Virtual machine

A week after Parallels was updated to support Windows 10, VMware has followed suit with an update to its Fusion software – but with a bug when used in Unity mode. Unity mode is where Windows apps are run alongside Mac ones.

Fusion was today updated to version 8, with performance improvements as well as Windows 10 compatibility, but the company has confirmed a bug identified by ArsTechnica in which the Windows Start screen is sometimes unavailable (above left) and at other times has the search bar covered by the Mac’s dock (above right). When unavailable, the Toggle Start Screen option is greyed-out … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84NI5fjTfpQ

I keep my Parallels Windows VM around to do stuff like Quickbooks, upgrade Mifi Firmware and occasionally check websites in IE (see our PArallels 10 review here) not to experiment with the latest versions of Redmond’s OS.

But if you want to check out what’s coming down the pike in Windows-land without leaving your trusty Mac, Parallels has an Installation guide for you. First step: if you haven’t already, download Parallels 10 (free Trial)…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Parallels announced an update to Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac today that introduces experimental support for OS X Mavericks. That means developers with access to Mavericks will be able to run Parallels Desktop 8 on the OS and also install the OS X 10.9 preview in a virtual machine.

The company has an article available to walk devs through getting Desktop 8 for Mac running on Mavericks and another outlining best practices for installing it as a virtual machine. While you can’t yet install Mavericks into a blank virtual machine, you will be able to update an existing OS X install to the developer preview. Those error messages some users were getting when attempting to run Mavericks on Parallels Desktop 8 should also be taken care of with the latest build.

Parallels hinted more news about Mavericks and its integration with Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is on the way and is answering questions in its forums here and here.

Good news if you don’t yet own a copy: Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is currently 25% for a limited time.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Parallels for Mac virtualization software has been getting major updates this year with the recent release of version 8, making it even easier to run Mac and Windows apps side by side. In version 7, it made it a lot easier to upgrade and buy copies of Windows directly from within the app, and we even had a Windows 8 developer preview up and running. Unfortunately, with today’s launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8, Parallel’s is warning Mac users that the app is not ready to update to the new OS.

In a support document on the company’s website, it issued a “critical and urgent Windows 8 service advisory” telling customers it should wait before upgrading from an existing installation of Windows to Windows 8:
Expand
Expanding
Close

VMware, the maker of a popular virtualization software Fusion, seems to be backpedalling on the last week’s release of VMware Fusion 4.1 for the Mac. As originally noted by Macworld, Fusion 4.1 was released with support for virtualization of Lion, Snow Leopard and Leopard clients. A dialog box pops up when installing an operating system client in Fusion 4.1, asking user to “verify” that they are in compliance with their software’s licensing terms.

In essence, this removes VMware from the position of having to evaluate and enforce Apple’s operating-system license, and instead leaves the decision in the hands of users.

In a new blog post today, VMware hinted an upcoming update will “fix” their “mistake”.

When the license verification step was added in VMware Fusion 4.1 the server edition check was omitted. We are preparing an update. […] Users should always ensure they remain in compliance with any applicable software license agreements.

Of course, per Apple’s EULA only server software is supposed to be virtualized and the above wording pretty much spells doom for Snow Leopard or Leopard client virtualization in the next Fusion release. At the end of the day, VMware is fixing Fusion the same way people fix their dogs. What is Apple’s official stance on this issue?

Expand
Expanding
Close

VMware Fusion was upgraded to version 4 today with “over 90 new features” and low introductory $49.99 price. That follows the release two weeks ago of main competitor Parallels with many of the same Lion and speed improvements but heftier $79.99 price tag.

VMware touts three major areas of improvement: