VMware has released a tech preview of a Mac version of VMware View Client virtualization software that enables the client to display and control a Windows virtual machine that is running on a server on the network. VMware also released Tech Preview versions of the View client for Linux and Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet. VMware View uses the company's PCoIP protocol to communicate with a View Connection Server. VMWare said, "VMware View Clients with PCoIP provide end users with top performance regardless of network conditions."

The tech preview (the equivalent of a beta release) supports Lion's Full Screen mode, and supports copy and paste of formatted text and graphics between View 5.x virtual machines and Mac. (For View 4.x, copy and paste of plain text only is supported.) VMware View Client for Mac Tech Preview runs on Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later, and is available as a free download (registration required).

The tech preview is missing some features. The readme file says that future versions may support USB device connectivity, full screen mode in Snow Leopard, printing to locally attached printers, use of multiple displays, and SmartCard authentication of the virtual machine.

The company also released updates to its tablet versions, VMware View Client for iPad 1.3 (version 1.0 was first released last March) and version 1.3 for Android.

VMware View Client for iPad 1.3 includes support for iOS 5.x and improvements to the PCoIP display protocol, which results in better use of network bandwidth. There is also support for higher resolutions on external displays, and support for higher virtual resolutions on the iPad itself. The latter improvement means that you can enlarge a Windows desktop to a size that is large than the tablet display area for a larger, scrollable desktop area.

VMware has screen shots here.

If you've tried VMware View Client for Mac Tech Preview