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Yesterday, VMWare released Fusion 2.0 as a major update to their virtualization software. It’s a free, downloadable upgrade for any VMWare Fusion 1.x customer, and it packs some great new stuff.

The update adds over 100 new features:

• The UI is dramatically improved, with lots of nice little touches like a welcome screen and coverflow support for the Finder.
• Automated snapshots, letting you set up custom recurring snapshots and how many to keep in the archive.
• Twelve-month complimentary subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus security software for Windows XP and Vista
• DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 2 3D graphics, and 1080p HD video playback
• And the big one: Mac OS X Leopard Server support. Hurrah!
• Better Unity Support with Unity 2.0, Application Sharing, Link Handling, Mirrored Folders and Driverless Printing

There are more features of course, but those are the highlights.

VMWare Fusion is such an important application for the Mac. Just a week or two ago, a buddy of mine and I were chatting with a Windows user friend of ours (yes, we can have Windows-using friends!) the other day, and he was asking about running Windows on an intel Mac. We asked him if he had ever seen it done. He said no, so we fired up Fusion. It worked so well that he could hardly believe it. The experience is so seamless, especially with Unity mode. Applications like Parallels and Fusion are one of the biggest selling points of the Mac for converts. These new additions make the experience that much better.

VMWare Fusion retails for $79.99, but version 2.0 is a free update for any 1.x user. The price is worth it, but if you’re still not convinced, pick up the 30 day trial.

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