VMware Intros VMware Fusion 2.0

VMware on Monday announced the availability of VMware Fusion 2, a free downloadable upgrade for all VMware Fusion 1.x customers. The new version adds features and enhancements for Mac users with an integrated Windows-on-Mac experience. It also makes Windows even safer on the Mac while offering VMware’s virtualization technology for technical users.

 

“VMware Fusion 2 makes it easy and fun for every Mac user to run the Windows applications they need while enjoying the Mac experience they want, “ said Pat Lee, group manager for consumer products at VMware. “Our goal is to break down the walls between Windows and the Mac by creating a user-friendly, Mac-native experience that lets our customers run any Windows application, seamlessly and safely, on the Mac. We want our customers to see that Windows really is better on the Mac.”

 

VMware Fusion offers users to enjoy both the Windows software as well as Mac hardware they prefer. As

 

"VMware Fusion 2 makes my Mac a great PC. Now I can use all sorts of Windows-only applications that I would otherwise miss out on, side by side with Mac applications. It made switching to the Mac a total snap and makes it easy to run Windows apps on my Mac," said  Robert Scoble, a blogger and technology analyst.

 

This interest in running Windows on the Mac extends beyond individual consumers and into organizations as well. 

 

“As we’ve seen with consumers, SMBs as well as large organizations are starting to consider the possibility of deploying more Macs within their corporate environment, because of the company's positive mindshare within the IT user market, among other reasons,” said Michael Rose, researcher at IDC (News - Alert). “With technologies available today, like VMware Fusion, ‘switching’ to a Mac by individuals within organizations, whole departments or even across the entire company, is more conceivable because it allows users to adopt Apple (News - Alert) hardware and software, while enabling the continued use of Windows applications and their associated management infrastructure."

 

VMware Fusion is widely adopted by small businesses as well as educational institutes and enterprises. “VMware Fusion is a perfect fit for us,” said Jason Pelletier, computer labs manager from Bowdoin College. “Our students love it because it gives them access to Windows-only applications they need for classes, including software that comes with textbooks. Our faculty and staff love it because they can use their preferred Mac platform and still access Windows-based apps with just a few mouse clicks. And it’s great for our computer labs, because we get to use one type of hardware which can run any app our users need—Mac, Windows, Linux, and more. VMware Fusion is extremely reliable and delivers outstanding performance - it has been a great win for the school overall.”

 

VMware Fusion 2 offers advanced Mac virtualization software and makes Windows safer on the Mac through automatic virtual machine snapshots. VMware Fusion breaks down the walls between Windows and Mac OS X, transforming Windows applications to work seamlessly within OS X like native applications, letting users launch any Mac file with any Windows application, seamlessly share data and folders between Windows and Mac, use Windows applications across multiple monitors, and even custom map the Mac keyboard to special keystrokes for Windows applications.