VMware Announces VMware Fusion® 5

VMware News Releases

VMware Announces VMware Fusion® 5

Optimized for the latest technologies found in OS X® Mountain Lion, Windows 8 and the latest Macs®, VMware Fusion 5 returns with more than 70 new features for a Windows on Mac experience never seen before

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 23, 2012 —VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced VMware Fusion® 5 with 70 new features that deliver an unparalleled Windows on Mac experience. In addition, VMware is introducing VMware Fusion 5 Professional with new capabilities designed to dramatically improve the way businesses deliver applications to users on Macs and PCs.

“While the number of users adopting Macs continue to rise, the business environment is still dominated by Windows,” said Jason Joel, director, personal products, VMware. “VMware Fusion 5 and Fusion 5 Professional build upon our award-winning platform, adding new capabilities that are in demand among both individual and professional users. Leveraging our experience with consumer and enterprise end-users, we believe this new version of the product is the best solution on the market for users who want to run Windows on Mac simultaneously.”

VMware Fusion 5
The VMware Fusion 5 product family offers the easiest, fastest and most reliable way to run Windows on a Mac for individual or business use. VMware Fusion 5 has been revamped to take advantage of new technologies only available in Mountain Lion, Windows 8 and the latest Macs to deliver a Windows on Mac experience never seen before. New features include:

• Designed for Mountain Lion – Run Windows on Mountain Lion and search Windows programs in Launchpad, use “AirPlay Mirroring” to stream Mac and Windows applications on an HDTV and get VMware Fusion notifications in Mountain Lion’s notification center.
• Windows 8 Optimization –VMware Fusion 5 supports Windows 8 standard, pro and enterprise editions so consumers can optimize the new Windows 8 “Metro” environment directly on a Mac.
• Enhanced Mac Support – Support for the latest Mac technologies include compatibility with Mountain Lion, retina display optimization, USB 3 connectivity, and improved support for large memory Macs.
• Next Generation Performance –Performance enhancements include up to 40% faster general performance speeds compared to the previous version of the product, improved power management for longer battery life and faster 3D graphics.
• Additional Functionalities – New, powerful ways to experience Windows on a Mac are available through an updated virtual machine library that enables seamless transitions between multiple operating systems, one click snapshots with improved graphical appearance, a brand new graphics driver for Linux 3D desktops, and a new embedded learning center for immediate support.

VMware Fusion 5 Professional
VMware Fusion 5 Professional includes all the features of Fusion 5 plus new capabilities that will improve the way professionals deliver business applications to Mac users. Key benefits include:

• Open the Doors to Macs –Whether business applications run on Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 or one of more than 200 other operating systems, VMware Fusion 5 is designed to ensure maximum compatibility with the applications users need.
• Create Restricted Virtual Machines –Create an encrypted corporate image that meets the needs of employees and enables productivity from their first power-on. To avoid tampering of the corporate image, restrictions can prevent users from changing virtual machine settings or attaching USB devices to Windows.
• Easy Deployment Across Multiple Platforms – VMware Fusion 5 Professional includes a commercial license of VMware Player™ 5 to deploy and run restricted virtual machines on Macs, Windows and Linux systems. So regardless of the underlying platform, VMware Fusion 5 Professional gives users the business applications they need.
• Reduce Support Costs – Reduce support costs by directing end-users to customized Web resources directly from VMware Fusion 5 Professional’s Help menu.
• Easy Management – VMware Fusion 5 Professional is a full perpetual license which activates both VMware Fusion 5 Professional and VMware Player 5.

Availability and Pricing
VMware Fusion® 5 and VMware Fusion 5 Professional are available immediately for download and purchase from vmware.com for $49.99 and $99.99 respectively. Customers who have purchased VMware Fusion 4 on or after July 25, 2012 are eligible for an electronic upgrade to VMware Fusion 5 at no additional cost. Learn more about the VMware Fusion electronic upgrade program here. Volume pricing for corporate users is available from select resellers and the VMware Store.

VMware Fusion 3 and 4 customers as well as Parallels Desktop customers can upgrade to VMware Fusion 5 Professional for only $49.99 here.

VMware Fusion is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese.

