The presentation, as reported by Fudzilla, was about AMD’s upcoming Fusion platform. Fusion is AMD’s new Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), which combines both CPU and GPU capabilities on a single-die processor. The platform is expected to debut in early 2011, and should make it easier for software developers to leverage the computing power of both types of processor.

During Ghilardi’s presentation, he showed one slide featuring Apple’s iMac and Mac Pro computers, with official Apple branding and even a “Courtesy of Apple” attribution at the bottom, during a segment about hardware partner. The AMD executive didn’t comment, saying only “I’ll flash through them very quickly.”

AMD announced yesterday that some Fusion shipments have already started making their way into manufacturer’s hands, so it’s entirely possible that Apple is already playing with the the APUs in pre-production test units. Which could mean we’ll see AMD-equipped Macs as soon as first or second quarter next year.

The introduction of the Fusion platform would mean that Apple will be parting ways with Intel for the first time since it originally partnered with the chipmaker in January of 2006 for a Core Duo-powered iMac. Since then, Apple Intel has provided the processor for the entire Mac line of computers, including the most recently announced MacBook Air.

Fusion is said to provide advantages in terms of visuals, power and design simplicity, and ease of software development. All of these are things that would appeal to Apple, a company focused on providing visually stunning displays and ever simpler system internals. And if Fusion really does make it easier for developers to leverage processing power, it should be a perfect fit with the upcoming Mac App Store.

UPDATE: A spokesman for AMD said that the slide in question was included simply to indicate that Apple is a current AMD hardware partner, not to indicate that it will or won’t be a Fusion platform user in the future. The representative couldn’t comment about Apple’s possible adoption of Fusion processors in upcoming models.

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The recent Conficker virus scare had me warning relatives to protect their PCs, while also simultaneously gloating about how lucky I am to not be affected, since I’m a Mac user. You could say it bordered on the obnoxious, and you’d be right.

But it looks like I may have to eat some humble pie now that a bug has been found in VMware Fusion that could potentially allow malicious code to be run on your Mac using a virtualized Windows machine as a conduit. Obviously, Windows is still the weak link here, but it doesn’t make your Apple machine any less vulnerable.

Luckily, the flaw was discovered by Immunity Inc. exploit researcher Kostya Kortchinsky, and not by some malicious hacker eager to steal your credit card information. The vulnerability allows the virtual machine display function to read and write code in the host operating system, including OS X. Kortchinsky demoed the flaw using a Vista machine running a guest OS of Windows XP, but said the flaw is just as easy to exploit in OS X running Fusion, though they hadn’t yet actually run live tests of such a scenario.

Not one to be caught slouching, VMware has already responded with an update to Fusion, version 2.0.4, to fix the bug and block the exploit. It’s a free update for all Fusion 2 owners.

Even if Windows is actually the conduit for the malicious code in this case, this is a good reminder that Macs are not invulnerable to attack, despite what we may sometimes think. There’s a variety of security software out there to consider, but as always, smart and safe usage is your best bet for avoiding most ills.

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A couple of days ago I installed Windows 7 beta (32-bit, Ultimate version) on my 13″ unibody MacBook, and I thought I’d recount my installation experience in case some of you are curious how the other half (OK, the other 95 percent) live.

Alas, this exercise afforded little opportunity to dazzle anyone with my technical acumen. I have no stories of incompatible hardware (even my five-year old HP printer is fine), no BSODs, no failed installations. Heck, I can’t even brag about hitting up Microsoft’s knowledge base and then going to the four corners of the Internet to download various drivers to make it all work. 

Make no mistake, I was still in the Windows world, and got a reminder of that pretty quickly, which I’ll explain shortly, but the bottom line is this was about as uneventful an installation of Windows as you could ask for. 
 Here’s how I installed: 

• Hit the MS web site and download the beta. It comes in the form of an ISO image file. As an aside, MS warns you that it may take “many hours” to download the file — it’s 2.44 GB. Ha! They laughed at me when I ponied up extra dollars each month for Cox Cable’s special premium high-speed connection. The fools! Who’s laughing now? Thirty-seven minutes for the download.
• In VMware 2.01 create a new virtual machine. My existing VM is Windows XP, which Windows 7 will not upgrade, but I didn’t want this beta software on the existing machine anyway. Hey, it’s beta folks, the beauty of VM is you can have a new “PC” whenever you want it. For the new machine I chose Windows 2008 Server as the “base.” I used the ISO file as the installation media. 

