'There is a free player for VMware on Windows, is there a free version as well for mac? If not, any other free alternatives?'
VMware Workstation Player, also known as VMware Player is a free desktop virtualization software package used for simultaneously running several operating systems for 64-bit computers having Microsoft Windows or Linux. VMware Inc. offers it free of cost. You can enjoy the benefits of preconfigured products without much hassle. VMware player is available for free for personal non-commercial use for Windows but whether such a VMware Player for Mac is available for free download, that is the question.
Best Free Virtual Machine Software for Windows and Mac 1. VirtualBox (Mac & Windows) If you are new to virtualization, then your best choice of using a virtual machine for the first time is definitely VirtualBox from Oracle. When to Use Virtualization and When to Use Boot Camp 1. Parallels Desktop 16. Parallels Desktop is, without doubt, one of the most popular virtual machine software among Mac. VMWare Fusion is another excellent option that’s widely popular among IT Pros, Developers.
Part 1: Is There A VMware Workstation Player for Mac OS X?
There is no free version of VMware Workstation Player for Mac OS X. Neither the GNU/Linux version nor the version from BSD Ports will work.
Mac is not a cost-effective platform for running VMware player, thus its free trial is not provided.
VMware sells a Mac version of their product called VMware Fusion. You may use that for a trial period of 30 days. After that, if you do not want to purchase VMware Fusion, there are other alternatives too available in the market.
Either you can use Boot Camp to some other OS or use it to run VMware player on a different OS.
Even if you do not get VMware for Mac free, do not worry, we will help you to choose among the various alternatives which will just serve the purpose right. Given below is a detailed note about the alternatives. Read on to find out:
Part 2: Top 5 Alternatives to VMware Workstation Player for Mac
Given below are 5 popular alternatives to VMware Workstation Player. You do not need to download VMware for Mac, instead, check the below options:
1. VirtualBox
Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free and open source software emulator published by Oracle-it is a Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. It is a 'virtualization software' which means you can run multiple virtual machines, with different operating systems on the same computer. VirtualBox may be installed on a number of host operating systems like Windows, Linux, Solaris and even Mac OS. VirtualBox has an ever increasing list of features with each new release and supports multiple guest operating systems and platforms it runs on. On May 2018, the latest version of VirtualBox 5.2.12 has been made available for download. It comes with improved stability features and fixes regression.
Download link: https://www.virtualbox.org
2. VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion is a virtual machine monitor developed by VMware for Macintosh computers. VMware Fusion helps to turn your Mac computers compatible to run any Windows like applications like Internet Explorer or Microsoft Office. It is one of the best commercial virtualization app. Running Windows on Mac is only the beginning. Fusion makes it very easy to test nearly any OS and app on a Mac. VMware workstation for Mac is not present but this product is just what you will need. It has features in between that of VirtualBox and Parallels, though early setup can be a long process.
Download link: https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html
3. Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktop for Mac, by Parallels, is software providing virtual versions for Macintosh computers and operating systems specially designed for home users who want to use Windows on their Mac without getting another computer. Parallels Desktop gives Mac users the ability to run Windows at the same time as Mac OS X. Whether it is teams, professionals or IT managers, Parallels Desktop is an easy tool for all. There is a specialized Parallels toolbox with over 30 one touch services like clean your drive, secure private files etc.
Download link: https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/
4. QEMU (Quick Emulator)
QEMU is a generic and open source full system emulator. As a machine emulator, QEMU can help run programs for one machine on a different machine. Though QEMU's main host platform is Linux, it also supports operating systems for Apple's Mac computers. Using QEMU you can run operating systems for any machine with any supported architecture. As QEMU is an open source program, the coding is constantly updated and improved as technical needs evolve. The latest QEMU version available in the market is 2.12.0 updated last in April, 2018.
Download link: https://www.qemu.org/download/
5. JPC(Emulator)
JPC is an x86 PC emulator written in pure Java that is why it seamlessly works on all major computing platforms, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It runs as an applet with an integrated debugger. JPC creates a virtual computer using which you can install your favorite operating system in a safe and flexible way. It provides basic IDE and VGA emulation. Also JPC has multilayered security which ensures it is the safest solution you would like to choose.
