Opinions needed on VMware Fusion or Windows programs on Mac

I am new to the Mac Family. My son is going to college this fall for Computer Animation, so I thought I would treat him and the family to a new computer system. After much research, the Mac Pro was the computer to get. I have a lot of software and downloads that are still PC. I was told that VMware Fusion is a good support system for Windows on Macs. Has anyone used this product and has anyone used it with Windows Vista?
P.S. I got my Pro Mac with 3.00 GHZ Dual Core, 4 GB Memory, and 500 GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive.
P.S.S. If I go with a conversion system (VMware Fusion), do I need a good anti-virus program (Norton/McAfee, etc.), or does that conflict with Leopard os X?

Windows on Intel Macs
There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software. Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak 2 or Vista. Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows. Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows. The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
Note that Parallels and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc. There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization. The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system.
If you install Vista you must use Vista Business or Ultimate with the virtual machine software. You will need Windows anti-virus software. It isn't required for OS X.

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  • Question:  Do I need to run and anti virus program with MAC OSX Lion? Have heard different opinions! If so what would you recommend? Was looking at Sophos. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks

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    Consult the Fusion user guide, or post questions regarding Fusion on VMWare's own forums for Fusion:
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    Hi,
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    Stefan

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    Hey guys-
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    Thanks all, thanks for your input. I have been able to solve it now.
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