• I did not choose the Easy Install option. I suspected a scripted easy installation might not work until VMware has a bona-fide Windows 7 option. Since I was using Windows 2008 Server as a surrogate, I figured I’d just handle the install prompts myself. 

• Replied to the usual prompts, and the installation took off. It was done in under 40 minutes. 
• Installed the VMware Tools. 

That’s really it. After this was done I changed the desktop to 1280 x 800 and ran it full screen. Internet, sound, trackpad, graphics, all just worked. I didn’t even have to configure my printer, it was just there as my default. Smooth.

For those who didn’t know, Microsoft has unbundled the basic mail, chat, photo, etc. software from Windows 7. Therefore the installation is pretty spartan. So the first thing you should do is download the Windows Live Essential apps to fill that gap. I’ve been running these in beta on XP for quite a while, and they were taken out of beta status just a couple weeks ago. 

It was at this point I hit my first snag. I used VMware to share my Mac’s Pictures folder, and then pointed Windows Live Photo Gallery to that share. It created a couple picture thumbnails, and then froze. I could force quit the app, but every time I opend it it would try to process the share, and freeze. 

So I removed the share, thinking the app would balk at it being missing and I could just get rid of the reference. Nope, it still tried to handle the share and would freeze. Bummer. 

OK, I uninstall the app and re-install it. Sadly, it remembered the share and still froze. 

So I dug into the Registry to see if I could find where the string for this share was stored within the photo app so I could delete it manually. It was at this point I really remembered I was in WIndows. Put simply, the registry blows. Anyway, my searches turned up negative so I needed to take another tack. 

I re-established the share and decided to try using the brief delay between the app opening and when it tries to process the share to delete it via the app’s interface. I couldn’t quite right-click the share and hit Delete fast enough on the first two tries, but on the third I got it. Now all is well. 

While the registry serves as a Windows reminder, I don’t really blame anyone for this issue. Is it the VMware share? Is it Win 7? Is it the photo app? It doesn’t matter much since right now VMware does not claim support for Win 7, and I’m sure it’s not yet a tested config for Microsoft either. For what it’s worth, I’m using another VM share for a folder between the Mac and the VM machine in Windows Explorer with no problems, so it may be the photo app. 

The only other glitch I had was that after a few hours that first evening, I lost sound. I tried rebooting and a couple other things, but it was getting late and I resolved to tackle it the next day. However, the next day (yesterday) it was working again, and has been since. 

So what’s it been like in use? My short time so far with Win 7 has been positive. I do not have the Aero “see-through” windows or previews (the VM graphics do not support them), but even lacking those the interface is decent. Hovering over an app in the dock taskbar pops up the names of the windows (or tabs in IE), and overall response seems to be close to my XP SP3 VM. 

As I get more familiar with Win 7 in comparison with Mac OS X and Win XP I’ll likely post more bits and pieces of my experiences. For now, however, I’m off to a good start.

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Much has been written about VMware in recent months, with the release of Fusion 2.0. The software provides operating system virtualization, allowing you to run your favorite Windows applications and devices on any Intel-based Mac.

Today, until 11:59 PM Pacific Time, the VMware e-store is running a deal for 50% off of VMware Fusion. We recently covered a 25% discount promotion, which pales in comparison to the huge offer today.

To take advantage of the promotion, you need to enter the coupon code “CyberMondayDeal” (without the quotes!), at checkout. The 50% discount is available worldwide, but is a one day only offer — you’ll need to act quickly to take advantage of the deal.

The main two competitors to VMware Fusion are Parallels and Virtual PC, both offering similar functionality. An aggressive push is being made from VMware at present, and for Mac users in the U.S. and Canada, it is interesting to note that this 50% discount can be used in conjunction with a concurrent offer of a $30 rebate for those switching from Parallels or Virtual PC. If you own either of these packages, you’re able to pick up VMware Fusion for a mere $10 (unfortunately, this offer isn’t available for international users).

