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VMware Fusion 7 Launches with Virtualization Support for OS X Yosemite and Windows 8.1

There are clearly advantages to both bootcamp and VM..

That's why we can run our bootcamp partitions in VM too. It's really the best of both worlds. Boot into Bootcamp for high performance games and 3D.. Load up the same partition in a VM for everything else.

This has been a feature of parallels and VMware for years and it works great in both from my experience. Never having to reboot to access everything, but also having the option to for max performance/compatibility is awesome.
 
Jeaz said:
Anyhow, I'm personally a bit disappointed with the lack of DirectX 11 support on both PD and Fusion, which really kills any need I have of upgrading.
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I currently run Parallels 9 and was looking to cross grade to Fusion 7 because of their license policy (Parallels buy one per machine, Fusion unlimited for personal home use).

I'm gutted that VMware didn't manage to upgrade their DirectX compatibility though, still only supporting v9 whereas Parallels has v10. I realise performance of games is not good in a VM (although with Fusion 7 VMware are claiming 'near native performance'), but I would like the option and most new releases refuse to even run under v9.

Speaking of a cross grade, VMware doesn't seem to have a cross grade price up on their website, is this still to come?
 
maflynn said:
That's a tougher pill to swallow to be sure, but I like Vmware over Parallels because its generally more stable, and the tech support is excellent.
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I don't think the price is bad at all, even for the Pro version. I was just pointing out that I'm not eligible for an upgrade discount.

I had VMware version 4 (?) back on Snow Leopard and have not kept up with it over the years because I didn't need it. Things are changing again and I do have a need for it now.
 
SandboxGeneral said:
I don't think the price is bad at all, even for the Pro version. I was just pointing out that I'm not eligible for an upgrade discount.

I had VMware version 4 (?) back on Snow Leopard and have not kept up with it over the years because I didn't need it. Things are changing again and I do have a need for it now.
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Now that you mention version 4 that may be the last version I had, so I'm probably on the hook to buy the full version as well :eek:

Edit: I found my Fusion 5 license - whew - dodged a bullet.
 
Tabs!

And yet, years later, one of the best features of VMware Workstation is still not available in Fusion : Tabs. Each VM must run in it's own window which becomes annoying when you want to run multiple VM's and switch between them. The virtual machine browser should really be in the main window.

As much as I like Fusion the interface hasn't changed in years now and the new 'features' (?) feel minimal - every release promises to be 'faster' / 'sleeker' / 'optimised for xyz' but it just feels like someone dusts off the code once a year, makes minor compatibility updates and releases as a 'NEW!!!' version.
 
maflynn said:
Now that you mention version 4 that may be the last version I had, so I'm probably on the hook to buy the full version as well :eek:

Edit: I found my Fusion 5 license - whew - dodged a bullet.
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If I remember properly, they wanted to make me pay an upgrade fee to go to v5 and I wasn't going to do it, so I didn't. No biggie for me though.
 
AppleInTheMud said:
Can anyone give me just one reason, why to buy this if you want to run Windows on your Mac? We have Bootcamp and it's free - With VMware you have to pay for both Windows and VMware.

VMware must be slower than running a real install. And it costs you more.
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I HAVE to work in Windows, but i hate it. So i use vmware to run it side by side Osx. I think i would rather kill myself if I had to use bootcamp and run only windows.
 
jopiek said:
Now the big question is: did VMware manage to supersede Parallels once again in performance?
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In raw computational power, VMware has historically beat Parallels.

But in gaming, nope.

VMware is aimed at the corporate/enterprise market, where raw computational power is (usually) prioritized over graphics.

I personally prefer VMware myself for the corporate/enterprise features.
 
yjchua95 said:
VMware is aimed at the corporate/enterprise market, where raw computational power is (usually) prioritized over graphics.
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I'd say its also directed at the typical consumer, well the non game playing ones. :)
 
AppleInTheMud said:
Can anyone give me just one reason, why to buy this if you want to run Windows on your Mac? We have Bootcamp and it's free - With VMware you have to pay for both Windows and VMware.

VMware must be slower than running a real install. And it costs you more.
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You've already got some reasons. I'll share a couple of real world use-cases:

I administer a mainly Windows-based data center from my Mac. 95% of what I do is as easy or easier to do from my computer compared to doing so from a Windows laptop. Unfortunately some tasks still require me to use the horsepower of my local machine while demanding a Windows environment. Fusion to the rescue.

Some of my ongoing training requires me to run several Windows servers and clients simultaneously. With Fusion (or other virtualization tools) I can do so on my MacBook Pro while completely separated from our production environment, for example from home or when traveling.

Same goes for testing new features: Setting up a Win 2012 R2 Server from scratch takes less than ten minutes, and with virtualization on my local computer I don't have to worry at all about hogging data center resources if something goes wrong.
 
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I ditched Parallels for VMFusion, found the latter much better for real time usage.

However I only run one Windows program which I need for my accounts, Quicken 2004, the last UK one produced, and it just needs a simple swipe to switch between the two OS's.

tut
 
maflynn said:
I'd say its also directed at the typical consumer, well the non game playing ones. :)
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I agree especially considering the price points of it.