Additional Resources

• Learn more about VMware Fusion® on the VMware Fusion Blog
• Read more about the new features of VMware Fusion® 5
• View and download screen shots of VMware Fusion® 5
• Follow the VMware Fusion team on Twitter and Facebook

About VMware
VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2011 revenues of $3.77 billion, VMware has more than 300,000 customers and 25,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

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BlackBerry PlayBook Features Found Wanting by Analysts

Excerpt from January 17 New York Times article with the above title:


BlackBerry PlayBook Features Found Wanting by Analysts 

By IAN AUSTEN and BRIAN X. CHEN

OTTAWA — Nearly 10 months after its debut, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will finally get e-mail and other important missing features in February. But after examining a preview of the software upgrade last week, several analysts said the device’s maker, Research in Motion, continues to struggle with significant technical issues, which could hinder its effort to reverse its declining fortunes.

And they said the upgrade was unlikely to significantly improve sales of the tablet computer to businesses, a target market. RIM’s continued inability to make the PlayBook work directly with its global network means that corporations looking for high-security BlackBerry e-mail on their tablets will first need costly software upgrades to their computer systems. For consumers, it means that the popular BlackBerry Messenger instant-messaging system is still missing from the tablet.

Neither development, some analysts say, is a positive sign for the BlackBerry 10 operating system, a variation of the PlayBook’s software for the coming phones that RIM hopes will restore the BlackBerry’s popularity in North America.

“There are obviously some technical problems integrating this that they weren’t able to solve,” said Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. “They’re being very disorganized and uncommunicative about it.”

Mr. Abramsky and other analysts who attended demonstrations of the software upgrade at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week complained that RIM’s reluctance to provide specifics about the new software, known as PlayBook O.S. 2, led to widespread confusion about its capabilities, particularly for business users.

Given that RIM effectively created the wireless e-mail market with the BlackBerry, there was considerable surprise when the PlayBook appeared last April without e-mail software or software for synching entries from users’ electronic calendars and address books.

RIM has never publicly explained the reason for that omission. But many industry and financial analysts have said the features were absent because the company could not make the device work with its unique global data network. That network connects directly to cellphone companies’ networks. It is a major reason business and government BlackBerry phones have such high e-mail security that it has been a source of contention in nations where law enforcement and security services would like to monitor BlackBerry users’ messages.

For consumers, the RIM network bypasses carriers’ normal text-messaging systems, making BlackBerry Messenger messages less expensive and faster.

But RIM’s network was designed so that only one hand-held device can be used with any particular user’s account, creating problems for people with both a BlackBerry phone and a PlayBook.

From what RIM previewed in Las Vegas last week, it appears that most PlayBooks will rely entirely on Microsoft Exchange Active Sync, the same technology found on phones or tablets that people use on the other common mobile operating systems — Apple’s iOS, Android from Google and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

RIM has not disclosed what specific roles its network will play in that arrangement. But Tenille Kennedy, a spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Ontario, said PlayBooks with the new software “will significantly leverage RIM’s global BlackBerry infrastructure.”

Nor has the company offered a full explanation about the continued absence of BlackBerry Messenger. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last week, Alec Saunders, vice president for developer relations at RIM, offered only this explanation: “Building software takes time.”

In an e-mail, Ms. Kennedy said corporate and government users who want highly encrypted BlackBerry service must update to the latest version of RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server software. They also must use BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, which will not be sold until late February. When it was announced last year, the Fusion software was described as allowing corporations to manage iPhones and Android phones through their BlackBerry servers.

But several analysts said most corporations were not likely to upgrade to accommodate the PlayBook because in addition to cost, there is a potential for errors causing widespread disruption.

“This is not something many enterprises will do proactively unless they already have an active PlayBook deployment program,” said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Ovum who also saw the software demonstrated last week.

Bill Kreher, an analyst with Edward Jones, said the announcement last week was more of a signal that RIM had been struggling to make the new phones work.

“We fear the company is having big difficulty porting native e-mail to the BlackBerry 10 O.S.,” Mr. Kreher said. “RIM has had a poor track record in recent history in delivering their products.”

But Jeff Orr of ABI Research described the new software as “phase one” and said he expected improved e-mail systems to be released eventually. He acknowledged, however, that the development of the new phones did not seem smooth from the outside.

“Until that vision plays out, it’s going to appear fragmented and chaotic,” he said.

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