If you are in the market for a virtualization package, now would be an excellent time to make a purchase. If you’re undecided upon which company to go with, our comparison of VMware Fusion 2 and Parallels Desktop 4 will provide an interesting read.

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Get 25% off automatically when you purchase VMware Fusion online, using the coupon code “FusionRocks” for a limited time only.

VMware Fusion has been my recommendation for some time because of the wide support for guest OS’s including OS X Server, but the new Parallels Desktop 4.0 release does a lot to close the gap. I imagine the coupon is motivated in part by the increased competition from Parallels 4.0 this month.

Our own Darrell Etherington wrote up a comparison of VMware Fusion 2.0 and Parallels 4.0 where he slightly preferred Fusion. Now it is even a better deal at 25% off.

The coupon expires at midnight (Pacific time) at Sunday, November 30.

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When it comes to OS virtualization on a Mac, there are two major contenders for the title of virtualizer to end all virtualizers.

Likely Parallels and VMware Fusion need no introduction for TAB readers, but you might not be aware of what the latest incarnations that both programs bring to the table. VMware Fusion 2, released in September, and Parallels Desktop 4.0, just released today, have a few new tricks up their sleeves.

Setup

Setting up both machines on my aluminum iMac was incredibly easy. I used Windows XP Media Center Edition from a physical disc for both, although the programs also offer the choice of using an image instead. For both installations I used the default settings. In Parallels 4.0, this consists of a 32 GB hard drive with 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of video RAM. VMware’s quickstart configurations sets you up with 40 GB of disk space, 512MB of RAM, and although it doesn’t have a video memory slider like Parallels, 3D acceleration is enabled.

Install times were almost exactly the same for Parallels and VMWare, at 24 and 25 minutes respectively. One nice option that Fusion provides, which isn’t available in the Parallels setup, is the ability to import settings from your Boot Camp installation of Windows.

OS X Integration

Yes, it is wrong to run Windows on your beautiful Leopard desktop. Which is why you may be inclined to hide it. You’re in luck, because both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion offer the option to run guest OS applications in windowed mode, making it seem like they’re being run in the host system.

VMware’s Unity mode allows Windows applications to behave just like native OS X apps, in windows that can be minimized to and launched from the dock, even without booting the guest OS beforehand.

Parallels’ Coherence mode is similar, though it displays the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen, just above the dock.

Both integration modes are functional, and even maintain beveled application windows and shadow effects, but VMware wins out here, for two reasons. First, the taskbar seems out of place and clumsy above the dock with Parallels. Second, dragging and resizing application windows in VMware’s Unity mode is absolutely smooth, while there is some lag in Parallels’ Coherence mode.

Features and User Interface

Both UIs are clean, simple and great improvements over previous incarnations. The layout of the applications in Windowed mode are incredibly similar, as well. Major functions like Suspend, and Settings are in the upper left hand corner, and view mode toggle buttons are in the upper right. The bottom right area in both has a number of icons, which control drives, display drive access indicators, and control sound, sharing, printing, etc.

VMware shows all the devices connected to your Mac via USB, and allows you to click the icons to switch them into Windows. Parallels gains points here by allowing any storage media (USB, external HDs) to be connected to both Windows and Mac operating systems simultaneously. During initial setup, Parallels also prompted me to select which OS I wanted to mount my girlfriend’s Palm Treo in, which is a nice feature, especially for users new to virtualization.

Both programs offer the ability to take Snapshots, which is great if you’re a developer, reviewer, or IT professional, though VMware has a slight advantage here by having a button right in the application window. I also like Fusion’s ability to display the OS X menu bar when you move your cursor to the top of the screen in full mode. Parallels depends on key combinations to return to windowed mode, which offers more immersion, but feels clunky at times. In terms of pure design, I prefer Parallels, since it looks and feels more like a polished Mac application.

Performance

When it comes to general performance, both pieces of software ran Windows at a very usable pace. Applications opened quickly and were instantly responsive, and even running both Fusion and Parallels at once and doing things in OS X didn’t result in any significant slowdown. I should note here that my iMac has a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of RAM installed, so user experience may vary with different setups.

