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

[KnightWRX]

I love VMware and their stupid ass marketing dept. There is no mention anywhere of whether this will run on Snow Leopard (host).

Well, in their FAQs they do have a mention of Snow Leopard :

http://www.vmware.com/support/product-support/fusion/faq/requirements.html

Mac OS X Snow Leopard?
Yes, VMware Fusion 4.0 is fully optimized for Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Sure, that's not quite clear what they mean. Of course, you could always just download the free trial and try it out :

https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/?p=vmware-fusion4&lp=1

Personally, I was hoping for something to get me off Virtual Box, but since I despise "Seamless" mode and it seems to me all the "new features" are about this mode for VMs, I just don't see the reason to pony up the cash. Virtual Box does the features I need at a price I like. I'm still waiting for VMware to give me a reason to move to their product I guess (I love their stuff, but in this case, I can't justify it for my needs/wants in virtualization).

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Lion itself is compiled to use SSSE3 which is an instruction set that was introduced with the Core 2 Duo. Dropping the Core Duo in Lion is not merely an artificial limitation.

Actually, that's not true and yes it is artificial :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1107457/

 

[CmdrLaForge]

How about upgrade pricing ? I couldn't find anything yet. I will not drop $49.

 

[mainstreetmark]

"Built for Lion"

Really? Then Full Screen is still broken.

I was hoping it'd create it's own space, etc, but it just fills your current space, and you still wind up dragging it to a new generic desktop.

 

[diddl14]

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

Thanks, worked like a charm!

 

[commander.data]

Actually, that's not true and yes it is artificial :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/110745/

Did you link to the wrong thread? That one seems to be about console games.

My information is based on Netkas which indicated that Finder is compiled as a 64-bit only application:
http://netkas.org/?p=824

And Hackintosh attempts which require SSSE3 emulation for older CPUs:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t263121.html

 

[KnightWRX]

Did you link to the wrong thread? That one seems to be about console games.

Botched copy/paste job :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1107457/

Edited my previous post to fix it, thanks for pointing it out.

My information is based on Netkas which indicated that Finder is compiled as a 64-bit only application:
http://netkas.org/?p=824

And Hackintosh attempts which require SSSE3 emulation for older CPUs:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t263121.html

Just read the thread I quoted, it does run on Core Duos and Core Solos.

 

[BlkBear]

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.

we have a corporate license for windows, so using a VM is certainly much cheaper than buying users a second windows laptop to use for the occasional windows only app (or in my department's case when software engineers need to test something on windows). Our institution of about 1300 employees is around 50% Mac.

 

[finkmacunix]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Can't wait for the matchup: Parallels 7 vs Fusion 4

I am a sucker... I got both. Just couldn't choose. Have done so since the beginning of Parallels and Fusion.

IMHO, Parallels has more "Mac-stuff integration" and Fusion the better allover guest OS support.
OTOH, that was the difference.... I bet now with these two releases both cover it all. Probably down to individual apps inside the VM which seems the better...

Like I said.... I find it so tough to choose

So do I…

I run Windows XP/7 in Parallels
and more exotic OSs, like Rhapsody and NextStep (as well as Windows 98 so I can use the Xerox GUI thingie)
in Fusion…

 

[Dr. Gzus]

"Built for Lion"

Really? Then Full Screen is still broken.

I was hoping it'd create it's own space, etc, but it just fills your current space, and you still wind up dragging it to a new generic desktop.

Yeah, am I missing something? The only option for making something 'full screen' is to do what... maximize it? And don't use any other applications on that screen? This is 'new'?

 

[robby818]

Thanks for this In case anyone is interested, this promo code works for the US as well. Drops the price from $49.99 to $39.99.

Downloading now.

Yes, thanks for the code. I found that it only works when buying the upgrade version. If you happen to choose the full version, which is also $49, the code does nothing.

 

[exxo]

Can you use VM fusion or parralells with your already installed win7 bootcamp? If you dont need full graphics support etc?

How good is the gaming or 3D support in VM these days? Say 3DS Studio Max or gaming like starcraft?

Im running MS Hyper-V at work and im not playing any games on those machines..

 

[applefan289]

I wanted to state that I was going to go with a VM until I realized the price of a laptop and thought that would be the way to go for redundancy, etc.

 

[hkim1983]

Either you're virtualization-curious and just afraid to admit it or really you were just trying to provoke a reaction in people by stating your opinion about virtualization in general when people were discussing this particular product

To me, this signifies that he is either insecure about the decision that he made, and thus has to go into threads like these to justify to himself that his decision was the "right" one, or that he just has way too much time on his hands, time I wish I had myself.

I agree with your position, to me it's a complete waste of time to even bother making a comment like that when the outcome is predictable and unproductive.

 

[0815]

"Built for Lion"

Really? Then Full Screen is still broken.

I was hoping it'd create it's own space, etc, but it just fills your current space, and you still wind up dragging it to a new generic desktop.

Agreed - I am really disappointed.

How can they call it 'build for Lion' without the Lion Fullscreen support ???

Sure, I can still do their version of fullscreen which is basically a maximized window on top of all other windows - but you loose some nice features of the Lion Fullscreen that way (like swiping on the trackpad through the fullscreen apps and desktop)

 

[KnightWRX]

Agreed - I am really disappointed.

