VMware Fusion 3
VMware 3 lets you run the most demanding Mac and Windows applications side-by-side at maximum speeds without rebooting. With over 50 new features and a new ultra-fast Migration Assistant for Windows, it's never been easier to run Windows on your Mac.
- Optimized for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard
- Ultimate Windows experience on the Mac
- 64-bit native and advanced 3D graphics
- Windows 7 support including Windows Aero and Flip 3D animations
Overview
Using a Mac doesn't mean abandoning your Windows applications and devices. Ditch your PC and safely run your favorite Windows programs alongside Mac applications, while continuing to use your Windows-only devices on your Mac.
Effortless migration—no cable required
With the new ultra-fast Migration Assistant for Windows, it's a breeze to bring your entire PC to your Mac. Install a simple application on your PC, connect it to your Mac with a cable or wirelessly, and VMware Fusion will guide you through the rest.
Windows with Mac simplicity
Designed from the ground up for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard, VMware Fusion lets you run your Windows applications—side-by-side with your Mac applications—without rebooting.
Seamless integration
Instantly launch your favorite Windows applications directly from your Dock or the Apple menu bar at any time. Easily switch between apps and minimize them to your Dock.
Maximum performance
With a highly optimized 64-bit engine, advanced memory and CPU management technology, run the most demanding Mac and Windows applications side-by-side at maximum speeds.
Advanced 3D graphics
Play Full HD videos and run your favorite 3D Windows games better than ever with best-in-class OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 graphics support—without rebooting.
Ultimate Windows experience
Get the ultimate Windows experience on the Mac and make the most of Windows 7 with Windows Aero and Flip 3D animations.
Displays galore
Display Windows and Mac OS X applications any way you want: side-by-side on your main display, in full screen or across multiple displays connected to your Mac.
We've got you covered
Automatic snapshots allow you to roll Windows back to a safe state if something goes wrong. For added protection, you get 18 months of free email support (English only) and a 12-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus.
Features
- Optimized for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard
- Highly optimized 64-bit engine, advanced memory and CPU management for maximum performance
- Advanced 3D graphics with support for OpenGL2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3
- Support for Windows Aero and Flip 3D animations to get the ultimate Windows experience on the Mac
- New ultra-fast Migration Assistant for Windows to transfer your entire PC to your Mac wirelessly or using a cable
- More than 50 new features
Did you notice?
The best way to run Windows on your Mac, VMware Fusion is designed from the ground up for the Mac and preloaded with powerful new features to help you run Windows applications even more like Mac applications.
Apple Recommends for...
Home users, students and business professionals who are looking for the fastest, easiest and most reliable way to run Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on their Mac without rebooting.
Technical specifications
- Windows Aero support
- DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3.0 support
- OpenGL 2.1 3D support
- Over 140 guest OSes supported: Windows XP, Vista and 7, Red Hat Linux 9.0, Ubuntu 9.04 and more
- 64-bit native
- Multilingual software (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese)
System requirements
- Intel processor
- Mac OS X v10.5.8 or v10.6 or later
- 1GB of RAM (2GB RAM recommended)
- 700MB of free hard-disk space for VMware Fusion and at least 5GB for each virtual machine
- Operating system installation media (disk or disk image) for virtual machines
Note: Microsoft Windows is not included.
What's in the box?
- VMware Fusion 3.0 Software CD
- Link to multiple video tutorials
- Quick start guide
- VMware stickers
- 18-months of free email-support (English only)
- 12-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus
Most Useful Reviews
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VMware Fusion 3
Fantastic Update. Runs Windows 7 Beautifully
Written by EB from Edison
Oct 29, 2009
I have been running VMware Fusion since the beta of 1.0. This is a great update to an already great product.
Windows 7 runs with Aero in 3.0 as fast as Windows XP did in Fusion 2.
Love how it is 64-bit in Snow Leopard.
I also love the new feature of the always-on Application Menu. Even if VMware isn't open, I can open a menu, similar to the Start Menu on the virtual machine, view and search for apps (even on XP, which doesn't have search built into the Start menu) and also change settings like Shared Folders right from the menu.
