VMware announces VMware Fusion 3 details


Recommended Posts

VMware announces VMware Fusion 3 details

VMware has announced that VMware Fusion 3, the next major release of its virtualization solution for running Windows, Linux, and other operating systems on Intel-powered Macs, will ship on October 27. The new version ($80, with an upgrade available for $40) promises more than 50 new features, including changes designed to make it run well in Snow Leopard. The virtualization engine in Fusion 3 is completely 64-bit native, and will run in 64-bit mode under both Leopard and Snow Leopard for users of 64-bit-CPU-equipped Macs.

Fusion 3 also offers greatly improved graphics support, including support for OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3. For the first time in Fusion, users will be able to use the ?Aero? visual effects in both Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Users of physical Windows machines looking to move to Fusion 3 on the Mac will find the task has been greatly simplified. A small program on the physical PC is first run, which generates a four-digit code. Users then move to the Mac and run the migration assistant, which will ask for the four-digit code. After providing the code, the Mac will find the physical Windows PC, and set up an identical virtual machine?all without any user intervention.

Fusion Unity mode?whereby the Windows desktop is hidden and Windows applications and windows appear alongside those of OS X?has also been improved over its predecessor. Users will be able to switch between windows of a Windows application using Command-`, as they can in OS X. Windows application icons in the Dock will show a list of open windows when clicked, just like OS X applications in the Dock. You can even use Dock Expos? in Snow Leopard to show just the windows associated with a particular Windows application. Finally, a new Fusion menu bar icon provides access to the items in the Start Menu and on the Task Bar, along with some other often-used tasks.

VMware has worked toward improved performance throughout the application, reducing memory usage where possible and adding small refinements. Dragging windows in Unity mode will be notably faster than before, and CPU usage is lower than it was previously. Users will be able to copy and paste not just text but graphics as well between Windows and OS X. Fusion 3 will support multiple cores in virtual machines, as opposed to the multiple CPUs supported in Fusion 2. Virtual machines will also launch more quickly than they did in Fusion 2.

On the front end, the new virtual machine library overview window loads faster, and shows real time views of your virtual machines?even if its windows are hidden or it?s running in Unity mode. A new simplified interface makes it easier for users to create new virtual machines and handle other routine tasks. Finally, application updates are built right into the program, so users won?t need to visit the web site to download updates.

For those who need technical support, Fusion 3 will offer 18 months of free e-mail tech support (up from 30 days for the current product), as well as the option of $29 per incident phone support?a service option that wasn?t available at all with Fusion 2.

Users can pre-order the full $80 version of VMware Fusion 3 from VMware?s site, the Apple Online Store, and Amazon.com starting Tuesday. Upgrades from prior versions will be available for $40 on October 27 at vmware.com, as well as at all authorized resellers.

souricon.gif News source: Macworld

How does Fusion 3 compare to Parallels?

I've always thought Fusion was a better product than Parallels even since Fusion was in beta status. In my (very unscientific) tests, it seems to perform better than Parallels. It's also more "Mac-like" and less invasive to your system (though Parallels 5 is changing up how it operates to function in a very similar way).

Plus, it has a very large community and tons of "appliances" you can download to get ready-made VMs up and running in no time.

Parallels always felt bloated compared to VMware Fusion. Although I really like what they've done to v5's interface. Haven't seen screen shots of VMWare Fusion 3 yet.

Here you go:

Fusion3_Aero_ars-thumb-640xauto-8959.png

Fusion3_appmenu_ars.png

"Found" a copy and been running it since last night. I can't believe how stable a beta build has been... Win7, Linux, etc. all work great.

For me, though, the single greatest improvement with VMware Fusion 3 is that when setting up a Linux virtual machine, it downloads and installs the VMware Tools BEFORE you actually install your Linux distro. That means as soon as it's installed and you can log in to your user account, the tools you need are already installed and running, which is a major time saver.

For the first time in Fusion, users will be able to use the ?Aero? visual effects in both Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Why are they focusing on OS X when their main product is Workstation?

They should enable Aero on VMWare Workstation which have virtual machines that use a guest OS that supports Aero

Why are they focusing on OS X when their main product is Workstation?

They should enable Aero on VMWare Workstation which have virtual machines that use a guest OS that supports Aero

VMware Workstation 7.0 will be out soon as well, which is going to support Aero in Vista/7 guests.

Why are they focusing on OS X when their main product is Workstation?

