VMware Fusion 1.1
A new version of VMware for the Mac has been released. Version 1.1 brings some cool new features to the table:
- Support for Mac OS X 10.5 (a.k.a. Leopard)
- DirectX 9.0 support (sans shaders)
- Improvements to “Unity” that makes Windows even more seamless, such as support for Vista in both 32 and 64-bit modes, XP 64-bit, better integration of the various Windows menus, and better performance.
- iPhone can sync with Outlook in virtual machines
- Various performance and stability improvements
In addition, they have made it easier to switch from Parallels by offering a tool to import VMs from Parallels. It only supports Windows VMs, unfortunately, but it’s still a nice gesture.
I personally think VMware does a great job on Linux VMs. Several weeks ago, I gave a presentation on Ubuntu Linux. I used my work laptop–which runs Windows XP–and showed off various things in Ubuntu. Ubuntu was running in a VM under VMware Player, which allows you to “play” pre-configured VMs.
VMware Fusion and VMware Player are a powerful combination for me. I configure the VMs on my Mac, copy them over to various PCs running Windows, and run them to my heart’s content. Works like a dream.
