VMware Fusion 4.1.1
VMware has released VMware Fusion 4.1.1, which brings a couple of new features and a brief spate of controversy to its popular virtualization package. The most interesting change is one that was introduced in version 4.1 but quickly rolled back in 4.1.1: virtualization support for both the desktop and server versions of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Apple’s End-User License Agreement allows virtualization of Snow Leopard Server, but not the desktop version; virtual copies of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion can be run legally. Initially, this was welcome news to those who need Snow Leopard because of its support for Rosetta, which was dropped by Apple with the introduction of Lion (see
“Preparing for Lion: Find Your PowerPC Applications,” 6 May 2011). However, in a tech note published shortly after version 4.1 became available, VMware notes that Fusion 4.1.1 update reinstates the version check and will not launch virtual machines using the desktop version of Snow Leopard. Additional changes in version 4.1 include “smart” support for Lion’s full-screen mode, as well as a number of bug fixes and performance improvements, particularly when it comes to graphics, animations, and startup times. ($79.99 new, on sale for $49.99, free update, 181 MB,
release notes)
Somehow I missed the 'controversy'. This was good for Apple customers like those who are getting very little support for Quicken on their Macs for the 5th year now and have to rely on Rosetta. So who was this 'bad' for?
VMWare's quote on their blog was "...this is our thanks to our customers".
Rather short lived, it seems.
It was "bad" for Apple in the sense that it enabled people to violate the EULA. As to why Apple cares at this point, I don't really know.
Adam: There's an internet meme that doing this contravenes the EULA but I've never seen anyone actually quote the language that prevents me running a *single* copy of a licensed OS on top of a *different* licensed OS on a single *Apple* machine.
Apple clearly has a need to prevent running SL under virtualization on some other hardware, but that's not the issue with Fusion. If you can point out the language that prevents me running SL on a virtual machine, I'd be very interested to see it. A EULA is what it says, not what Apple says it is.
You can read the entire EULA for Snow Leopard here:
http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macosx106.pdf
The relevant clause is #2:
2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions.
A. Single Use License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, unless you have purchased a Family Pack or Upgrade license for the Apple Software, you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-branded computer, or to enable others to do so. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time, and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time.
Obviously, that doesn't explicitly eliminate virtualization, but it doesn't really have to. All it has to do is provide Apple with a legal stick to wave at VMware, and for VMware to decide that it's not worth fighting.
I snapped up 4.1 as soon as I heard it would run Snow Leopard client, as I imagine many others did - simply because of the Quicken fiasco. I hope Fusion 4.1 will run for a long time even when Lion updates come out.
I tried Quicken Essentials - that is Intuit's amateur hour program. Why don't they outsource Quicken for Mac, sell it or drop it? What a useless company. Apple could even buy it if they were willing - a lot of people aren't upgrading to Lion because of Quicken.
From what I have heard, Apple used to pay Intuit to keep Quicken for Mac alive for its users but then got fed up about being "blackmailed" and so stopped doing it. That is supposedly when Intuit halted most development on Quicken for Mac and why it has left it languishing.
What's ironic is that Bill Campbell, who now runs Intuit once ran Claris, now Filemaker and wholly owned by Apple, gave a eulogy for Steve Jobs at the company memorial, and sits on Apples Board.