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VMware Fusion 3.0 with 64-bit support announced; VirtualBox Updated

VMware has a press release on their website that announces the release and availability of version 3.0 of Fusion, which brings 64-bit support along with other enhancements to the software.

Topher Kessler MacFixIt Editor
Topher, an avid Mac user for the past 15 years, has been a contributing author to MacFixIt since the spring of 2008. One of his passions is troubleshooting Mac problems and making the best use of Macs and Apple hardware at home and in the workplace.
Topher Kessler
2 min read

Since the release of Snow Leopard, many people who use virtualization solutions have been frustrated by the lack of 64-bit support for their virtual machines. The three popular programs Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and Sun VirtualBox have so far been 32-bit only and while Parallels Desktop will run on the 64-bit Snow Leopard kernel and Virtualbox technically should as well, Fusion is still only a 32-bit application. VMware has a press release on their website that announces the release and availability of version 3.0 of Fusion, which brings 64-bit support along with other enhancements to the software.

According to the press release, Fusion 3.0 will bring more than 50 new features and enhancements, including the following:

  • Optimized for Snow Leopard. Built from the ground up for the Mac, VMware Fusion 3 leverages Mac OS X Snow Leopard's advanced architecture with a new 64-bit core engine and native support for the 64-bit kernel, delivering even better Windows on Mac performance.

    Ultimate Windows 7 Experience. VMware Fusion 3 will be the first to enable the full Windows 7 experience, side-by-side with your Mac, complete with Windows Aero and Flip 3D.

  • Switching Made Easy. VMware Fusion 3 will make it easy for users to bring their entire PC to their Mac in a few easy steps - wirelessly or with a simple Ethernet cable - allowing customers to protect investments in existing Windows software, and to keep using the programs they still need.

  • Best-in-Class 3D Graphics. Support for OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 will enable users to run their favorite 3D Windows games and applications - all without rebooting.

The new version is expected to be $80 and should be available on October 27th. Existing users who are upgrading can do so for $40. I expect they will have downloadable version as they've had for other versions of VMware, so on the day of release you should be able to immediately download and install. Meanwhile, VMware has recently released version 2.0.6 of Fusion, so if you have not already updated you can install this for additional stability and bug fixes when running Snow Leopard and Nvidia graphics processors.

VirtualBox updated to version 3.0.8

Today Sun has released a small update for VirtualBox, which primarily addresses problems in Linux clients; however, it does address a couple of problems in OS X, including problems starting virtual machines without graphics enabled (headless), and a problem where the virtual machine will not start because the host adaptor contains garbled text in it's name.

This update is available from the VirtualBox download page and is packaged in a 62.9MB disk image.