VMware Fusion 2.0 and Parallels 4.0 Beta

VMware announced the release of the final version of VMware Fusion 2.0 which is a free upgrade for all VMware Fusion 1.x customers and is said to add over 100 new features. The enhancements are listed as:

- More Seamless with Unity 2.0: Application Sharing, Link Handling, Mirrored Folders, Driverless Printing, True Multiple Display Support, and Custom Keyboard Mapping
- Safer Windows on Mac experience with AutoProtect automated snapshots and a 12-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus security software for Windows XP and Vista
- More Power with DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 2 3D graphics, 1080p HD video playback, Multiple Snapshots, 4-way vSMP, and Better Linux Support (Unity & Easy Install)
- More Mac-like, More Mac-friendly with all new Welcome Screen, Virtual Machine Library and Virtual Machine Settings, Cover Flow and Quick Look integration, and Apple Help
- Mac OS X Leopard Server now is supported in a virtual machine on Mac hardware

Fusion 2.0 had been in beta since May.

Meanwhile, the main other competitor in the Mac virtualization space is Parallels who recently seeded a private beta of version 4.0 of their application. Beta 4.0 is said to also incorporate multi-core processing support as well as support for DirectX 9.0 and OpenGL.

Both Fusion and Parallels allow Intel Mac users to run Windows or other PC operating systems on their Mac alongside Mac OS X. Computerworld recently reported that shipments for both applications are up 50% so far this year.