14 DAY TRIAL // VMware Fusion lets you run your favorite Windows applications and devices seamlessly on any Intel-based Mac. Built from the ground up for the Mac, Fusion lets you run all your favorite Windows applications, even integrating those apps' features with Mac OS X.
The people at VMWare have updated the popular virtualization solution with enhanced support for OS X Server guest operating systems on Macs with Intel Xeon 5500 and 3500 Series processors (based on Nehalem micro-architecture), as well as experimental support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Client and Server as guest operating systems (32-bit only). According to the official release notes, many more enhancements have been made in VMware Fusion 2.0.5.
Basically, VMware Fusion allows Intel Macs to run x86 operating systems, like Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris, in a virtual machine, side by side with Mac OS X. The software runs Windows inside a secure and isolated virtual machine. Unlike free virtualization solutions such as Sun Microsystem’s VirtualBox, VMware Fusion fully integrates the guest OS with the host and its hardware, offering support for features like copy/paste and drag & drop, among many others.
As noted in our detailed review of the program, the main features of VMware Fusion include:
– Run Windows applications on your Intel Mac without the need to reboot; – Launch your Windows applications from the Dock, or even from your Mac files; – Share data between your Mac and Windows applications by dragging and dropping; – Copy and paste, and mirrored folders; – Mac-native user interface designed to integrate seamlessly with Mac OS X, including Cover Flow, Quick Look, and Apple Help integration; – Support for different languages (pick your language during installation).
Fusion rivals with Parallels Desktop, another powerful virtualization program for Mac OS X designed to run Windows, Linux, Solaris and other x86 OSes on a Mac. Both solutions require an Intel-based machine and quite an amount of RAM for proper usage. VMware Fusion ships with a 12-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus 2009 antivirus.