VMware Fusion - works like it says

Fusion VMware 1 | VMware Fusion

software:


	• VMware Fusion Mac OS X, Macintosh \| Smith Micro Software Inc., 2007 average customer review:based on 183 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Switched from Parallels, very pleased

I originally switched to Fusion from Parallels because of difficulties running Ubuntu on Parallels 2.0. I had the choice between upgrading to Parallels 3.0 or switching to VMWare Fusion. Ubuntu ran without trouble on the Fusion demo, and Fusion was less expensive than Parallels 3, so I made the switch. I have been pleasantly and consistently surprised at the fine quality with which VMWare Fusion runs and the convenience it provides. It was certainly an upgrade from the Parallels experience.

VMWare Importer quickly and painlessly converted all my VMs from Parallels format to VMWare format (Windows & Linux VMs). I was able to continue to boot to Windows XP on my Boot Camp partition as well.

The Windows-specific features are also a big improvement over Parallels. Unity mode is an excellent experience. The desktop and taskbar disapper, leaving only your applications. Windows applications can be minimized to the Dock, and you can keep application icons in the dock to make launching them easier. To launch any Windows application, simply hit Command+L, type a few characters, and hit enter. It is a similar experience to using Quicksilver on Mac. Using VMWare Fusion, it is easier to launch Windows applications from Mac OS X than from in Windows itself. Additionally, your entire start menu and programs menu is available from the Applications menu in Mac OS X, if you prefer to drill down.

I bought the latest MacUpdate promo bundle recently, which included a license to Parallels 3, so I gave it a try. It was a bad experience. I installed Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop and Server editions. The Desktop edition, even with Parallels extensions, wouldn't connect to a network. The Server edition wouldn't boot at all after installation. Horrible experience. In contrast, Ubuntu 8.04 runs perfectly on Fusion with or without VMWare tools installed.

VMWare Fusion seems faster, but I have no numbers to back that up. It is much less painful to boot into a VM, so I find myself booting them more often. I use Excel fairly often, and find Excel 2008 for mac slow and lacking in features, so for anything more than a simple list, I just boot into Windows and use Excel 2007 instead. It seems that the VMWare technology that has been built over the last ten years to speed up server environments has made the leap to the Mac, and it shows. Parallels simply can't match the VMWare investment in technology.

Another unforeseen advantage to using VMWare fusion is compatibility with other VMWare products. There is a huge library of VMWare "appliances" available for download from their site, and if you use VMWare server (free) on Linux or Windows, those virtual machines can now also be used on your Mac. I also ran into three VMWare images in the wild that I wouldn't have been able to use on my Mac without Fusion: Nokia's Maemo SDK VMWare appliance, Mono's VM appliance, and Stoq's evaluation appliance.

Overall, Fusion is a much less frustrating experience, faster, easier, more flexible, and, for now at least, cheaper when compared to Parallels.

And couple points of criticism:

(An older version of) Fusion caused a Kernel panic on one occasion, though it may have been caused by bad RAM.

I wish VMWare tools had an Ubuntu compatible .deb file to make installation easier.

Command+L was a bad choice for the Launch Applications keyboard shortcut, since Windows+L locks your computer (i.e. sends you to the sign in panel, which is useful if you leave your machine). In unity mode it's fine, because it doesn't lock your VM, but in Single Window mode or Fullscreen mode, it will.

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VMware Fusion - works like it says

Installed for three days - everything works as promised. Like having a Mac and a PC. (Love that Mac.)

Fusion VMware 1

Fusion was very easy to load. I also found the wizards made it easy to create a virtual machine. I use Linux and VMware for servers. The fusion is much easier to use. I do not believe you would need to know VMware to use the fusion product. Microsoft runs faster on the MAC.

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Great program

I've been using the software now for about 30 days and for the most part, it's been flawless. The setup was extremely easy and XP runs very smooth. I ran into a major problem at one point, which was resolved by email support (which was pretty prompt). Don't use Time Machine with your virtual machine is the bottom line as it can seriously foul it up. Upon resolution, I've had 0 problems with the software. My friends that run Parallels have had less satisfying results. I would highly recommend it. Would have given it 5 stars except for the big foul up with Time Machine.

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Windows within Leopard!

installation was a bit of a pain. But, finally got it working and it does as advertised. I took my already existing bootcamp partition/installation and made it it's own. The only thing is that I had to re-register with Microsoft on the Windows XP code number. A year ago, I did the Win XP Bootcamp thing. Microsoft validated it through the typical MS internet check. Once VM was installed and I opened up Win XP again, I had to re-validate. No big deal, but be prepared to potentially have to call up Microsoft about it.

It really is like running another computer in the background of your Mac. When you're done with it, you boot it down just like any regular win xp installation.

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