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VMware Announces Pre-Order Availability and Pricing of VMware Fusion for Mac Users


WEBWIRE

VMware, Inc., the global leader in software for industry-standard virtualized desktops and servers, today announced pre-order availability and pricing for VMware Fusion, which enables Mac users to simultaneously run Mac, Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris-based applications without rebooting. Starting today, through a special promotion, customers can pre-order VMware Fusion for $39.99 from www.vmware.com/mac until the product is generally available.

VMware currently plans to make VMware Fusion generally available prior to the end of August 2007 for a suggested retail price of $79.99. All statements regarding VMware Fusion herein, including the features below, are made with respect to VMware Fusion beta versions, including the latest VMware Fusion Beta 4, which is available today at www.vmware.com/mac.

“VMware Fusion enables Mac users to run Windows and other PC-based applications within fast and secure virtual machines,” said Dan Chu, vice president of emerging products and markets at VMware. “With more than 200,000 downloads of the VMware Fusion public beta since it became available earlier this year, Mac users are rapidly adopting the industry-leading VMware virtualization platform used by millions worldwide.”

“Everyone who tries Mac OS X loves its reliability, security and ease-of-use combined with the blazing speed of our Intel-based Macs,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations. “We’re thrilled that VMware will be releasing its proven virtualization software that makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering the Mac.”

“As a long time user of VMware products, I am very excited to see VMware bring its vast experience in virtualization to the Mac,” said Tim Antonowicz, senior systems engineer at Bowdoin College. “VMware Fusion allows us to reduce hardware costs and provide a higher level of service to our faculty and staff, both in classrooms and in labs. With VMware Fusion installed on a Mac in every classroom, our faculty will have the freedom to run any operating system—Windows, Linux and Mac OS X—all from a single computer. In our labs, VMware Fusion allows students the flexibility to run Mac OS X and any Windows or Linux environment without rebooting, and our lab administrators can quickly make new environments available without having to re-image the entire lab.”

Key features of VMware Fusion include:


Seamless Windows Integration with Unity: VMware Fusion with Unity enables users to run Windows XP applications directly on their Mac desktops, providing full integration with Mac keyboard shortcuts and the Exposé feature in Mac OS X. The VMware Fusion Launch Palette provides access to all Windows applications, which can be saved to the Mac OS X Dock.
Automatic Boot Camp Integration: VMware Fusion automatically detects users’ existing Boot Camp installations to allow Mac OS X to run alongside Windows XP or Vista with no additional setup.
Accelerated 3-D Graphics Support: This feature enables users to run DirectX 8.1 applications and play select DirectX 8.1 games from within Windows XP virtual machines.
Most Complete Hardware for the Mac: VMware Fusion supports Virtual SMP to leverage dual-core and dual-processor computers and 64-bit operating systems including Windows Vista. It also enables users to use the maximum memory available on Macs to run more virtual machines simultaneously and increase user productivity.
Snapshot/Backup: With its “snapshot” feature, VMware Fusion users can capture and save the current state of a running virtual machine. This enables them to easily roll back to a stable state if the virtual machine becomes unresponsive.
VMware Converter Integration: Users can run VMware Converter on an existing Windows PC to migrate the environment into a virtual machine ready for use on their Macs.
Broad Product Interoperability: Users can run virtual machines created with VMware Server, VMware Infrastructure 3 and VMware Workstation with VMware Fusion. This enables users to easily port virtual machines they already have created and use them on their Macs.
Convenience: “Battery pass-through” allows users to monitor the battery life of their Macs from within non-Mac virtual machines; a Mac’s SuperDrive with read-write support for CDs and DVDs is supported in any non-Mac virtual machine; Windows shares the Mac’s network connections and effortlessly switches between wired and AirPort/WiFi connections; and users can simultaneously view their Mac environments on separate monitors from other virtual machines.
Pricing and Availability

Pre-order VMware Fusion for $39.99 from www.vmware.com/mac beginning today until the product is generally available. VMware currently plans to make VMware Fusion generally available prior to the end of August 2007 for a suggested retail price of $79.99.



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