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VMware Announces a Free Player

VMware Announces a Free Player

New Product Enables Anyone to Easily Run, Share or Evaluate Software in a Virtual Machine on a Windows or Linux PC

PALO ALTO, Calif., October 24, 2005 – VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems, today announced that VMware Player, a free new product that enables anyone to easily run, share or evaluate software in a virtual machine on a Windows or Linux PC, is available as a beta download at www.vmware.com/download/player/.

"VMware Player is a key element of VMware's vision to enable customers to realize the benefits of virtualization across the business, from the desktop to the data center," said Karthik Rau, senior director of product management at VMware. "The availability of the free VMware Player allows any user in the world to easily run a virtual machine on their desktop to test the latest software delivered in a virtual machine."

VMware Player installs like a standard desktop application and runs virtual machines in a separate window, making it easy to share and evaluate software running in virtual machines.

  • Run: VMware Player can be used by anyone to run 32- and 64-bit virtual machines on a Windows or Linux PC. VMware Player makes it quick and easy to take advantage of the security, flexibility and portability of virtual machines.
  • Share: VMware Player can be used by anyone to run a virtual machine shared by a colleague or friend. For example, customer support and development teams can share a customer scenario encapsulated within a virtual machine.
  • Evaluate: VMware Player is ideal for safely evaluating pre-built application environments, beta software or other software distributed in virtual machines. With VMware Player, anyone can quickly and easily experience the benefits of pre-configured products without any installation or configuration hassles. Pre-built applications from leading software vendors are available from the Virtual Machine Center on VMware Technology Network at www.vmware.com/vmtn/vm/.

"VMware has been pushing the envelope in the virtualization space. VMware changed the software distribution paradigm by enabling ISVs to distribute fully-configured applications in virtual machines," said Dave Parsons, senior vice president of product development for ALG Software. "With the introduction of the free Player, VMware is making virtualization readily available to all IT professionals who need to evaluate applications or beta software or to simply share virtual machines with their colleagues."

Availability

The VMware Player beta is available for immediate download, and the new product will be generally available by the end of the year.

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

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VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or various jurisdictions. All other trademarks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.