The eOK .network

Just grabbed VMware Fusion 2 Beta 1 off the VMware site and installed it. Immediately you can tell the menu is different, even the dock icon looks brighter (I think).

What’s the changelog? In summary from the VMware site:

VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1 brings support for multiple displays, tools for even easier switching to VMware Fusion, experimental support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 3D acceleration

Although the long-awaited DirectX 9.0 support is finally out (gamers rejoice!), my favourite feature is the multi-display support. I’m glad it supports up to 10 screens although my MBP only gets the luxury of one other. Here’s how its done:

This feature works both in Full Screen and Unity mode where Windows XP and Mac OS are “blended” together.

The other thing that immediately caught my attention was the little icons at the bottom of the VM’s window. These icons now give you immediate access to iSight, IR, Bluetooth, and shared folders. Fusion 1.1 only gave you access to USB, optical drive, and network. This is so much easier to use and configure.

So far my installation hasn’t crashed, upgrade was seamless, and I’m quite happy with Beta 1. I’m still waitinf and see if I can find some bugs.

If you’re thinking of trying it out even if you don’t have Fusion 1.1, there’s a Serial Key just for the Beta on the download page. But if you’re upgrading from a purchased license, then you don’t need it.

Oh and if you want to switch over from Parallels or Virtual PC there’s importation support. I think I just learned a new word.

(Disclaimer: Although VMware is my client, this review is purely my opinion and my mucking around.)