VMware announced on Monday (11-12-07) the release of VMware Fusion 1.1. It is a new update to its virtualization software for Intel-based Macs. If you are not familiar with it, the software allows you to run other operating systems in a window under Mac OSX.
This is a free update for all current customers, and there is even a trial you can download.
I have been using VMWare Fusion 1.0 since its release on my modest Apple MacBook. And if you have been following blog, you know that is all I use to do my development. It runs Windows XP quite well in a virtual session.
The new release has made a great product even better. Here is a list of updates:
* Support for Mac OS X Leopard.
* Improved 3D graphics with experimental support for DirectX 9.0.
* Improvements to VMware Fusion’s Unity feature.
* Support for Microsoft Vista Boot Camp partitions as virtual machines.
* Support for French, German, and Japanese-speaking customers.
* Overall performance improvements.
One of the most pimped out features (Yes I reserve those words for only a few things I really like) is unity. Unity allows you to run Windows applications seamlessly along side your Mac applications. If you look at the shot below, you can see Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, and a command prompt running on my Mac Desktop. This feature alone makes it worth the $79.
In this release, it seems snappier, and the unity feature works much better than before. All in all I think it is a great release.
If you have a Mac, and need to work with Windows, I suggest giving it a spin.
For more info go to the product website.
And no, I don’t get anything from VMWare for this. I simply think it is a great product.