Virtual PC 7.0 feature rich, but reportedly unstable

If you ask Microsoft what's holding up the highly anticipated release of Virtual PC 7.0, they'll tell you that they've found the development, testing and bug fix cycle of the software to be more vigorous than previous version(s), prompting an adjustment to its deployment schedule. However, French Macintosh news site MacBidouille begs to differ.

According to the site, yesterday Microsoft Corp, in front of Apple France and its resellers, performed a demo of Microsoft Office 2004 and Virtual PC 7.0 to commemorate the unofficial launch of Office 2004. Unfortunately, only Microsoft representatives could operate the software during the event because "it is still unstable."

Nevertheless, MacBidouille gathered some previously unpublished details on the emulation software during the event.

Virtual PC 7.0 will reportedly support dual processor Macintosh systems in addition to featuring G5 compatibility and optimization. The software is also said to boast improved support and management of peripherals, with an increased focus on USB peripherals.

Most impressive is word that the new version will also manage and support graphic cards, natively. This feature will improve on a user's ability to play Windows PC games on a Macintosh running Virtual PC 7.0, rather than allowing the user to simply launch the game and then wither in frustration at its sluggishness.

Though processor demands are expected to be steep, the software will not emulated Microsoft's DirectX API set. Instead, Virtual PC will reportedly treat DirectX as if it were running on a Windows machine sporting a PC graphics card, according to MacBidouille.

Earlier today, Microsoft officially confirmed a delay in the deployment of Virtual PC 7.0 for the Mac, confirming an earlier AppleInsider article.