Sun Microsystems, the maker of the Java platform, has updated VirtualBox, the popular virtualization program for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Version 3.0.4 of the software is a maintenance release and delivers the usual laundry of fixes and improvements.

Released on August 4, 2009, VirtualBox 3.0.4 improves stability and performance, Sun says. Sun Microsystems' VirtualBox lets users create virtual machines in which they can install their operating system of choice. The solution is similar to those advertised and sold by VMware (VMware Fusion), or Parallels (Parallels Desktop).

However, VirtualBox is free to download and use for anyone packing the necessary hardware. The software is a feature-rich, high-performance product for enterprise customers. Available as Open Source Software, VirtualBox is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).

In VirtualBox 3.0.4, Sun has been able to improve 3D support by fixing a trio of issues including: deadlocks and context/window tracking for multithreaded applications; memory leaks when terminating OpenGL guest applications; crash in Call of Duty. NAT fixes include: using two or more NAT adapters in one VM was broken (3.0.0 regression; network communication corruptions; passive ftp access to host server).

The new version of Sun’s virtualization software also boasts GUI tweaks, such as a fixed path separator handling for the OVF export on Windows, a VM option added to display the mini toolbar on top and no more crashes when adding plus configuring host-only network interfaces. Shared Folders should also behave better, thanks to a fix to the selection of a drive root directory as a shared folder host path in VirtualBox (Windows host only).

For Max OS X, one specific fix has been incorporated (fix creation of VMDK files giving raw partition access), while Snow Leopard support has been improved. Linux hosts should have no more problems leading to wrong colors or transparency in host windows with some graphics drivers. Lastly, a bunch of X11 gust fixes and improvements have been made.

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