Both programs are boasting improved video performance, so I downloaded QuickTime to test HD playback. Conveniently, the Transporter 3 trailer was a recent addition to Apple’s hi-def content, so I used that in my test.

First, in 720p, video playback was smooth in Fusion, only showing some not very noticeable horizontal lines during fast action sequences. In Fusion, audio was slightly behind video on my first attempt, although video playback itself was mostly smooth, with no horizontal lines. Rewinding to the beginning and starting play again resolved the audio/visual syncing issue, and numerous attempts to recreate the problem failed, so it may have been an isolated event. Also, I was only using 128MB of video RAM, so assigning more may have made a difference. Oddly, Fusion would play only audio, no video, in fullscreen mode in Quicktime, while Parallels had no trouble switching from full to windowed playback.

At 1080p, playback was noticeably more laggy in Fusion, although there were never any syncing issues. Not, overall, very watchable though, and the Quicktime fullscreen bug persisted. Parallels was even more choppy at 1080p than VMWare. In both cases, I would definitely recommend sticking to 720p for HD playback.

Verdict

In the end, both applications are polished, effective ways of bringing Windows into OS X. There are no deal-breaking flaws in either software, and the choice of which to use will likely come down to what you intend to do with your virtual machine. For me, despite the problems mentioned above and features you gain, like simultaneous device mounting, VMWare Fusion wins out, due largely to its much better OS X integration. If I’m using virtualization software, there’s a good chance I want to be able to use Leopard as well, or else I’d just run Boot Camp. Fusion offers the least obtrusive way to bring Windows into your Mac sanctuary, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

Both Fusion and Parallels will set you back $79.99.

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As most OS X users know by now, VMware’s Fusion product makes it very easy to work with Windows programs without appearing to leave OS X via its snazzy Unity feature. Unity mode essentially masks out the Windows desktop and just presents Windows “windows” directly to the user as if they were OS X windows. The trouble is, those windows do not look like they belong on your spiffy OS X desktop at all. Take for existence this Internet Explorer window:

While it is nigh-impossible to make Windows programs as functional as ones built for OS X, you should not, at the very least, have to put up with ugly windows on your Desktop. To beautify your Unity windows, head on over to StarDock’s web site and grab a copy of WindowBlinds. This initially free program lets you skin your Windows experience to suit your style. You will need to download WindowsBlinds in your virtual machine or copy it to your virtual machine post-download. Once the installer is in your virtual machine, double-click on the executable and let it do its work. When asked to choose a style, select “Leo” (I can’t imagine why it’s called that).

When WindowBlinds asks if you want “per-pixel” rendering, you should definitely say “no” as it will have a detrimental impact on your visual experience in Unity since it will force-render portions of the surrounding Windows desktop in an attempt to provide a good visual experience under Windows-proper. Once you apply the “Leo” style, the aforementioned Internet Explorer window will look much prettier.

One other feature that may be of interest to Mac users who need to work in full screen Windows virtual machines is the ability to let WindowBlinds rotate through desktop backgrounds just like the built-in functionality of OS X. I know many folks who use this feature on the Mac desktops who are quick to point out this Windows deficiency that is now solved by this handy utility.

I put “free” in quotes for a reason. WindowBlinds comes in four flavors, from “Free” (it should really be called “Shareware”) to “Extreme”. The “free” version will expire after 30 days and will not let you skin non-theme aware programs, nor will it allow you to modify other theme-aspects of Windows such as toolbar icons and progress animations. It may not be worth $19.95 — the cheapest entry-point for WindowBlinds — to just skin some windows and other theme-aspects of Windows, but if you have to stare at Microsoft apps in Unity as part of your daily workflow, twenty-bucks may be a small investment in your visual sanity.

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Yesterday, VMWare released Fusion 2.0 as a major update to their virtualization software. It’s a free, downloadable upgrade for any VMWare Fusion 1.x customer, and it packs some great new stuff.

The update adds over 100 new features:

• The UI is dramatically improved, with lots of nice little touches like a welcome screen and coverflow support for the Finder.
• Automated snapshots, letting you set up custom recurring snapshots and how many to keep in the archive.
• Twelve-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus security software for Windows XP and Vista
• DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 2 3D graphics, and 1080p HD video playback
• And the big one: Mac OS X Leopard Server support. Hurrah!
• Better Unity Support with Unity 2.0, Application Sharing, Link Handling, Mirrored Folders and Driverless Printing

There are more features of course, but those are the highlights.

