VMware Updates Mac Virtualization with Fusion 1.1 Release

VMware has announced the immediate availability of VMware Fusion 1.1, the company’s award-winning desktop virtualization platform for the Intel-based Mac. The latest release is a free upgrade to existing VMware Fusion 1.0 customers; and it can expand its customer base to include French, German and Japanese customers with the latest localization of the product.

The updated version of the desktop virtualization application has added support for the latest Mac operating system, OS X 10.5 – Leopard.

VMware Fusion 1.1 also made improvements to Unity, the feature that makes Microsoft Windows on the Mac appear to be seamless to the end-user. The latest version adds support for Windows Vista, both 32- and 64-bit editions as well as support for Windows XP 64-bit edition. But perhaps the most interesting user requested addition is the option to show or hide the Windows taskbar and Start menu in the VMware Fusion View menu.

The update has improved Fusion integration with Apple’s Boot Camp. Users can now use Microsoft Vista Boot Camp partitions in VMware Fusion virtual machines. And it also added automatic remount of Boot Camp partitions after the Boot Camp virtual machine is shut down.

Within any virtualization environment, a feature that I find most appealing is the improved 3D graphics and the experimental support for DirectX 9.0 acceleration. While not perfect, the ability to run many Windows 3D applications and games on the Mac within a virtual machine is a welcomed treat.

According to Pat Lee, Senior Product Manager for the Mac Products at VMware, many of the company’s customers have asked VMware to help them migrate virtual machines created with third party software over to the VMware Fusion format. To help offer that ability, VMware has created the VMware Importer tool to allow its customers to easily migrate third-party Mac virtual machines over to VMware Fusion. Although the importer tool is still in beta, it is being offered as a free utility. Obviously, this tool is focused at converting Parallels users, though the company won’t come right out and say so.

VMware Fusion is available now at no cost to existing VMware Fusion 1.0 customers. New customers can also buy VMware Fusion starting at $59.99. VMware is trying to make the purchase a lot sweeter by currently offering a limited time $20 mail in rebate when purchased within the United States. You can purchase the product, here.