VMware Workstation 7 adds Win 7 support; other news

Article

VMware Workstation 7 adds Win 7 support; other news

Bridget Botelho, News Writer, and Barbara Darrow, Senior News Director
IT channel news in brief for Oct. 27, 2009

Updated VMware workstation debuts

VMware Workstation 7 launched Tuesday with Windows 7 support, enhanced 3-D graphics and a number of other new features

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that simplify Windows 7 upgrades.

VARs and IT pros can use VMware Workstation to create and test multiple OSes as virtual machines (VMs) on a single PC, and desktop administrators can use Workstation to test software updates, patches and hotfixes before deploying them across the network. There are currently 1.6 million paid license users of VMware Workstation, according to the company.

Enhancements include compatibility with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 PCs, Flip 3D and Aero Peek, which show virtual machine activity, and support for more 3-D applications as host VMs and guests, including Windows Aero, DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.1 interfaces in Windows VMs.

VMware Workstation 7 has features for software development and testing with new integrated development environment integrations for the SpringSource Tools Suite and Eclipse IDE for Java & C/C++ along with record/replay debugging improvements that make locating bugs easier.

The new version can run 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems with up to four virtual CPUs and 32 GB of RAM dedicated to each virtual machine for better performance of applications running in VMs.

A new auto-protect feature automatically takes snapshots of VMs, so administrators can revert back to a previous state if needed. Driverless printing lets VMs adopt the printer state from the host machine automatically, according to VMware.

VMware Workstation 7 is now available for download or via resellers for $189. Upgrades from prior versions of VMware Workstation are available for $99.

IBM bolsters analytics

IBM this week padded its business analytics software portfolio with three new Cognos applications pre-configured for specific business users and the first of a series of tools for analyzing unstructured data.

The new Cognos applications provide out-of-the-box data analysis capabilities for sales, supply chain procurement and workforce management. They join a pair of existing apps for users in human resources and finance departments.

The news came out of IBM's Information On Demand conference going on now in Las Vegas.

Check out last week's IT channel news in brief.