VMware Launches 'Fusion 5' Virtualization Software, Parallels 8 Coming September 4

[57004]

As I said before, their site is all over the place at present.

Yeah you're right, if I visit the store now I get a huge banner saying VMWare Fusion 4 is now 44.99 euro (while 5 is priced slightly below that).

They could have prepared their store on a testing copy and THEN announce it. This is not very professional. The 'VMWare Fusion Upgrade' link just goes to the front page.

 

[Iconoclysm]

This is the most awesome feature imo:

Image

You can finally create virtual networks!

You couldn't do this in Fusion before?

----------

For anyone that's used this before, how well does it run? I always wondered if you ran something like this all the programs would run a lot slower than they would on an actual PC machine.

It's not emulation, the guest OS nearly direct access to the CPU and RAM. You will probably not be able to notice any difference.

 

[seanerixon]

Weird question coming in hot, I've never owned a Mac before.
I need Windows for work, but I'm getting the MacBook Pro(lowest possible storage space). How much space do these programs(VMWare/Parallel) take up along with Windows 7(or 8). I need Windows to run a program for my job, so it is vital.

 

[ml.sail1]

I kinda figured that paralells 8 was coming soon when the guy at MicroCenter who got my new macbook for me was trying to shove a discounted 20 dollar copy of paralells 7 down my throat. Glad I declined all 27 times it was suggested to me.

Although, if the free upgrade turns true, I may have missed out on a discount depending on how far they went back.

Looks like they will be giving free upgrades if you purchased on the 25th or later.

The conditions covering eligibly for an upgrade include:

Upgrade to the next version of Parallels Desktop at no additional cost if you purchase Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac on July 25th, 2012 or later – up to eight weeks after the availability of the next version of Parallels Desktop.
Must be a qualifying product as mentioned in #1 below. Not qualifying products are mentioned in #2
Must be purchased from an authorized retailer. Not authorized retailers are specified in #2

 

[57004]

You couldn't do this in Fusion before?

Nope, before you could just choose Bridged, NAT and Host Only, but no configuration for each.. So you couldn't set up a virtual switch etc.. I'm not sure how much this feature offers but it's probably better than what it was

PS: This is a feature only available in the Pro version as far as I can see.

 

[nixdas]

Weird question coming in hot, I've never owned a Mac before.
I need Windows for work, but I'm getting the MacBook Pro(lowest possible storage space). How much space do these programs(VMWare/Parallel) take up along with Windows 7(or 8). I need Windows to run a program for my job, so it is vital.

Your lowest space MacBook Pro will be 500GB. You will have plenty of space. I nromally set the VM size to be around 100GB but set to to autosize so it can increase if required.

 

[throttlemeister]

I paid for Parallels v4 as part of a bundle, I got v5 for free by participating in the Beta program, paid for the upgrade to 6, got v7 free through invite to the customer preview program and I guess I'll pay for the upgrade to 8 again.

I've also had great and quick support from them when I needed it a couple of times, so you won't hear anything bad about Parallels from me.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Nope, before you could just choose Bridged, NAT and Host Only, but no configuration for each.. So you couldn't set up a virtual switch etc.. I'm not sure how much this feature offers but it's probably better than what it was

PS: This is a feature only available in the Pro version as far as I can see.

It's nice to have if you like to build virtual labs - I use it in VMware Workstation all the time.

 

[Zimmy68]

I've been a longtime Fusion guy but these yearly high priced upgrades have lost me.

I used my Fusion key to buy Parallels for $29 and I will get version 8 in September for free.

Fusion wants me to pay another $50?!?!!

No thanks.

I'll keep version 4 installed for legacy reasons but that will be my last version unless they change their business model, and fast.

 

[seanerixon]

Your lowest space MacBook Pro will be 500GB. You will have plenty of space. I nromally set the VM size to be around 100GB but set to to autosize so it can increase if required.

Sorry, I should have mentioned, it's the new Retina MacBook Pro.
The lowest is: 256GB Flash Storage

 

[likemyorbs]

I find that i no longer have an urge to install windows on my mac. I used to, but then i found that i never really used it and i just installed it for the novelty.

 

[babyj]

Weird question coming in hot, I've never owned a Mac before. I need Windows for work, but I'm getting the MacBook Pro(lowest possible storage space). How much space do these programs(VMWare/Parallel) take up along with Windows 7(or 8). I need Windows to run a program for my job, so it is vital.:

Fusion doesn't take much space. The guest OS will use whatever it uses.

The main disk space problem is if you're using Time Machine to backup the virtual machines. It will eat through disk space if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[pdjudd]

Does MWare Fusion 5 allow to virtualize Mac OS X 10.6.8 (Snow leopard) to run rosetta applications like Eudora, Canvas or Palm Desktop? VMware Fusion 4.1.0 allowed that.

No, that has never been allowed due to Apple's EULA. None of the vitualizing products will ever allow that unless Apple allows for it.

EDIT: what you were talking about was never endorsed by vmware and was never an advertised feature - it was a bug.

 

[Codyak]

Sorry, I should have mentioned, it's the new Retina MacBook Pro.
The lowest is: 256GB Flash Storage

I have a Win7 64-Bit with Office 2010, all updates, and a few programs for work, the VM is 22 Gigs. I also have the rMBP.

I use virtualbox daily, why would I purchase software when an open source version offers the exact same functionality?

I use Virtualbox daily on my windows computer at work and love it, but it doesn't support the Retina display very well, and performance for a few program I use at work is considerably worse with VB than VMware.

 

[CylonGlitch]

Sticking with VM4, hoping I can somehow re-install my licensed copy over the preview that I am running without too many issues.

Passing this year.

