Planet Lowyat

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The VMware Fusion team is proud to announce VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 2.

VMware often adds features during the beta cycle. You should always keep an eye out if a certain beta release doesn’t yet include your heart’s desire. The Fusion team has just released Beta 2 of Fusion 2, and has added what looks like a whole version’s worth of features over Beta 1. Multiple snapshots, my favorite, barely even makes the highlight reel, because they’ve gone and built on top it a feature called AutoProtect, with Time Machine-like automated snapshots in case you get into trouble.

This latest public beta, a free download, builds on VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1, adding the Unity 2.0 suite of Mac-Windows integration features, new ways to protect and manage your virtual machines with multiple snapshots, and a garage full of power tools for technical professionals.
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Are you a loyal Windows Home Server users? A fix for that completely obnoxious data corruption bug is on the way. Microsoft has detailed its plans to release a public beta of its Windows Home Server Power Pack.

The update will include a fix for the data corruption issues that have plagued the OS since its release.

In a message to potential testers the company said:

“Due to the nature of the shared folder data corruption bug (KB #946676) a broad beta test program with sufficient time for feedback is required. The time line for a final release will depend on this feedback and testing, in order to deliver a fix of the highest quality. To meet our goals for the beta test we need the number of beta testers who are actively using and testing the Power Pack 1 beta to ramp up very quickly”

The company is asking for anyone currently using Home Server to sign up to the beta to ensure the data corruption issue is fixed.

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VMware has just released a Beta 2 build of its very popular and free server virtualization software, VMware Server 2.0 (build 84186).

What’s New

New features and enhancements in the VMware Server 2.0 Beta 2 release:

• Updated VMware Infrastructure (VI) Web Access management interface: With the faster performance, improved stability and broader range of configuration options, the VI Web Access management interface provides a simple, flexible, intuitive and productive management experience. In addition, embedded help files are context sensitive based on the task being performed.
• Independent virtual machine console: With the new VMware Remote Console, you can access your virtual machine consoles independent of the VI Web Access management interface plus resize the virtual machine console windows as needed.
• Support for USB 2.0 devices: Transfer data at faster data rates from USB 2.0 devices.
• Multi-tiered permissions: Configure different levels of permissions to access virtual machines in different ways, including browsing, interacting, configuring and administering virtual machines.
• New hardware editors: Edit and add devices such as USB 2.0 devices and legacy devices such as floppy drives, serial and parallel ports.
• Automatically start your virtual machines: Select which virtual machines that you want to automatically start when VMware Server starts. In addition, there is also an option to boot the virtual machine directly into the BIOS Setup Screen.
• Link to Virtual Appliance Marketplace: Access thousands of pre-built, pre-configured, ready-to-run enterprise applications packaged with an operating system inside a virtual machine. This speeds up time to value and simplifies software development, distribution, and management.

Existing VMware Server 2.0 Beta features

• New operating system support: The broadest operating system support of any host-based virtualization platform currently available, including support for Windows Vista Business Edition and Ultimate Edition (guest only), Windows Server 2008, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and Ubuntu 7.10 in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
• More scalable virtual machines:Support for up to 8 GB of RAM (up from 3.6 GB in Server 1.0) per virtual machine, 10 virtual network interface cards and up to two virtual SMP (vSMP) processors per virtual machine.
• 64-bit guest operating system support:Use 64-bit guest operating systems on 64-bit hardware to enable more scalable and higher performing computing solutions.
• Support for Virtual Machine Interface (VMI): This feature enables transparent paravirtualization, in which a single binary version of the operating system can run either on native hardware or in paravirtualized mode to improve performance in specific Linux environments.
• Support for VIX API 1.5: This feature provides a programming interface for automating virtual machine and guest operations.

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Windows Installer Team pleased to announce Windows Installer 4.5 Beta 2 is now available from the Microsoft Connect site.

If you have not signed up for the beta yet, please do - we are listed as “Windows Installer 4.5″ under the “Available Connections” section of the site. If you have already joined the beta, please head back to the Connect site and download the updated bits, tools and documentation. This is our last planned beta release before we ship, so your feedback at this stage is especially important! Said Tyler from Microsoft Windows Installer Team.

Walkthrough for Signing up for Windows Installer 4.5 Beta

Here’s a walkthrough of the process I’ve used to signup for the Windows Installer 4.5 Beta

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