How can they call it 'build for Lion' without the Lion Fullscreen support ???

Sure, I can still do their version of fullscreen which is basically a maximized window on top of all other windows - but you loose some nice features of the Lion Fullscreen that way (like swiping on the trackpad through the fullscreen apps and desktop)

Some would say this is an advantage. Especially the multi-monitor using crowd.

Frankly, I like having virtualbox up Full screen on my main screen and use my second screen for something like iTunes. Lion full screen support would break this, making the 2nd monitor useless when my VM would be in "full screen".

Just make a space in Mission control just for the full screened VM, you then achieve the same functionality as Lion's full screen mode.

 

[Just sayin...]

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.

Two compelling reasons for me:

1). Quicken for Windows (for me) is a mandatory item in managing my finances. I've tried other solutions, but keep coming back to VMware Fusion because it works so well.

2). I've got a MacPro with dual 30" monitors and an attached THX sound system. My environment is pleasant, I can see everything, and I have a full-size keyboard that I'm comfortable with.

BTW, to the earlier poster, thanks for posting the $10 discount promo code!

 

[cgc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

IMO vmware 3 was slower than Parallels when it came to 3D graphics…

I hope it supports 3D acceleration for none-windows hosts…

No opinion required, testing proved Fusion 3 got crushed by Parallels 6 and 7.

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Yeah, am I missing something? The only option for making something 'full screen' is to do what... maximize it? And don't use any other applications on that screen? This is 'new'?

Fusion 3 had a key-combination (something like ctrl-command-enter) to go full screen which worked like a champ in 10.6.

 

[Dr. Gzus]

Some would say this is an advantage. Especially the multi-monitor using crowd.

Frankly, I like having virtualbox up Full screen on my main screen and use my second screen for something like iTunes. Lion full screen support would break this, making the 2nd monitor useless when my VM would be in "full screen".

Just make a space in Mission control just for the full screened VM, you then achieve the same functionality as Lion's full screen mode.

You make a damn fine point. And you've highlighted a big shortcoming of the Lion full screen mode.

 

[Just sayin...]

...In my book, VMs are only acceptable on developer machines or when you need to make sure that a client system meets certain security and quality standards.

Hopefully, Netflix doesn't read this post - it would kill their business model! In addition, you'd better look out for Apple's new cloud-based iTunes services - after all, what do you think the "cloud" is?

 

[tigres]

I love VMware and their stupid ass marketing dept. There is no mention anywhere of whether this will run on Snow Leopard (host). All they talk about is how it's built for Lion, blah blah blah...some of us are not interested in running Lion, not now, and maybe not ever. I have an entire infrastructure built up around Snow Leopard for a reason, and it ain't gonna change. So, does anyone know if this version 4 will work on Snow Leopard and if so, will the performance improvements still be seen in Snow Leopard, or only in Lion?

I love how 2 months after an operating system comes out, everybody assumes the world has already migrated to it. Maybe the tarts with laptops do, but not desktop and server folks who actually work in IT and run VM's because they have to...not because it's "cool"...unreal, they should call this the "Tart Release" and then the marketing campaign would make sense.

Same exact boat sir. I wonder why this all is, as for any serious business user who has to at some point interact with a Windows level network/SMB server/WebDav server can even use Lion- it's pathetic.

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.

Do you even use a VM, or have you ever seen one working on a Mac?
Raise your hand if you carry two (2) laptops in your bag, oh- do they even make 2 laptop bags?

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

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

You still have to manage both operating systems on the same machine so I don't see what the big deal is. Having to run a virus/malware checker in Windows is enough to put me in a bad mood on any given day and you still have to do it whether it's a boot camp partition, a virtual machine inside OSX or worse yet, multiple machines. Not to mention Windows nagging with software updates literally almost every single day.

I only use Windows when I have to, for example to run various games or compress video when I need more CPU power than a single Mac, but then there too is a limitation of a virtual Windows setup. With a real 2nd computer, you have an extra set of CPU cores to handle things like compressing video, whereas with just a Mac you only have the one set to either compress all under OSX or split between OSX and Windows, which only makes things slower, not faster or better. Therefore, I conclude the only advantage of running Windows inside OSX is space savings on the desktop and any hardware price differences for the given setup (which may or may not be significant depending on your needs).

 

[Moof1904]

Snapshot manager

I hope (but will probably be disappointed) that they improved the crappy snapshot manager in Fusion. Anyone who uses VMWare workstation on Windows knows what an awesome snapshot manager it has, complete with branching.

Managing snapshots in Fusion is a sad, disappointing approximation.

 

[arkmannj]

wish I could run SL client in a VM

 

[cmwade77]

I hope this is better than the half baked parallels v7 for lion inside of lion.

I think Parallels 7 works really well. I will say that I like the fact that VMWare gives the free upgrades for those that purchased back in July. I upgraded to Parallels 6 back in July and I was not about to pay $50 for an upgrade that shortly afterwards, I contacted Parallels Support and the finally gave me a promo code which made it $15.

 

[NogbadTheBad]

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

Not if you back it up, you can just put it on another device.