A Poorly Conceived Download Process: VMware Fusion
I run VMware Fusion occasionally on my Mac, for the few Windows programs (mostly go programs) that interest me. Today, the company released an update for this program, and I tried to use the built-in auto-updater. It downloaded the update (with no indication of how big the update was, and no progress bar showing how much was being downloaded), then the update failed. Of course, there was no information that helped me understand why it failed, so I tried again. Failed again.
I then went to the dreaded VMware web site. Unlike other sites where you can simply click a download link to get software, VMware is very, very complex. First, you have to register (something I’d already done in the past for a previous update problem). Then you have to sign in, which didn’t work this morning; the password in my keychain didn’t seem to be correct. So I had to reset my password.
Finally, you get to a download page, where you have a choice of two versions: one, at around 150 MB, which is just Fusion, and another, at 450 MB, which includes a “free” trial to a Windows antivirus package. I chose the smaller one. Clicked Download. Then had to agree to 2,000 words of legalese, which I had already agreed to when I first launched the product, and when I had downloaded a previous version from their site. Finally, it started downloading.
Why does a company see the need for such a complex process just to get a new copy of software? To be honest, this is the only software I use where it’s such a hassle to get an update. Don’t they want to make things easier for their customers?
Posted: 12/3/2010 by kirk | Filed under: Apple & Mac OS X | Tags: rants, software | 8 Comments »
I totally agree with you. I’m forced to use Vista because I have 15 years of M’soft Money history and I’m not about to re-enter even if I could find something that does the the same job on a Mac.
VM announces updates then the download takes for ever for frankly no perceivable improvement and really no explanation of what the update is about.
I have not tried “Parallels”, like all computer s’ware once you’ve learnt how to rarely use one software package, learning another to do the same job seems a time waste, however I can’t believe its as poorly documented as VM.
Is it the case their real interest lies elsewhere and this just a petty cash venture for their new engineering intake?
Thanks for the warning. I launched VMware Fusion and got the same “you need to update” message. But I never found the download page. Could you post it? Also, what version am I upgrading *to*? I’m currently on 2.0.7 and couldn’t find mention of any version except 3.x (which I believe is a paid update).
Thanks!
Well, you don’t have version 3, so it’s a paid update. You’ll have to look on their site (good luck) for update pricing.
Do a Google first – they had a promotion for $9.99 recently, and it might still be running.
Thanks, Kirk (et al.).
Ah, screw it — I use the program infrequently enough that I don’t care. I’ll install VirtualBox if I really need something up-to-date.
Have you tried VirtualBox and/or Wine? They are both open source alternatives to VMware. VirtualBox is another emulator, while Wine attempts to emulate the Windows libraries directly, meaning it is not actually an emulator (it doesn’t require a copy of Windows).
I did not have any problem using the program’s update function.
But I was unable to download the Fusion only update at the site… As I do not like on line updates, I always try this way first.
Trying to just ‘try out’ the VMFusion–hats off to Tom for even being able to download the darn program…what a complex download: three parts, only open the .exe from your VMFusion program, which I DON’T HAVE yet! I want the last two hours of my life back!! I tried to find help on their site and it’s a convoluted mess, that site! One would think that a tech site that is trying to SELL something would be a bit more user friendly. As well, it appears that one has to pay for support after the purchase–rubbish!
Now that I’m through my rant, does anyone have any suggestions for any other Windows accessible program from my Mac. I HAVE to have it for MLS (real estate) and that’s all I’ll be needing it for. I’m ready to give up my Dell completely as I’ve only been using it for the MLS and just using the MAC all of the time. I did have Parallels and it crashed my hard drive after a few months of use so, any suggestions for anything else would be greatly appreciated.
Debe:
I used to be a real-estate broker myself. :) Our MLS (San Francisco) provided a gateway using Citrix software (http://www.citrix.com). I forget exactly how it worked — it was several years ago — but when a Mac user logged in I think we went into this Windows-like environment, which was managed by the Citrix software on the MLS’ server. It was pretty appalling. :-/
Good luck,
–Tom