E-Commerce News: Virtualization

VMware Fuses Performance With Convenience
November 16, 2009

There's more than 50 new features in the latest version of VMware Fusion -- an application that allows Windows and OS X to run together in a virtual environment on a Mac -- but the one that has users raving is the big boost in performance. "I installed VMWare Fusion 3.0 just a few days ago," Leon Kotovich, president and CEO of AgileSequent told MacNewsWorld.

Windows 7 Takes Back Mac Switchers and Other Reasons for Hope
November 02, 2009

Last month was fascinating for me. Not only was Windows 7 launched, but it appeared last week that because so many Mac users were installing Windows 7, some huge enterprise servers crashed. In addition, I got a chance to see Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz in action, and was both impressed with her and a little disappointed in the event.

Parallels 4.0 Bridges OS Universes
November 14, 2008

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac became available recently. If you live mostly in one computing environment but need access to life on another operating system, say hello to a product that could well become your new BFF. This latest release marks the fourth generation of Parallels' hypervisor-based desktop virtualization program.

Desperately Seeking Enterprise Software for Macs
September 11, 2008

With shipments of Apple computers on the rise -- to the tune of 38 percent year-on-year, according to Gartner -- software vendors appear ready to accommodate the shift in the marketplace. It may be hip to go Apple, but companies need software that's compatible with Mac computer systems, and the software industry is finally responding to the call.

New Version of Xen Hypervisor Hits the Streets
August 27, 2008

Xen.org, the developer of the open source Xen project, on Wednesday announced the release of the Xen 3.3 hypervisor engine. The product is the result of a distributed development effort by senior engineers from more than 50 leading hardware, software and security vendors.

After 15 Years Developing Wine, It's Time
June 18, 2008

After 15 years of development and beta testing, the first stable version of Wine is now available, its developers announced Tuesday. Wine is an open source implementation of the Windows application programming interface on top of X, OpenGL and Unix that allows Windows applications to run on other operating systems, including Linux and Mac OS, without the need to run Windows as well.

The Virtualization Challenge, Part 1: Many From One
February 20, 2008

What is virtualization anyway? The short answer is, virtualization is separating the physical layer from the logical layer -- the operating systems and applications. You can virtualize pretty much any aspect of IT. "There is no universal definition of virtualization as it means many things to many people and can apply to the entire infrastructure," said Lionel Lamy, research director at IDC.

The Mac Gaming Renaissance, Part 2
February 10, 2008

Game developers are slowly warming to the idea of producing more games for the Mac platform. Presently, it's possible to find a handful of famous titles from top-tier game makers. However, if you're looking for intense, graphics-heavy games -- the type of games best played on top-of-the-line machines -- you're mostly out of luck.

Microsoft Backpedals, Embraces Vista Virtualization
January 22, 2008

One year after Microsoft's Vista operating system came to market, the company announced a change to its end-user licensing agreement, now allowing users to run the Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions in a virtual environment. The move is good news for consumers, who can run the OS on any machine, but it's even better news for IT administrators.

Live From Macworld: Hot Products Still Turn Heads as Crowd Thins
January 17, 2008

If you want to judge the intensity of a given conference or trade show -- in this case, Macworld -- there are several barometers you can look at. Are the main vendors' booths madhouses? Are there still lines in front of the free video games? Do you have to fight for a seat in the press lounge? Are national news crews still clogging up floor space for their video cameras and lights?

SWsoft Reboots to Parallels
December 12, 2007

As calendars flip forward for the start of 2008, SWsoft, maker of Parallels software that allows Windows to run on Intel-based Macs, will take on a new moniker, the company announced Wednesday. In January, SWsoft will be known simply as "Parallels." Along with its new name, the company will unveil a new logo and refresh its line of products.

IBM Serves Up Blade Management Tools
November 20, 2007

IBM announced a new addition to its BladeCenter portfolio Monday designed to make its blade servers more open and easy to use. IBM's BladeCenter Open Fabric Manager provides I/O virtualization that can help reduce the cost and complexity to enterprise users through its open architecture, the company said.

Apple Issues Gargantuan Software Update
November 15, 2007

Apple released an update to top all updates Wednesday. Included in the massive bundle -- aimed primarily at users of Apple's Tiger operating system -- is the just-out-of-beta Safari 3 as well as about 44 fixes for a spate of security flaws. The software maker's latest batch of updates and security fixes in its combo update weigh in at a whopping 321.5 MB.

Big Blue Breaks Out Gear to Seed Cloud Computing
November 15, 2007

Touting its long history of supercomputing and grid computing expertise and citing the "extreme scale" potential of highly distributed processing, IBM is unveiling a series of cloud computing offerings based on open standards and open source software. The initiative will help enterprises distribute computing across a "globally accessible fabric of resources."

VMware Takes Fusion Up a Notch for Leopard
November 13, 2007

VMware has released an update of its Fusion desktop virtualization software for Intel-based Macs, the company announced Monday. Fusion 1.1 includes support for Leopard, the latest version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system, as well as more than 25 enhancements and improvements. "We have been extremely pleased with the success of VMware Fusion," said VMware's Dan Chu.

Windows on Mac: Worth the Effort?
August 29, 2007

With Apple's move to Intel-based processors, the speed and ease of running Windows operating systems on your Mac has never been easier and more effective. In fact, there are several options available for running Windows software on Macs that fall into the basic, you-can't-go-wrong space: Apple's Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop for Mac and VMware's Fusion.