They should enable Aero on VMWare Workstation which have virtual machines that use a guest OS that supports Aero

What is with you and the hate for developers that like to give equal attention to both Windows and OS X?

Fusion probably makes a lot of money for VMware considering there are a lot of switchers that, at first, think they still need to run some specific Windows apps. There are also people, like me, that use it to test things out in a Windows environment or in Windows only software (IE in particular).

Why are they focusing on OS X when their main product is Workstation?

They should enable Aero on VMWare Workstation which have virtual machines that use a guest OS that supports Aero

Why shouldn't they if they're making good money by supporting the Mac platform? Like Elliott I fail to understand this attitude of yours.

Can you run glass with Unity (I'm guessing that's a no)

For obvious reasons: no. Unity is meant to integrate the software in a vm with the OS X environment you're in. That would mean those Unity apps will have to behave the same way as the other apps in OS X. Therefore fancy stuff that only works in Windows won't work.

For me, though, the single greatest improvement with VMware Fusion 3 is that when setting up a Linux virtual machine, it downloads and installs the VMware Tools BEFORE you actually install your Linux distro. That means as soon as it's installed and you can log in to your user account, the tools you need are already installed and running, which is a major time saver.

Fusion 2 introduced the Easy Install feature for Linux as well as Unity for Linux. In Fusion 1 those features were Windows only. The only new thing in Fusion 3 is downloading the VMware Tools if you don't have it on your machine. There is a plus side to this, they might sent out regular updates for their VMware Tools which would increase support for new operating systems (new Linux versions, new Linux distros, etc.).

What is with you and the hate for developers that like to give equal attention to both Windows and OS X?

Fusion probably makes a lot of money for VMware considering there are a lot of switchers that, at first, think they still need to run some specific Windows apps. There are also people, like me, that use it to test things out in a Windows environment or in Windows only software (IE in particular).

VMware already had a product to do virtualisation on your computer with a lot of nifty stuff. The name of that piece of software is Workstation and it works on Windows and Linux. In that regard it's weird that they did not create Workstation for Mac which is exactly what Parallels did do with their workstation virtualisation software. However, OS X has a different interface and different guidelines when compared to Windows/Linux. In that regard it would be weird if they did port Workstation to the Mac. They could have ported it and made it fit in Apple's HIG so it looks and works like any other OS X app. They didn't, they created an entire new product from scratch with the problem that there are some differences between Fusion and the other products such as Workstation and Player (they did document how to overcome those differences).

For obvious reasons: no. Unity is meant to integrate the software in a vm with the OS X environment you're in. That would mean those Unity apps will have to behave the same way as the other apps in OS X. Therefore fancy stuff that only works in Windows won't work.

Applications running in Unity are still fully supported by Windows running in VMware Fusion. There are probably no real technical reasons why they can't use Aero. However, like explained before Aero Glass windows would just display the background you would see on your Windows desktop, so it would look weird in Unity.

