Appletell

Darwine, the OS X port of the popular wine compatibility layer, has reached a stable version 1.0. Thanks to Mike over at kronenberg.org, it is available pre-compiled and ready to run. Until now, the alternative has been to download the source from SourceForge, which requires compiling the code. Version 1 updates include localization fixes for Danish, Spanish, and German, as well as performance and stability improvements for graphics-intensive applications. Darwine requires Tiger or Leopard, running on any Intel-based Mac.

The wine project seeks to deliver an open source implementation of the Microsoft Win32 API, to allow for source-code level compatibility between Microsoft Windows applications and other OS platforms, including Unix, various flavors of Linux, and Mac OS X. This is the key difference between wine and emulators such as Parallels and VMWare, which deliver a virtual machine in which Windows can run. Wine does not require a valid Windows license, as do emulators; rather it provides an open source version of the Windows API. Darwine is the Mac OS X-specific compile of the wine source code. 

As an open source application, Darwine offers several benefits that emulators do not. First, the price tag: it’s free. Parallels or VMWare both require a license, plus the cost of a Windows license. Another benefit is the extensibility of Darwine—since the source code is open and available, it is possible to customize the functionality to meet specific user requirements. And finally, Darwine offers the access to the power and functionality of OS X, while retaining native compatibility with any mission-critical Windows applications.

Via [Low End Mac]

Parallels, Inc. introduced a new update to its popular Parallels Desktop application on Friday. The latest version, 3.0.5600, brings support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP Sp3. It also fixes some other issues, including: Kernal panics, unusually high CPU usage, and improvements to shared folders. This update should have automatically downloaded for existing registered Parallels Desktop users - if not, you can download the update here as a DMG (88MB)

If you’re not a fan of Parallels Desktop, there’s always alternatives like Apple’s own Boot Camp and VMware Fusion. Boot Camp is included in Mac OS X Leopard and VMware Fusion costs $60.

Via [TUAW]

Parallels and VMware seem to be working in an effort to one up each other. This time Parallels is following up quickly with Parallels Desktop 3.0 beta 2, which is coming just about a month after their last beta release. In the latest beta 2 release they have improved Shared Folders and also Coherence mode. With Shared Folders you are quickly and easily able to move your files to and from Windows and OS X.

MORE »

VMware has released their virtualization app for the Mac, Fusion, as version 1.0. A competitor to Parallels, Fusion emulates and virtualizes Windows, Linux, and more. With features like Unity, Snapshots, and 3D emulation, Fusion makes it easy to run other OS’ on your Mac.

“VMware Fusion combines a very clean and intuitive interface that Mac users expect with the world’s most trusted desktop virtualization platform to allow users to run Mac applications seamlessly alongside PC applications on Intel-based Macs”, said Dan Chu, Vice President of Emerging Products and Markets.

VMware Fusion retails for $79.99, and is available with a $20 rebate, bringing the price tag down to $59.99. A 30 day trial is also available for those who just want to try Fusion out.

Product Page [VMware Fusion]