Yesterday, VMware officially released the final version of VMware Fusion 2.0. This is a major upgrade to the VMware Fusion software that lets Intel-based Macs run Windows, Linux or any other operating system without the need to reboot.

I had been holding off on upgrading because 2.0 was in beta. But, now that it has reached final, it was time for me to give it a go. Here’s the scoop…

What’s new in this 2.0 release?

• Multi-monitor support. YES!
• Mirrored folders (have a folder under the guest OS mirror a file on the Mac)
• DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 support (good for you gamers)
• Support for multiple snapshots of a guest OS. A snapshot is a saved copy of the virtual machine at any point in time.
• Auto-snapshot of a VM for backup purposes
• Improvements to Unity Mode (which allows seamless use of Windows apps within the OS X environment)
• Integrated McAfee VirusScan Plus with a free 12-month subscription to virus definition updates

Here is a video of be playing around with it:

The interface has completely changed. It now shows a image of what is going on in the virtual machine. Management of your virtual machines is much easier, too.

The pros of this software are obvious. The Windows support is second-to-none, and you can use Windows apps almost seamlessly inside of OS X. As you can see in the video, there is still some slight shadowing of the Windows desktop when you move apps around in Unity mode. However, the fact that you can move the apps between screens really rocks.

Parallels is the other major option for virtualization. There is also the open source option of VirtualBox.

In just about any notable way, Vmware Fusion 2.0 is a rock solid implementation of a true seamless world of Windows and OS X.