I passed on VMWare4, I have 3 and use it on a daily basis. But with Mountain Lion VMW3 has stopped being supported (it makes sense, it's two OS releases behind). Maybe now I can get 5 and upgrade my MBP to Mountain Lion.

 

[rmwebs]

It's a bit much that you have to keep paying for this every time there is even the slightest modification to an operating system. The new feature list says it all really...it's got no real improvements other than the POSSIBILITY of UP TO 40% better performance. It gives no clue as to where the performance increase is, if there even is one.

Just seems like a dirty way of forcing people to upgrade again. I'd expect it from a dodgy operation like Parallels but would have thought VMWare would follow a slightly more consumer-friendly model.

 

[Bezetos]

don't ask ME

Oh no you didn't!

 

[seanerixon]

Fusion doesn't take much space. The guest OS will use whatever it uses.

The main disk space problem is if you're using Time Machine to backup the virtual machines. It will eat through disk space if you don't know what you're doing.

Well, I was planning on getting Time Capsule. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's pretty much a wifi router and external hard drive. I was thinking of storing things like music+videos+games on that external drive while having only important and small files along with work related stuff on the actual laptop drive. Am I understanding Time Capsule wrong?

How big is Windows 7(or 8)? Maybe 10-20GB? I'm only downloading like three programs to it. The main one is like 100MB large, and the others are probably around the same. The programs rely heavily on an internet connection more than anything. But they're only made for Windows -_-

 

[babyj]

No, that has never been allowed due to Apple's EULA. None of the vitualizing products will ever allow that unless Apple allows for it.

EDIT: what you were talking about was never endorsed by vmware and was never an advertised feature - it was a bug.

You can run Leopard / Snow Leopard server and desktop / server from Lion onwards

----------

Well, I was planning on getting Time Capsule. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's pretty much a wifi router and external hard drive. I was thinking of storing things like music+videos+games on that external drive while having only important and small files along with work related stuff on the actual laptop drive. Am I understanding Time Capsule wrong?

No, but you can use Time Capsule for Time Machine backups.

The problem I was talking about is if you use Time Machine to backup your Windows virtual machine (running under Fusion). If you don't know what you're doing the disk you're using for Time Machine will be full within days.

So if you want to use Time Machine for your vm's, make sure you read up on it and understand how things work first.

How big is Windows 7(or 8)? Maybe 10-20GB?

Think my Windows 7 is about 40Gb, but a clean install is less than that.

 

[seanerixon]

No, but you can use Time Capsule for Time Machine backups.

The problem I was talking about is if you use Time Machine to backup your Windows virtual machine (running under Fusion). If you don't know what you're doing the disk you're using for Time Machine will be full within days.

So if you want to use Time Machine for your vm's, make sure you read up on it and understand how things work first.

Think my Windows 7 is about 40Gb, but a clean install is less than that.

I think I'm just going to fork out the extra $500 for the 500GB drive(killmenow). I guess I understood Time Capsule wrong, it seemed like people were using it as a cloud drive/external drive. And I was going to put movies and whatnot on it to stream to Apple TV(to say the least, I'm turning into an Apple Head). And what does Time Machine do? I'm not crazy on backing things up to be honest. I'm pretty safe with what I do, in terms of what I do on the internet.

 

[jonnysods]

Sweet, free upgrade! Just bought 4 two weeks ago....

 

[babyj]

I think I'm just going to fork out the extra $500 for the 500GB drive(killmenow). I guess I understood Time Capsule wrong, it seemed like people were using it as a cloud drive/external drive. And I was going to put movies and whatnot on it to stream to Apple TV(to say the least, I'm turning into an Apple Head). And what does Time Machine do? I'm not crazy on backing things up to be honest. I'm pretty safe with what I do, in terms of what I do on the internet.

Sorry, I think I've just confused you. Time Capsule is an external drive and wifi router all in one, so you can use it to store files.

Time Machine is Apple's backup software, which can store backups on a Time Capsule. You're crazy if you don't run backups, Time Machine makes them simple as well.

 

[seanerixon]

Sorry, I think I've just confused you. Time Capsule is an external drive and wifi router all in one, so you can use it to store files.

Time Machine is Apple's backup software, which can store backups on a Time Capsule. You're crazy if you don't run backups, Time Machine makes them simple as well.

Well, I'm sure I would every now and again. Not on a daily basis. Maybe once every few months.

So with Time Capsule, is it like cloud storage, or more like an external drive?
Cloud to me, is more of something you have to download then use.
External to me, is more of you have full access at all times, and can run the file while it's on that drive.

 

[TsunamiTheClown]

Well, I'm sure I would every now and again. Not on a daily basis. Maybe once every few months.

So with Time Capsule, is it like cloud storage, or more like an external drive?
Cloud to me, is more of something you have to download then use.
External to me, is more of you have full access at all times, and can run the file while it's on that drive.

Time capsule is just network storage. It is a drive that lives on your network and is served through the integrated router.

And you can just let Time Machine, the auto backup app, just run on its own. It mostly does incremental backups so you really don't even notice the application running.

 

[Jaro65]

I think I'm just going to fork out the extra $500 for the 500GB drive(killmenow). I guess I understood Time Capsule wrong, it seemed like people were using it as a cloud drive/external drive. And I was going to put movies and whatnot on it to stream to Apple TV(to say the least, I'm turning into an Apple Head). And what does Time Machine do? I'm not crazy on backing things up to be honest. I'm pretty safe with what I do, in terms of what I do on the internet.

What you do is only one part of the equation. What happens to your h/w or what someone else does is not necessarily in your control. You should seriously consider backing up, considering how easy Apple makes this for us.