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VMware Releases Fusion 2.0 Beta 1
Posted by Gina Trapani at 11:30 PM on May 6, 2008
VMware makes the first beta of Fusion 2.0 available to download and try for free. The next generation Windows-on-Mac virtualization software includes support for multiple displays (up to 10!), better printer drivers, networking, and USB support, and improvements to Unity (which runs Windows applications integrated within OS X). The beta is a free download for brave testers only—here are the release notes.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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fadecomic
Posted 12:03 AM 7/5/08
I've got the current version. What's the motivation to switch to 2.0? Is there a "killer feature"? I can't tell from the release notes. Seems like mostly a slew of tiny technical fixes that may or may not affect me--almost like a point release instead of a major release.
fadecomic
ustice
Posted 11:54 PM 6/5/08
The current released versions of VM Fusion and Parallels are about on par with each other. This beta sort of changes things, but it is still beta.
There is also Virtual Box, which has most of the features of the other too, but has the advantage of being free and able to run on other host OSs.
ustice
drsphincter
Posted 11:46 PM 6/5/08
so what's considered better? parallels or vm fusion and why?
drsphincter
jopari
Posted 12:54 AM 7/5/08
@fadecomic: Better graphics capabilities if you've got one of the computers that supports it (I have a feeling my Macbook doesn't). Plus, free upgrades to 2.0s are never something to scoff at.
jopari
Xerloq
Posted 1:29 AM 7/5/08
My last install of a beta VM product hosed my computer. Can you install the VM in a VM?
Xerloq
abhiroop
Posted 1:28 AM 7/5/08
I tried Parallels, Virtualbox, and VMware.
If you don't mind paying $80, then Parallels is the best, as it has an amazing and easy to use GUI in mac. Using windows xp within it is like switching to another side of the cube. Its great!
Virtualbox is free, but lacks a lot of the polish of Parallels, otherwise it is just as fast.
I found VMWare slow and clunky, not worth it.
abhiroop
ICEBreaker
Posted 1:56 AM 7/5/08
Can anyone confirm whether installing it would replace my existing paid VMWare 1.0?
ICEBreaker
Barron
Posted 1:42 AM 7/5/08
My favorite mention in the "Issues Resolved":
DivX-encoded movies no longer play upside down in Windows Media Player
Now that would have been interesting to see!
Barron
Barron
Posted 1:32 AM 7/5/08
Here is a good heads-up comparison of VMWare Fusion 1.1.1 and Parallels Desktop 3.0 on Wikipedia. I recently went through the decision process and I'm going with Fusion. The lack of 64-bit guest OS support in Parallels was the deal-breaker for me.
Barron
TheLoneIguana
Posted 2:54 AM 7/5/08
@Xerloq: You can, but then the universe will implode.
TheLoneIguana
JustinHoMi
Posted 3:54 AM 7/5/08
Be careful with your email address! Last time I downloaded VMWare for Mac I used a unique email address that was only used for that site. Since then I've gotten a lot of spam to that address... not from vmware, but from other companies. It appears as if either vmware is selling email addresses, or they have had some sort of security breach. Either way, your email address is not safe with them.
JustinHoMi
Barron
Posted 3:31 AM 7/5/08
@ICEBreaker: From the release notes:
Installing VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1 will overwrite earlier versions of the application
It is not possible to have multiple versions of VMware Fusion installed at the same time, so if you install VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1 on a machine that already has VMware Fusion 1.x, the Beta version replaces the earlier version. If you want to revert to version 1.x, you will need to reinstall it.
Barron
onemoreday
Posted 4:29 AM 7/5/08
I prefer Fusion over Parallels. It feels faster and smoother on my MacBook.
onemoreday
HeartBurnKid
Posted 4:58 AM 7/5/08
So when do we get a Linux version? Virtualbox is nice and all, but it doesn't have 3D support.
HeartBurnKid
AnnunziataFuries
Posted 1:54 AM 7/5/08
Comment on VMware Releases Fusion 2.0 Beta 1 When I bought an aluminum iMac, I only had an XP upgrade disk (plus a Win98 disk). I couldn't figure out how to slipstream them, and didn't want to buy an external USB CD-ROM drive for the Win98 disk. So I downloaded a demo of both Parallels and Fusion to just see what would happen. I couldn't get the XP upgrade installed at all with Parallels, but by chance I found that with Fusion, you can pause the installation and eject the disk. Soon, I had XP installed, no problem. Fusion works fine for me when the rare need for XP occurs, which is mostly to use IE.
AnnunziataFuries
Harlan
Posted 6:34 AM 7/5/08
A Linux version of VMWare?! They've had it for eons... it's not called Fusion, it's Workstation, but the virtual machines are binary-compatible.
Harlan
ICEBreaker
Posted 3:02 AM 8/5/08
... and yes, I've turned off debugging mode... still very poor performance.
ICEBreaker
ICEBreaker
Posted 3:02 AM 8/5/08
@Barron: Thank you Barron.
I've tried it, and it's VERY VERY slow... at least for me.
ICEBreaker
toolmaker
Posted 11:56 PM 6/5/08
for me vmware fusion works best.
I used parallels when it first came out. loved it.
a few months ago i tried VMware Fusion and it just seemed to not hog as many resources and was snappier on my Macbook Pro.
I only use it to test my websites in XP and Vista. So i cant compare running various programs for long periods of time
toolmaker