playing with the trial version of Parallels 7, I'd say you're correct its more Mac like in its UI. I used parallels in the past and its buggy history is enough to steer me clear. Seeing the other poster mention some sort of adverts when you start parallels cements my decision.
I own Parallels 5 and Fusion 3. Most of my VMs are Linux, although I do use windows from time to time also. I found that Parallels seemed to be a bit faster, especially when stopping/restoring a VM without rebooting it, but VMWare was so much more stable that I stopped using parallels. Also VMWare works much better with Linux. I had all kinds of problems with the file system sharing between OSX and Linux using parallels.
I have never bothered trying the newer versions of parallels since VMWare has been rock-solid for me.
If you are also considering VirtualBox, I gave up on that after having a couple of my VMs getting corrupted to a point they were unusable.
I have had three different, quite large ads popup on opening the app recently.
All advertising their products
There is an option to hide them, but they keep coming back!
I really dislike that in paid software
I finished comparing both products yesterday/last night and found no great compelling reason to switch over. Parallels is not a bad product at least from what I can tell from my recent testing but as I mentioned already. I don't play games performance between the two.
The work needed to switch was excessive and the compatibility for non windows OSs seem to be in Vmware's favor as well.
The work needed to switch was excessive and the compatibility for non windows OSs seem to be in Vmware's favor as well.
I figured out how to get the Ad. It wasn't happening for me so I starting clicking around and under the File menu there is Convenience Store that takes you to a web page to sell their software. Within a minute, I got a popup box to take me to the Convenience Store again. There was a checkbox to "Don't show again". Sounds like it won't work though from your comment. I see what you mean, that should never be in this product.
Yep, its a shame because I like using the product. But the too-regular upgrades and the ads are really killing it for me!