New customers will enjoy a lot of the features that were in Fusion 2.0 such as the ability to Share Folders between your Mac and the Virtual Machine, double-click on a WIndows executable or other Windows-only files in the Finder to open it in your Virtual Machine, drag and drop Windows files from your Mac desktop to your Virtual Machine. You also get to view Windows in Full Screen, a Window, or in Unity, which makes your Windows apps appear side-by-side with your Mac apps, and new in 3.0, in Unity you can view active System Tray icons in your Mac menu bar.
I recommend this for anyone who wants to run Windows only apps side-by-side with their Mac apps. …More70 of 74 people found this useful
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VMware Fusion 3
Clean program that works.....
Written by JT from Greenville
Oct 28, 2009
I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well VMware Fusion 3 runs on my iMac with 4 Gigs of memory. I just accepted the default configuration that Fusion recommended. I am running 32 bit Windows 7 Ultimate on a bootcamp installation and it has given me no trouble so far. All programs have loaded smoothly and without delay. It is amazing to be able to run both Windows and OSX programs at the same time and have them all functioning properly. The Windows programs that are most important to me have been Outlook 2007 and Quicken 2010 and they both load fast and have not given me any problems. In the previous version of Fusion I had some networking issues, but these seem to have been resolved. I just accepted the default of NAT and not only does the internet work correctly but the VPN connection that is open in OSX works perfectly with Outlook. This is a great upgrade for me since I like to be in OSX but have to use certain Windows programs. …More
65 of 69 people found this useful
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VMware Fusion 3
Incredible Product!
Written by BJ from White Plains
Nov 5, 2009
I am so impressed that this is the first review I have ever written. I installed it on a 2008 vintage iMac with 4G RAM running Snow Leopard OS. No problem with the install. It runs windows like it is just another app. I am running Windows7 and have installed specialized investment analysis software that is not made for Mac. It runs everything with no issues. I have not noticed any speed issues. No issues with Windows 7 recognizing my network, networked wireless printer etc. Using Expose, I have been toggling back and forth between operating systems all day. I have even unzipped Excel files that were sent to me in a Windows7 specific format, exported them from Windows7 to the MacOS desktop and opened them using Excel for Mac. I was about to purchase a PC for business needs but now no need to ever buy a PC again! …More
51 of 52 people found this useful
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Most Recent Reviews
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VMware Fusion 3
Not a lot of reasons to upgrade
Written by SF from college Station
Dec 1, 2009
Just my two cents, but I think VMF3 has slowed down both my macs a bit. They leave an applet open in the task bar that you can adjust to only be active when VMF is running. That seemed to "fix" the speed issue when VMF3 was not running. I guess if you want to run Windows 7, this upgrade is important.
Overall, I haven't seen much of a reason to plunk down the 30 bucks for the upgrade. …More1 of 2 people found this useful
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VMware Fusion 3
Amazing
Written by DF from Sterling
Nov 30, 2009
I got Fusion so that I could upgrade my XP to Win 7 which i got for a great price. Having XP SP 1 i could not run it in bootcamp. with only slight frustration i was able to load SP 2 and run Win 7 on my mac. its amazing. it starts up faster than the PC my dad uses and shuts down faster as well. the only warning i have is that this software was made for a desktop Mac with a fast processor. if i want to play a game i have to change the settings so that the VM can use both Cores of my processor (which slows down the mac a little) and i need to enable my graphics card which drains battery pretty fast. but if I'm playing a game thats all I'm usually doing so thats not a huge problem or me. id say grab a trial of this and parallels and see which you like best. …More
1 of 1 people found this useful
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VMware Fusion 3
Wait
Written by RD from Kensington
Nov 21, 2009
I love VMware Fusion 1 and was over joyed at the free upgrade to Fusion 2. I have been using it for years now and can safely say that it was a great way to run Windows on your Mac. Version 3 though is lacking. I upgraded for 2 reasons: improved Unity and Aero. They neglected to mention that A. these two features do not work well together, and B. that most of Unity's performance enhancements were actually for 2D drawings. Performance in Unity especially is a joke, something which wasn't a problem in Fusion 2. As far as I can tell the software they released was not fully tested. I would suggest waiting for Fusion 3.0.1 or 3.1 before buying. The reason for the extra low rating is the pitiful customer service. …More
24 of 26 people found this useful
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