Hi Everyone
Well, just tried the beta of VMWare Fusion and wanted to report that
I've successfully gotten Windows running together with OS X with it.
Not only that, but Window-Eyes runs quite well in it--not sure about
jfw, as I don't have a copy. Fusion itself is quite accessible with
VO with one exception--when you're interacting with the virtual
machine, there doesn't seem to be a keystroke to get back to
interacting with OS X. There is, however, a way around this: just
move your mouse up until it exits the VM window and focus returns
back to OS X immediately.
It's a bit tricky to install Windows, as none of the Mac's hardware
is supported in a default windows install. You do need the Macintosh
drivers CD you'd use with Bootcamp, along with a USB headset if you
want to install everything yourself--you'll need access to narrator
for part of it, so you need either a usb headset or usb soundcard
that is supported in Windows XP's default drivers.
First trick is to install whichever version of Windows you want to
run--I've got XP running here. I used an auto-install cd I'd created
to do this myself. Once windows boots, you need to get narrator
running by pressing windows+u (command+u on an Apple keyboard), and
then return focus to OS X and the VMWare fusion window, then install
the VMWare tools from the virtual machine menu--this is an absolute
necessity, as without this you don't have a video driver which means
that no windows screen reader will operate. As soon as you proceed
with installing VMWare Tools, go back to the windows VM by clicking
on the scroll area (simulated or real mouse click), then follow the
standard installation wizard. When done, it will ask you to restart
your computer, but only the VM will restart which is exactly what you
want. Next, insert your Macintosh drivers CD and follow the
installation steps there--this is for audio, ethernet, and all the
rest. This, too, is a standard installshield wizard. You'll need to
restart again. Now, finally, you can install whichever screen reader
you have for Windows--I only have window-eyes, so that's all I've
been able to test it with.
At the moment it runs rather slowly, due to the fact that this Mini
only has 512mb of ram at the moment, I definitely need to upgrade the
ram. However, though it is slower than average running with 512mb, it
is still quite useable. All my peripherals work with their normal
windows drivers. Now, I just have to see if I can run Linux with it,
too.
Anyway, just thought I'd share that. Has anyone else given Fusion a
test run? Do other screen readers work as expected?
Later
- Initial Success with VMWare Fusion Jacob Schmude
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