Filed under: Software, Beta Beat
Recall that very cool video we posted showing off VMware Fusion's new Unity feature? Now you can try it on your very own Mac. VMware Fusion Beta 4 has just been released and it includes Unity. It also includes:F11 moves all your windows off the screen so you can quickly glance at your desktop. F10 shows you every open window in an application. F9 shows every open window for every application that isn't hidden or in the dock.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
| # | Blogger | Posts | Cmts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Sande | 50 | 4 |
| 2 | Mike Schramm | 32 | 0 |
| 3 | Dave Caolo | 32 | 1 |
| 4 | Mel Martin | 29 | 0 |
| 5 | TJ Luoma | 23 | 26 |
| 6 | Joachim Bean | 19 | 2 |
| 7 | Victor Agreda, Jr. | 16 | 7 |
| 8 | Erica Sadun | 16 | 2 |
| 9 | Michael Rose | 15 | 14 |
| 10 | Josh Carr | 13 | 22 |
| 11 | David Winograd | 12 | 17 |
| 12 | Sang Tang | 11 | 1 |
| 13 | Ken Ray | 11 | 2 |
| 14 | Brett Terpstra | 9 | 8 |
| 15 | Megan Lavey | 4 | 8 |
| 16 | Tim Wasson | 4 | 1 |
| 17 | John Burke | 4 | 3 |
| 18 | Kent Pribbernow | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Chris Ullrich | 4 | 1 |
| 20 | TUAW Blogger | 3 | 0 |
iphone SnowLeopard jailbreak snow-leopard IpodTouch developer apple macbook AppStore podcast itunes upgrade software AppReview review mac ipod-touch GPS ATT twitter app-store ItunesLp giveaway iphone3g video ipod music photos Navigation ItunesStore keynote features BackToSchool update bugs imac iphone3gs MacbookPro AppleStore AppleTv app Google Bluetooth hgg MacOsX SoftwareUpdate tablet games talkcast apps
All contents copyright © 2003-2009, Weblogs, Inc. All rights reserved
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) is a member of the Weblogs, Inc. Network. Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Notify AOL
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
uros said 10:15PM on 6-07-2007
damn, today really _is_ RunWindowsOnMac day ;)
Reply
Michael Rose said 10:22PM on 6-07-2007
Thursday, June 7 2007 -- Blue Thursday. A day that will live in... FAILURE 000X1011X A serious error has occurred.
Reply
Scott McNulty said 10:24PM on 6-07-2007
Mike, that is very funny.
Reply
oj said 10:25PM on 6-07-2007
and thats why competition is great. i wonder if paralells has this feature to boot off the boot camp partition. if not id say its the main thing VM has over them.
Reply
Kyle Howarth said 10:30PM on 6-07-2007
Parallels has supported Boot Camp partitions since it's V2.X days.
Both VMs are neck and neck right now. Parallels has OGL and DX support, just like Fusion.
Fusion has better Expose + VM functionality, but that's judging it from the video. Who knows how it overlays overlapping items and the like.
Reply
Kane Dijkman said 10:45PM on 6-07-2007
I have been using Parallels for a while now. I went to download VMware and after filling in my personal info, having to click on an EULA, then being given a serial number which I had to save (for a demo) I decided to just forget it and stick with Parallels. All this just gives the product a totally different feel than Parallels where you just click to download a demo.
I hope Parallels will add multiple core support soon like VMware has done with coherence/unity.
Reply
Buckingham said 10:51PM on 6-07-2007
I prefer to use VMWare as it's more stable and a more refined product at the end. Parallels feels more like a well-funded basement project. With VMWare, you feel the science behind it--the men in white lab coats going over machine instruction sets arguing over algorithms. Really silly but that's how it is.
Reply
Brian said 11:02PM on 6-07-2007
Judging from the Unity video posted and my own experiences with Parallels v3, here are the things Unity does that Parallels' Coherence doesn't (as of now):
Have Mac windows interlaced with Windows windows
Expose properly
Draw moving Windows windows smoothly
Have drop shadows on windows
It DOES have all the same dock features, including keep in dock for windows apps. It also allows you to set mac apps as defaults in windows and mounts the windows drive on your mac desktop completely read and writeable (not sure if VMware does those things).
Also keep in mind, that Parallels is sure to try to copy any new feature VMware puts out. I expect to see an improved Coherence with all the currently Unity-exclusive features within the next few updates.