Download link: http://jpc.sourceforge.net/home_home.html
Bottom Line
So the bottom line stands, that even though VMware workstation Mac OS does not exist for free, you have several other virtual software packages in the market which will help you achieve the same kind of goal. Choose from above what suits you best. Last but not least, if you install Windows system on Mac computer, create a login password for Windows but can't remember it, you can use PassFab 4WinKey as it is an easy and comprehensive solution to recover lost or forgotten passwords for any Windows login account.
Apple’s macOS is a great operating system. But even amazing operating systems have shortcomings, one of them being not being able to execute some important applications. In the case of macOS, there are software like Microsoft Access, Adobe Photoshop and other Windows based applications that demand Microsoft Windows for operation. However, Microsoft and Apple despite being competitors, have always tried to fill the gaps in terms of supporting each other’s applications. Virtualization has helped them achieve this task allowing Mac devices to run Windows applications and vice versa.
Hence, if you are a Mac user who also wants to run Windows operating system with macOS, this article will benefit you.
Free Virtualization Software For macOS:
In this article, we’ve discussed about the best and free virtualization software for Mac devices. Have a look at them!
Boot Camp
When talking about running another operating system on Mac, we cannot ignore Boot Camp, Apple’s own utility to run Windows on Mac computers. Even Though, Boot Camp is not a virtualization software, there’s no better software you can lean on when it comes to playing Windows-based games on Mac PC.
The software comes preloaded on Mac and permits Mac users to use both Windows and macOS on the same device. Additionally, as the operating system directly executed from the hard drive, it also renders better user experience compared to virtualization software.
The only disadvantage other than only being able to run Windows is that you need to restart the computer every time you want to switch to the other operating system. Therefore, like virtualization software, you can’t use both operating systems parallelly.
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Note: – Many Mac users use both Boot Camp and a virtualization software for quick access and better performance. You can do that too if you’ve got enough resources on your Mac device.
QEMU
QEMU or Quick EMUlator is another great software that is open source and supports Linux, Windows and macOS. What it does is, it emulates (imitates) software and hardware types and controls administrative privileges in order to run the guest operating system.
The source code is directly injected into the host machine, which helps QEMU to offer near-native performance. QEMU is perfect if you want a pint-sized virtual machine that can be stored in a compact flash drive. However, you need some patience to install QEMU. Here’s how you can install QEMU on your Mac: –
- Download and install Homebrew. Visit the official website https://brew.sh/
- Open terminal on Mac
- Type “$ brew install qemu” in the terminal
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Further, get an image file of the operating system you want to use on Mac (you can find it online) and run it until you’re bored!
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See Also: 5 Best Photo Management Apps For Mac In 2018
VMWare
If you want things to be simple, use VMWare. The free version of VMWare allows its users to run all major operating systems on your Mac machine. VMWare is pretty old and popular in the game and hence over time evolved a lot according to user requirements. It offers three versions: The Free VMWare Workstation Player, VMWare Fusion ($79.99) and VMWare Workstation ($249.99).
The paid versions are generally used by professionals. But if you’re a home user, VMWare Free can cater your needs. Popular operating systems such as Linux and Windows are efficiently supported by VMWare.
The software is user-friendly and installs conveniently unlike QEMU. You can seamlessly switch the operating systems and can be called as one of the most dependable options available out there.
VirtualBox
VirtualBox is a skillful virtualization application that is entirely free! Yes, the source code of the software is owned by Oracle. VirtualBox is a powerful software that offers smooth switching capabilities on macOS. The software can be quickly installed and supports all major operating systems.
VirtualBox comes together with software packages that are specially created to benefit users to transfer files between the host and the guest operating systems. The program offers laudable hardware support, multi-screen resolution, 3D virtualization and many other features. Basically, VirtualBox deserves a thumbs up when it comes to the number of features for no money at all. Click here to download VirtualBox.
These are the best free Mac software that are stable and can be used to deploy various operating systems on your Mac. Use them and share your experience in the comments section below. Also, do not hesitate to ask any questions related to installation or usage.
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