Hoping to capitalize on growing numbers of Windows users moving to the Mac, Parallels has combined its virtual machine software with Mac OS X tutorials and migration tools. Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Edition allows users to run their favorite Windows applications while gradually learning how the Mac works.
OpenOSX has released V3.0 of its WinTel application. The software is used to operate Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux within a window on Mac OS X. The update includes a disk image with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed and runs most of the instructions of the virtual machine natively to boost running speed. Utilizing an emulation mode, the application mimics several different processors including PowerPC, Sparc, MIPS, and ARM.
Sun Microsystems on Friday introduced a new update for xVM VirtualBox, adding support for Mac OS X and Solaris, making it the first open sourcevirtual machine to support both operating systems. According to The Inquirer, Sun is offering both a free open source version which has no usage restrictions, as well as a free licensed version with more features for individual home users. Business customers are required to pay for licenses, should they want the full version.
VMware today unveiled VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1, a free beta preview of the next major update to its OS virtualization software, which introduces many new features, including true multi-display support for virtual machines. In addition to using multiple displays, the beta also introduces experimental support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2, allowing users to run complex 3D software in a virtualized environment. When it ships, VMware Fusion 2.0 will be a free upgrade for all existing v1.x users, while new users can purchase Fusion for $80.
VMWare Fusion 1.1.2 has been released, adding enhanced support for the MacBook Air. The new release also enables Time Machine backup of virtual machines, adds support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions, and is now available in Simplified Chinese. In addition, VMWare can now properly disconnect USB devices connected to the virtual machine when shut down, making the USB devices available again to the Mac. It also addresses problem with wireless bridged networking in some cases not being able to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server.
Parallels today announced it is offering Parallels Server beta 2 for public download, after positive feedback based on private testing. Parallels Server takes advantage of hypervisor-based virtualization techniques, and supports over 50 different x86 and x64 operating systems, including Windows Server 2008. The beta also features Parallels' toolsets for enhancing, transferring, and backing up the resident virtual machines. Parallels Server beta 2 is available from download from Parallels' website.
VMware today unveiled Fusion 1.1.1, an update to its virtualization client, adding in numerous features and bug fixes. Fusion now remaps hotkeys between the Mac and the virtual machine, equating Command-C with Control-C in the VM, for example. This remapping works for the following keys: Z, C, V, X, P, A, and F. On European keyboards, the Enter key now properly gives the AltGr command, and will not be influenced by NumLock. Fusion 1.1.1 is available for download from VMware's website.
Moka5, the desktop virtualization services company has announced a preview of its Moka5 for Mac OS X, which allows users running VMware Fusion to also run Moka5's LivePC virtual machines, which include advanced virtualization features such as self-healing, user data protection, and automatic updates. The Moka5 LivePC Library gives VMware Fusion users immediate access to a large selection of fully configured LivePCs including Ubuntu Linux, SuSE Linux, and FreeBSD. Free LivePCs have been created for many popular applications such as Ladybug LivePC, a kid-safe Web browser, Fearless Browser for anonymous browsing, Quake action games, and Ubuntu evaluation.
New benchmarks reveal that while Boot Camp is still the fastest way to run Windows on your Mac, the virtual machines offered by Parallels and VMWare offer increasingly decent performance -- depending on which flavor of Windows you choose to run. MacTech, in an extensive benchmarking of the different Windows-on-Mac methods, found that Parallels was somewhat faster in general than VMware Fusion for XP, but if you want the best virtualization performance for Vista, then VMware Fusion is the way to go. Overall, however, the results show that XP is, by and large, a much better VM performer than Vista.
