> rm -f_

Today I decided to download the beta of Windows 7, Microsoft’s next major Operating System.  The download process was quick and simple, I only waited about 30 minutes for the download to complete.   One side note, I did have to do the entire download process on my PC under Internet Explorer – it wouldn’t work any other way.   After the download completed, I began to contemplate which machine I wanted to install Windows 7 on.  I decided to go with my MacBook Pro and to install it under VMware Fusion.

I know that VMware doesn’t fully support Windows 7 yet, but I didn’t want to install it on my main PC at work or home.   Parallels just updated their software for Windows 7 (Experimental), however Fusion is still my choice for virtualization on the Mac.   After launching Fusion I chose Windows 2008 server as my Operating System and started the install.  The installation process could not have been easier.  The entire install took roughly around twenty minutes, though I didn’t really keep track of time when the install was running.

So I’m done with the install and Windows 7 is now running on my Mac via VMware Fusion.  Make sure to install the VMware Tools, otherwise the VM will act up.  It looks like all the necessary hardware devices were installed properly. I have to say even as a Virtual OS, 7 seems much faster than Vista does.  I’ll write more on my findings in a few days, after I spend more time with Windows 7.