VMware Fusion update lets users virtualize Leopard, Snow Leopard

The features documented in the Fusion 4.1 release notes include support for full-screen mode on Lion (including a “Smart Full Screen” mode that doesn’t leave users of multiple-display Macs out in the cold), performance and graphics improvements, and support for Lion features such as FileVault 2 and Lion Recovery.
But one big change with this update isn’t documented anywhere: The software has been modified so that it will run the non-server versions of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) and Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). Previously, VMware Fusion supported virtual Macs running Lion, Lion Server, Snow Leopard Server, and Leopard Server.
Apple’s operating-system license policy during the Leopard and Snow Leopard eras specified that only the server version of Mac OS X could be run in a virtual machine, and then only on Apple hardware. When Lion was released, that policy changed to allow both Lion Server and the non-server version of Lion to be virtualized.

As a VMware tech note explains:
VMware Fusion 4.1 changes the behavior of the new virtual machine assistant when creating a Mac OS X virtual machine. Starting with Fusion 4.1, you are presented with an additional prompt to confirm that the operating system is licensed to run in a virtual machine. This additional prompt reminds you that installing Mac OS X in a virtual machine is subject to the license agreement that accompanies the Mac OS X software.
VMware recommends consulting the license agreement accompanying your Mac OS X software for the terms and conditions that apply. Apple license agreements can be found at http://www.apple.com/legal/sla.
If you confirm compliance with the applicable licenses, the assistant proceeds to the next step. This behavior is identical for the Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion releases of Mac OS X and their variants.

While there are some questions about the legality of running Snow Leopard or Leopard in a virtual machine, there’s no doubt about the utility of such a feature. First off, it would be a boon to developers and tech-support professionals, who need to verify how software works on various versions of OS X. But it would also help out users who rely on PowerPC-based Mac software—programs that won’t run in Lion because of Apple’s abandonment of the Rosetta code-translation software.
Users who want to run Quicken Deluxe for Mac on a system that only runs Lion are currently out of luck. But that program runs just fine on a Lion-based Mac that’s running Snow Leopard inside a Fusion 4.1 virtual machine. (It’s not an ideal fix—Fusion’s support for Windows includes a Unity mode that lets Windows apps float among your Mac windows. Virtual Macs will only display inside a window or filling a screen in full-screen mode.)
I updated to Fusion 4.1 on Friday and created new virtual machines for both Snow Leopard and Leopard on an iMac running Lion. They installed and ran without any problems, and I was able to launch PowerPC apps via Rosetta without any trouble.
An Apple representative told us that Apple's end-user license agreements "permit properly licensed copies of Mac OS X Lion, Snow Leopard Server and Leopard Server to be virtualized on Apple-branded hardware only." It's unclear what Apple's disposition toward VMware will be. In the meantime, this update gives Lion users an outlet for running PowerPC-based apps, and lets developers and other technical users have easy access to multiple OS X versions on a single Mac system.
[Updated at 8:30 PST with a statement from Apple.]