VMware has other, higher, much higher class products for the enterprise market and I'm rolling some of it out at work too.
 
roland.g said:
No one really wants to run Windows 8.anything on a PC, let alone on a Mac. Any Windows user or IT person I know either uses Win 7 Pro still or wishes they could.
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You do know a MAC is a PC? I know Apple's "Mac vs PC" marketing might make you think otherwise, but as PC still stands for Personal Computer, a MAC is still a PC.

Anyhow, I know a lot of people using Windows 8/8.1. If it's your main OS it's pretty good, much faster boot than Win7 (it's not really a cold boot, your PC doesn't shut down but sort of hibernates), better at not being fully shut down for long times, ... A remaining issue however is that some settings are very well hidden, making the installation of several programs a real pain. There's also still a lot of programs that the devs haven't adjusted for Win8.x. For school we had to install some Xilinx software to program FPGA's. Installed without a hitch on my Win7, but everyone with Win8.x had several parts of the program not working rendering it nearly useless or they had to do a part manually that would otherwise be automated. Mac users where even more f*'d though, since the program required 20 GB of free space so a lot of them needed to resize their Windows partition.

I have Win8.1 on my triple boot as well, since I had a free license. I can't really say much about the performance though, since this is installed on my HDD whilst Win7 is installed on my SSD. But it does work pretty smooth and I don't consider it worse than Win7, just different.
 
Winni said:
But like I've said, if you NEED such a tool on your desktop machine to run an application that you NEED for your daily work - you should have chosen Windows as your main platform, period. It doesn't make any sense to double your platform complexity and maintenance costs just because you bought into some hype and decided to go with an OS that does not have the application software that you NEED.
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Complete cobblers, I have a bundle of Windows only access control systems I need access to on a daily basis. Some of them are well past their sell by date and only run under XP.

Even if they all suddenly ran under 7 or 8 they cant be trusted to play nice together.Very few of them have ever been designed on basis they'll share a live install with a competing product.

Likewise programing/diagnostics software for some of the door controllers and ancillary kit: Windows only and some of the serial based ones with particular COM port and baud rate requirements.

Whichever way I'd swing it Id still be using multiple VMs for that aspect of my work. I'm neither paid nor interested in farting around for umpteen weeks coaxing them into working together under a single OS in a single install; something they'd never have to in their real world deployments.

I might be in those VMs three hours one day, just half an hour the next. Having those apps dictate the OS I use for all the other aspects of my work is letting the tail wag the dog.
 
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VMWare Fusion compliments bootcamp nicely. Most of the time, VMWare lets me run a Windows specific app from within Mac OS. If I need to game, I can reboot into 'native' bootcamp. It is also great for installing Steam games. I can let the game download and install while I am in Mac OS, and I only need to reboot to play.

What I really want to know is if they have fixed the Windows 8 activation. I have a legit Windows 7 install, and I purchased an upgrade license to Windows 8. Windows 7 would activate both in Bootcamp and in VMWare. Windows 8 will only activate in one or the other.

I turned to Microsoft for support, and the upgrade only supports a single activation. If I want to run the same install of Windows 8, I need two licenses. According to Microsoft my Mac, and a VM running on the same Mac from the same hard drive are two machines.

There is no clear information out there as to whether people have managed to activate an upgrade under bootcamp and a VM. I am super reluctant to upgrade from 7 a second time, in case I have to revert all over again.
 
nicbrown said:
What I really want to know is if they have fixed the Windows 8 activation. I have a legit Windows 7 install, and I purchased an upgrade license to Windows 8. Windows 7 would activate both in Bootcamp and in VMWare. Windows 8 will only activate in one or the other.

I turned to Microsoft for support, and the upgrade only supports a single activation. If I want to run the same install of Windows 8, I need two licenses. According to Microsoft my Mac, and a VM running on the same Mac from the same hard drive are two machines.

There is no clear information out there as to whether people have managed to activate an upgrade under bootcamp and a VM. I am super reluctant to upgrade from 7 a second time, in case I have to revert all over again.
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What's to fix? They are two separate installs so you need two licenses.
 
Anyone else having problem installing the trial version? Every time i run the installer (and multiple downloads if the file was corrupt), it gives me the error saying "file cannot be found"
 
JesperA said:
Anyone else having problem installing the trial version? Every time i run the installer (and multiple downloads if the file was corrupt), it gives me the error saying "file cannot be found"
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Nope, mine downloaded the first time and I was able to install it w/o any problems.

Delete the existing ones, clear your cache and try again
 
JGRE said:
My own computer: early 2011 MBP 8GB. Version 9 was slow in boot-up and work. It would have ran my laptop's fan continuously and drain my battery in no time. Version 10 works better for me, faster, less battery consumption and no continues fan noise.
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Ah, okay. I prefer empirical evidence.
 
Steve121178 said:
What's to fix? They are two separate installs so you need two licenses.
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It is a farce of a situation. It is the same install running on the same hardware. The fact that at times, I want to run it on a virtual cpu is an entirely arbitrary line to draw.

Microsoft can dictate hardline license terms if they want, but I dictate the terms by which my wallet operates.
 
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