Gratuitous Windows gaming comin' to ya, Mac users! Latest news in the virtualization field has word that the VMware, creators of VMWare Fusion, has kick-started the first stage of the beta program for Fusion 2.0. And with Fusion 2.0 Beta 1 comes a slew of performance improvements - so much that it'll be able to support up to 10 monitors all at once and even play Windows-only games with hefty shader requirements. More at the full story.

Developing dedicated or multiplatform software through a virtually-emulated machine environment is not new in the coding world, but it's not exactly commonplace either. Coder MK2k (known for Sleep'n'Wake) decided it was high time to share such an experience with other homebrew developers.

So the developer created a custom, but variably open Gentoo Linux environment emulated through VMware coupled with pre-installed modules, Samba file sharing support, PSP toolchain, and PS2 toolchain. MK2k did this to provide an alternative to the Cygwin/PSP toolchain combo, which the coder had a bit of tiresome wrestling with.

What is this exactly, you ask? It's relatively simple in a sense. You run a localized version of a virtual machine emulator for your respective operating system, be it Mac OS X, other compatible flavors and kernels of Linux, or Microsoft Windows. VMware Player is compatible with all three. Virtual machine (VM) emulation then runs by setting up your host machine (the computer running the VM) to load up a virtual machine (the VM using your computer's hardware to run another "computer").

With the virtual machine set up, you can then do everything you would do to a newly assembled computer. Defining your hard drive setup (limited by how much space you actually have on your real hard disk) would provide you with a virtual hard drive, which can be further configured for partitions or operating system (OS) installation. Coders often use VM emulation to load OSes of a totally different kernel. Windows XP "VMing" Windows 95, Linux "VMing" Windows 98 or vice versa, for example.

MK2k provides a virtual hard drive for your use - much thanks to PSPUAE member FOL's hosting - which comes preloaded with Gentoo and tools to start you off. Of course, you are free to install your own Linux-compatible tools for your development preference, plus helper utilities for special testing or connectivity. The download runs a little under 1 GB in total, but the entire virtual hard drive has been divided further into files generally around the 100 MB range for short, dedicated download bursts.

A readme sits ready with the multiple file download list, and this is where you should start for more specific information on installation and running VMware Player. MK2k advises you to course through it while downloading the files, and if you're a particular about data integrity, you're even provided a checksum file reference to weed out defective archives.

Oh, and we suggest you also grab the Browser Appliance from VMware to browse the Internet from within the virtual machine emulation. It could help loads if you have more questions for MK2k or other devs who tried this contribution. Happy coding!

Visit: QJ.NET's PSP Development Forum

Visit the download site via the read link below. Also thanks to bobtentpeg for the tip!

Recently, VMWare has released Fusion Beta 2 which has the "Experimental 3D Acceleration" feature. The feature basically allows you to play certain games that require DirectX 8.1 in Windows XP Service Pack 2 virtual machines(VM). However, Mac users shouldn't rejoice just yet as the game selection is rather limited, and the games that it supports are pretty old.

VMWare has a list of games that are compatible with this current "experimental" feature:

• Aliens vs. Predator Demo
• Breath of Fire IV
• Grand Theft Auto III (NOTE: Set the Display Setup option Trails to OFF.)
• Hitman 2
• Lord of the Realms III
• Max Payne 1
• Max Payne 2
• Need for Speed Porsche Demo
• RalliSport Challenge
• Tony Hawk 3
• X-2 Rolling Demo

Additional features and fixes of note for this release:

• Snapshot feature which enables rollbacks if something goes wrong.
• Experimental support for Mac OS X Leopard (Note: There WILL be support for Mac OS X Leopard in the full release).
• Improved keyboard and mouse support — Third-party graphics tablets, keyboards, and mice no longer interfere with keyboard and mouse input.

So far, Fusion Beta 2 seems stable and the added features well thought out. However, it still is in the Beta stage, so you can expect certain bugs or problems to pop up aside from those that are mentioned in the release notes. You can learn more via the Read link below.

Many moons ago, VMware was rumored to be cooking a virtualization solution for OS X. Now we know the rumor is true because the company just released its Fusion Beta version.

Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 operating systems (Windows, Linux, NetWare, and Solaris) in virtual machines at the same time as Mac OS X. Simply put, the app allows traditional PC applications to run on Mac.

Fusion Beta version includes the following features:

• Create and run a wide variety of 32- and 64-bit x86 operating systems on OS X without rebooting
• Simultaneously run PC applications next to OS X applications
• On any Mac with dual-core processors, multiple CPUs can be assigned to virtual machine to gain additional performance for CPU-intensive workloads.
• Access physical devices from the virtual machine: read and burn CDs and DVDs, and use USB 2.0 devices like video cameras, iPods, printers, and disks at full speed
• Devices that do not have drivers for OS X will work in a virtual machine
• Drag and drop files and folders between OS X and virtual machines to easily share data between the two environments

To test drive Fusion Beta version, you need to fill up a registration at the VMware website. You can click the link below to go to the company's site.