VMware Fusion 4 [Old Version]

In rating these two products, my opinions are based on Experience with Installation, configuration, migration, and conversion on a new iMAC running Lion OS (16 gig RAM) and BOTH Software packages.

Ive had great experience using Fusion at work, tied to Windows Server, running Windows XP Pro, for business related purposes. It has given me very little problems, and most of the problems are either windows related or a program on windows, like Quickbooks. Ive used parallels in the past, and it worked ok, but it took over my Mac system, installing different network settings that were almost impossible to change. I noticed after trying to configure either Parallels or Fusion to connect to a server as part of our network, Fusion connects easier, at least with my personal experience. I dont have any info in terms of using Fusion for games/3D performance. But if you are a business user who needs to be productive, connect your Mac to your Windows Server/Network, and have a rather easy setup, Id recommend Fusion.

worked fine and operates all my PC software - the anti-virus part only wanted to operate for 30 days, for whatever reason - but Im happy

I love this software, I got it to put on my 2011 MBP, and it runs flawlessly on it. I needed a Windows system to run for my job, and this provided me with that.

Still thinking about switching from your PC to a Mac? Think no more - buy Fusion and you wont have to make that decision. Fusion really does work. Ive been using DOS and then Windows since 1984 (I was only 3) and just couldnt bring myself to give up all the programs and documents I knew so well. Using Fusion, I didnt have to. Here is the great part: the Windows installation is moderately complicated and takes a loooong time to get it all in order, at least for me, but I installed Fusion - about 3 minutes - and then it asked me if I wanted to use Windows and OSX together or separately (I said together because I knew I could use it either way once installed). That was the only question - after that, it went to work and 32 minutes later it booted up and was ready to go.

I bought this for my new Mac. Im a new user to Mac and when I looked at the Specs I thought I was OK. Do NOT buy if you are on Mountain Lion. It is not suppose to work. I opened the box before I found this out and it cost me restocking. I will not deal with this company again. I plan to buy Parallel instead.

Thsi product works just as advertised (which, frankly, is saying a lot these days). I bought it for my son to use in college on his Mac laptop. He also needed to run Windows and this seemed like a good option to the basic Mac installed Boot Camp. I let him install it himself and the reports back are that its working great. Simple to install, simple to use and it runs Windows like its supposed to. No complaints so far.

This was well suited for my specific needs. I got stuck when I did a clean install on my Apple laptop that was tweaked enough that doing a fresh install was bad for my set up but a upgrade would allow me to keep running. This update from Fusion 3 allowed me to bridge that gap. Seems to run at least as well as Fusion 3 did.

This is a nice safe way of running windows programs on a Mac without committing yourself to percentages of disc space or having to start and stop the computer. It runs really well, particularly with my odd combination Windows and Microsoft and Corel programs, all from very different dates. Wouldnt swap it for anything else - and it suits an non-techie person like me.

Im using VMware on my mid-2010 Macbook Pro running a 2.4GHz Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM. I installed Windows 7 in the VWware environment. Overall, Windows is running great and practically seamless with VMware. My Macbook does run a little warmer and causes the fans to spin faster and louder, but its not that big a difference. My favorite feature is being able to associate a Windows-only application, such as Windows Media Player, to its particular file extension in Mac OS X (so if I click a WMV file in Mac, then it will open up in Windows Media Player through VMware)