VMWare Fusion is such an important application for the Mac. Just a week or two ago, a buddy of mine and I were chatting with a Windows user friend of ours (yes, we can have Windows-using friends!) the other day, and he was asking about running Windows on an intel Mac. We asked him if he had ever seen it done. He said no, so we fired up Fusion. It worked so well that he could hardly believe it. The experience is so seamless, especially with Unity mode. Applications like Parallels and Fusion are one of the biggest selling points of the Mac for converts. These new additions make the experience that much better.

VMWare Fusion retails for $79.99, but version 2.0 is a free update for any 1.x user. The price is worth it, but if you’re still not convinced, pick up the 30 day trial.

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Video Gone Wild!

When I read that Fusion 2 would have full support for multiple monitors in both Unity and Full Screen modes I was skeptical at best. After installing Fusion 2 beta, I’m wondering how I lived without the functionality. In Unity mode (where Windows applications appear to be running side-by-side with Mac applications), you can drag PC application windows across all active Mac screens. It just works. This makes it much easier to bring windows where you need to for quicker operations.

Similarly, you have the option for Fusion 2 beta to use all active screens in Full Screen mode. The PC VMware virtual adapters automatically adjust to the appropriate resolution and configure Windows to extend your desktop across all screens. I only have one additional monitor, but it worked as described, including seamless integration with Spaces. I was able to Control-cursor across different Spaces with no ill effects. It’s hard to describe what it’s like having all that screen real estate back without rebooting.

I do not do much in Windows that requires intensive graphics, but I managed to use the enhanced DirectX 9.0 3D acceleration to play EVE Online (without premium graphics), which is something that I was not able to do before, but I also did not engage in any heavy battles or head into highly populated areas. I’ll try that with a trial account and report back if the functionality does not meet expectations.

Killing Trees, One VM At A Time

Prior to this round of testing, I never printed to anything but PDF from my Boot Camp partition. I actually try to not print much at all, but it is a necessity at times and VMware has made it that much easier to kill trees with their auto-printer setup in Fusion 2 beta. Once you enable this feature, VMware Tools (a program that is installed on your guests) ensures that your printers are kept in sync between host and guest and works as advertised – I printed to both my network laser printer and USB-attached inkjet without having to pass control of the inkjet to the VM. Disabling this feature was also very straightforward (no need to eat memory and CPU if you won’t be using the feature).

One Virtualization Tool To Rule Them All

Both VMware and Parallels do a fairly good job providing tools to convert machines from one product to another. VMware Fursion 2 made it very easy – though it took a while – to convert my Boot Camp partition to a virtual machine (which I’m treating like a backup and have squirreled it away on my NAS box). It also successfully converted an older Parallels XP VM (I exclusively use VMware).

VMware also feels more like a real Mac and real virtualization application now, with an updated Library window:

and a much improved Settings windows (which takes some cues from System Preferences):

Beta At Your Own Risk

Fusion 2 is available at VMware’s beta site and you can believe what you see in the YouTube videos. The features work as advertised. However, this is beta software and – unless you’re crazy like me – you really don’t want to risk it all just to play with some features that will be in production pretty quickly. Apart from some mouse quirks in multiple-monitor full screen mode, VMware Fusion 2 beta performed extremely well for me, even the VMware Tools Update (which has always been something of an annoyance in the past). I should also mention that, while the major new functionality is Windows-centric, Fusion 2 beta still runs non-Windows virtual machines quite well.

One glaring omission is that there is no support to virtualize Leopard Server in this release. Even after reading Apple’s legalese, I’m not certain they restrict this in a product like Fusion (to compare, only Parallels Server has the ability to do Leopard Server virtualization). Make sure to note this deficiency to VMware (if you’re trying Fusion 2 beta) as you submit feedback, file bug reports and kick around the forums.

If you do try or are using VMware Fusion 2 beta, drop a note in the comments with your configuration(s), virtualized environment(s) and experiences.

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