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#1 Photo Products - VMware Fusion 2
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List Price: $79.99
Our Price: $39.99
Your Save: $ 40.00 ( 50% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Smith Micro Software Inc.
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: Smith Micro Software Inc.
EAN: 0717103883675
Feature: Run Windows side-by-side with Mac OS X without rebooting
Format: CD-ROM
Label: Smith Micro Software Inc.
Manufacturer: Smith Micro Software Inc.
Model: VMFM20BX2
Platform: Mac OS X Intel
Publisher: Smith Micro Software Inc.
Release Date: 2008-10-05
Studio: Smith Micro Software Inc.
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Features
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Run Windows side-by-side with Mac OS X without rebooting
Run Windows applications across multiple screens; instantly launch Windows applications from any Mac file, the Dock and more
Use Exposé to switch between Windows and Mac applications; minimize Windows applications to the Dock
Run 3D games, design software and other graphics-intensive apps with support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 3D hardware-accelerated graphics
Use Windows-only USB devices on your Mac, including GPS receivers, cell phones, PDAs, and iSight cameras
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Works great! Run it full screen in new Spaces window.
Comment: I agree with the positive reviews, so I won't repeat them.
I use VMware Fusion 2 to run Windows XP Pro SP3 on my MBP. Works great, accept WinXP always loads into the "Administrator" account instead of the user account I set-up. It's really annoying to have to log-out from the Administrator account every single time I load WinXP just to get to my user account.
UPDATE: To fix this, in WinXP in the Run box, type 'control userpasswords2'. You'll need to change the default user to you personal account. Search Google for a more detailed explanation.
I guess my only complaint is that it seems a bit cumbersome to activate use of the CD-ROM in WinXP, which by default is deactivated so it can be used in OSX. Perhaps a quick shortcut on the desktop would have been nice. Or set up the CD-ROM to be used as a "network device".
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing, indispensable product for the Intel Mac
Comment: I just switched to an iMac after using PC's for many years, and VMware's Fusion has been a huge convenience for me. I have a few Windows applications (Quicken, Outlook for it's task functionality) for which I can't find acceptable Mac counterparts. Fusion allows you to run a fully functional Windows instance on the Mac, and it does so seamlessly. I actually run my Windows instance on a separate monitor, giving me access to fully functional Mac and Windows apps from one computer.
It seems that the Windows applications run a bit slower than they would on a native Windows computer, but not enough to be an inconvenience to me. I'm very happy with this purchase and would be using two separate computers if it weren't for Fusion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Making Windows better than Windows
Comment: It is great to buy a product and have all of your expectations exceeded. I have been pleased with the seamless use of Windows applications along side Mac applications. Crashes of Windows have been significantly reduced.
Customer Rating:
Summary: First program to crash my Mac in years!
Comment: I'm a former software QA tester (alpha and beta) so I have quite a bit of impatience with companies that release software that doesn't work right out of the box on all sorts of machines. A good software company will test their software on multiple configurations. Obviously other users are reporting excellent results, but that doesn't mean everyone will.
I have used Parallels 3.0 since it came out and I was overall satisfied, but found it a little slow. Fusion 2.0 was released and I thought it would be a great way to get faster speed because that's what VMware was claiming and many users are reporting.
My biggest beef is the importation of existing virtual machines. I have Win XP on my Mac that I use with Parallels. VMware states that you can import from Parallels. One, the process of importation is NOT intuitive and is made far more difficult than it should be. Whoever designed this interface is not a Mac user.
Second, Fusion refused to accept the import stating that the virtual machine wasn't properly shut down. So I go into Parallels and make sure that XP was been completely stopped. Quit Parallels and go back to Fusion . . . oops, couldn't go back - first time in YEARS I saw the Mac gray crash screen. I have never seen it on my Intel Mac until now.
I'm fine with Parallels. I simply wanted to try Fusion because everyone said it was faster. Yes, I could call customer support, but I that should NOT be necessary. I don't have patience for this kind of baloney, especially on my Mac. It should work right out of the box, period. I have dozens and dozens of programs on my Mac and not one comes even close to being as big a pain as Fusion was in terms of installation.
Obviously many users have seen great results. I did not. Tread carefully or perhaps wait for VMware to release a major update.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Better than Virtual PC IMO
Comment: I have used older versions of Virtual PC and have found it lacking. So much so that I would never buy an upgraded version. So my comparison to VPC is dated. I will say that I have a very tech savvy friend who currently uses both Parallels and VMware Fusion 2 and he prefers the VMWare product by a small margin. This is a very stable platform that is a no brainer if you already own a copy of Windows. If you want an ultra cheap option you may want to try Wine. Google Wine for Mac and you will find it. It is simply a program that allows you to run many Windows programs without having Windows installed. When running a Windows app, it looks and feels like you are using a PC. Obviously there are some limitations, but for that price ($39) you may be able to live with it. They have many supported programs that have been fully tested and others that aren't supported, but still may work. I had one program that wasn't supported, but it runs beautifully anyway. However, if you want full featured PC results, you will need to get VMware Fusion 2. It is truly a great program.
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Editorial Reviews:
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MAC OS X VERSION 10.4.9 OR LATER
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