VMware Workstation 7.1 Beta released for download
The VMware Workstation 7.1 Beta includes several new features and hundreds of minor improvements. Some release highlights include:
- OpenGL 2.1 support for Windows 7 and Vista guests: The addition of hardware accelerated OpenGL 2.1 support to the WDDM driver enables many more graphics applications to run inside of your virtual machines.
- Improved graphics performance: Significant enhancements have been made to the VMware WDDM driver that have produced benchmark results that are up to 80% faster. The updated driver also produces smoother video playback and addresses many reported rendering issues. Of course games run better as well!
- 8-way SMP support plus virtual disks up to 2TB in size: The virtual hardware continues to become more powerful to meet the needs of Workstation customers who are running server class applications.
- OVF 1.0 support: Including the OVF Tool with this release enables users to easily import or export virtual machines and vApps and move them to vSphere or up into the cloud.
- Direct Launch: Blur the distinction between running native and virtual applications by launching an application installed in a virtual machine directly from the start menu or taskbar of the host system.
- Automatic software updates: These VMware applications can now detect when a new version is released and are able to update at the click of a button.
- Fedora 12 virtual machines: We are excited about finally offering support for running one of the most popular Linux distributions on the planet!