Reply
artifex said 11:03PM on 6-07-2007
extra reasons: a) vmware has real support, and b) vmware probably won't have a "major update" every 6 months with features they touted for the previous release, making you pay to upgrade.
Yeah, if VMWare is reasonably priced, Parallels will be in trouble.
Reply
Brian said 11:13PM on 6-07-2007
@9 From my experience with VMware software on other platforms, their support is worse than Parallels'
Although I agree about the pay to upgrade. It's ridiculous that version 1 and 2 users who were promised eventual 3d graphics support now have to pay to get it.
Reply
roarkmeister said 12:17AM on 6-08-2007
I refuse to trust parrallels. I tried to make it boot my boot camp partition, and it crashed my computer. When I rebooted the computer, windows was gone. dissapeared. What makes this different?
Reply
basscadet said 3:17AM on 6-08-2007
I had some major issues with older Parallels versions, but I'm willing to give them another try as that would save me having a WinBox sitting here just for games + small applications I can't find on my G5... I'd never waste resources for Vista tho' when XP Pro would be enough.
Reply
thom said 3:37AM on 6-08-2007
> basscadet
you're funny !
Reply
andrew harrison said 6:46AM on 6-08-2007
just installed the new beta on my macbook pro c2d. I installed a winxp pro sp2 cd. The express install is nice and easy - i just put the cd in, clicked install after filling in the relevant info, and came back about half an hour or 45 minutes later and it was installed without a problem.
it's really nice. i've been using parallels for a while [in fact i just fixed it up the other day] but this seems to be a bit better thought out.
I definitely recommend installing the vmware tools once you've installed your new virtual machine, it makes it work much nicer.
so far, i'm impressed. I like how when running in unity, the app icons show up in the dock, and can then be kept there when you quit vmware. When you click on the icon in the dock, it launched vmware and opens that app in windows. It also plays nice with expose, which is excellent.
I'd like to see a start menu icon in the dock in place of the vmware icon, and also support for mutliple monitors would be nice [at the moment you can't drag a window from one monitor to another - it appears on the other monitor, but you can't drag it all the way across, and there are a bunch of redraw errors when you do it]
all in all, a GOOD beta. i haven't tried anything with 3d graphics, but i will probably tomorrow.
I don't think it will happen, but if apple could integrate this functionality right into Leopard, it would be wonderful.
Reply
Vidd said 7:03AM on 6-08-2007
Unity is too cool.
It's funny how they've all been released so close together...and close to WWDC.
Reply
HervéSainct said 7:56AM on 6-08-2007
Virtualbox, anyone?
I for one just bought the upgrade for Parallels, for which I perfectly know
- the cost
- the efficiency,
but I was just wondering about the "last guy in town", Virtualbox.
I see the german authors are announcing the personal edition for free, OTOH last time I looked it was really beta (not transfering copy/paste between mac and guest OS...)
Is there something new for them?
Reply
Kai Cherry said 8:25AM on 6-08-2007
I'm glad this beta came out; it is far and away a better product for the simple reason that it doesn't thrash constantly. It seems to have a *much better* virtualization core that Parallels. I can actually use both windows and mac os x at thee same time with vmware; with parallels, the mac os x responsiveness goes straight to the toilet.
There is even a tutorial on the vmware site about how to convert your parallels vm to a vmware one.
If you are a payed parallels customer like I am, I *strongly suggest* you check out the latest vmware before you fork over another "fiddy" for the v3 upgrade.
Vmware actually cause me to "cut my losses" with parallels...it just plays so much better with mac os x.
Reply
Rob said 9:43AM on 6-08-2007
Yeah.... vmware is getting my business.
Last Christmas, I ordered Parallels under a promotion for 79.99 and free upgrades for a year.
Guess what? My key doesn't work, and they are making me pay.
VMware might make you pay for major upgrades, but at least they don't lie about it like Parallels.
Reply
Shunnabunich said 10:20AM on 6-08-2007
I've tried the most recent versions of both on my parents' new Mac mini, and *neither* is able to do a thing with Boot Camp. I wonder if I'm missing something? Neither even gives a decent error message in response, sadly. From my limited experience, I'd say neither VMware nor Parallels are even remotely ready for prime time.
Reply
algal said 10:27AM on 6-08-2007
Kai (#17): Could you give a link to the page on the vmware page with the tutorial for migrating Parallels images into Fusion? I can't find it.
Reply