VMware Fusion growing up with the 2.0 Beta 2 build

If you’ve been following the virtualization race on the Apple Mac systems, you’ll be happy to know that today, VMware took things up a notch with the release of VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 2.

This latest public beta of VMware Fusion 2.0 has too many features to call out by name and description. But, as previously announced, VMware Fusion 2.0 will be a free downloadable upgrade to all VMware Fusion 1.x customers. So if you haven’t already explored the new features coming out with 2.0, this might be a good time to do just that.

Some of the key features in this new beta include:

Unity 2.0 — Tighter Windows-Mac Integration: Building on Unity 1.0, you can now launch any Mac file with any of your Windows applications. Mirror your Mac and Windows special folders, like My Documents, Desktop, etc. Custom keyboard mapping between Mac keyboard and virtual machines.

Safety Features for your VM: Take and manage multiple snapshots of your virtual machines. Use AutoProtect, or automated, timed snapshots of your running virtual machine to protect your VM from unexpected bumps in the road.

Video and Usability: Great 3D support gets better and more stable. CPU usage is thinner and lighter. 1080p High Definition video runs near natively in VMs, while VMs now integrate with Mac OS X Leopard’s “QuickLook.” Status bars and the Fusion icon glow to signify activity, and Fusion 2.0 increases its market leadership and uses even less of your Mac’s valuable resources.

Power Tools: In addition to multiple snapshots, VMware Fusion now allows up to four virtual CPUs on a VM, Mac OS X Server in a virtual machine, and support for VMrun command line scripting, showing more flashes of its datacenter lineage.

Find out more information by visiting the Fusion 2.0 Beta 2 welcome page, and make sure to watch the videos.

And don’t forget to grab the latest product bits while you are there.