  • 3 weeks later...
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I think there will be a 27H1 for actual users of 26H1 The 25h2 supports ARM too : Snapdragon X, Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite
    • Poll: Grand Theft Auto VI price predictions, cast your vote by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe After years of waiting, Rockstar will be solidifying the launch date of Grand Theft Auto VI with the launch of pre-orders next week. While the studio has confirmed a date for this occasion, it is yet to attach a price to the highly anticipated game. So let's see what our readers think it will cost at launch. The Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders will kick off on June 25 for digital and physical editions. Unless some last-minute changes happen, the release date will be November 19, 2026, across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, there's still no information about a PC version from the developer or the publisher Take-Two. Now the question becomes, how much will Grand Theft Auto VI cost at launch? The game is predicted by some analysts to be the biggest launch of an entertainment product ever. With the amount of hype that has been built behind it and with ballooning development costs, Take-Two may price this Grand Theft Auto entry differently from other AAA titles. The current price of a AAA game is $69.99. That norm almost rose to $79.99 before calming down. But with such a massive release, Grand Theft Auto VI may be the game that pushes the boundary again. It's also possible that Take-Two keeps the price relatively low to increase the number of players that jump in early and keep them hooked on Grand Theft Auto Online to spend on microtransactions for years to come. Keep in mind that the below poll is asking for a prediction of the standard edition price, not a deluxe or any other special edition that Take-Two will introduce for additional benefits. Also, there is also the chance of the company splitting up the campaign and online portions. If you think that will happen, put your vote on what you think will be the total cost of the two. Poll Poll: How much will Grand Theft Auto VI cost? $59.99 $69.99 $79.99 $89.99 $100 or more Submit Vote If you have a very specific prediction in mind, sound off in the comments below.
    • Would you please fix your graphics. They are outdated and don't fit the article.
    • The Light of Life? We actually do glow till our Death, study finds by Sayan Sen Image by Rafael Rendon via Pexels A study by researchers at the University of Calgary has found that living organisms produce an extremely faint light known as ultraweak photon emission, and that this glow appears to drop significantly after death. The research was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry in April 2025 and quickly drew widespread attention, leading to more than 200 news stories about the findings. Ultraweak photon emission (or UPE), sometimes called biophoton emission, refers to tiny amounts of light released by living cells as a result of normal biological activity. A photon is the basic particle of light, and researchers say every living system examined so far, including plants and animals, has been found to emit these photons. The glow is far too faint to be seen by the human eye. “I suppose it has a little to do with people being reminded of auras,” says Dr. Christoph Simon, PhD, one of the authors of the study and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Faculty of Science. “It is a fact that living beings glow. It’s a very weak glow, but it’s there and visible with very sensitive cameras.” According to the study, the light involved is extremely weak, ranging from 10 to 1,000 photons per square centimetre per second across a spectral range of 200 to 1,000 nanometres. For comparison, a nanometre is one-billionth of a metre and is commonly used to measure wavelengths of light. Detecting emissions at such low levels requires highly specialized equipment. To study the phenomenon, researchers used electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) and charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. These imaging systems are designed to detect extremely small amounts of light, including individual photons, while minimizing background noise. The technology allowed researchers to capture signals that would otherwise be impossible to observe. The team worked with the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in Ottawa to examine photon emissions in mice. Researchers took two-hour exposure images of the animals before and after death and compared the results. “We saw that the level of light that they emit – this biophoton glow – is distinctly different between living and dead animals,” says Dr. Daniel Oblak, PhD, an associate professor in Physics and Astronomy and the corresponding author of the study. The images showed a clear decrease in photon emissions after death across the entire body of each mouse. According to the researchers, this provided direct evidence that living and dead tissue produce different levels of ultraweak photon emission. “It’s a very small amount and it’s, of course, very tricky to detect,” Oblak says. The study grew out of discussions between Simon, whose research interests include quantum biology, and Oblak, whose work focuses on detecting light for quantum communication experiments. Quantum biology is a field that explores whether processes described by quantum physics, which studies matter and energy at very small scales, may also play a role in living systems. “Since I work as a quantum physicist on light detection for quantum communication, I thought that experimentally we have a lot of the tools to be able to detect the light,” Oblak explains. The researchers also investigated UPE in plants and found that the light changed in response to stress. When plants were exposed to higher temperatures or physically injured, their photon emissions increased. Chemical treatments also affected the glow. Among the substances tested, the local anesthetic benzocaine produced the strongest emission response when applied to injured plant tissue. These findings suggest that ultraweak photon emission is closely linked to biochemical and metabolic activity inside living organisms. Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions that allow cells and organisms to stay alive and function. Because these reactions change when an organism experiences stress, injury or disease, researchers believe UPE may provide a way to monitor those changes. The researchers stress that the glow is a physical and biological phenomenon, not a metaphysical one. Oblak says more research is needed to understand exactly how the light is produced and what information it may reveal about the condition of living tissue. “We must understand what that is to figure out what’s happening,” he says. “If we can understand how that relates to certain influences on the body – stress, diseases – then that could be used as a diagnostic tool.” The researchers believe the technique could eventually help scientists study health and disease without invasive procedures. Because UPE can be measured without adding dyes, markers or labels, it may offer a way to monitor whether tissue is healthy, damaged or alive. In plants, it could help researchers better understand how organisms respond to injury, heat and other forms of stress. While the work is still in its early stages, the study demonstrates that ultraweak photon emission imaging can provide a non-invasive and label-free way to observe biological activity. Researchers say the approach could become a useful tool for studying vitality, stress responses and other important processes in both animals and plants. Source: University of Calgary, ACS publication This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      hhgygy earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      AMV earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Collaborator
      ryansurfer98 went up a rank
      Collaborator
    • One Month Later
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      171
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      82
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      72
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!