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VirtualBox posts

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Linux, Freeware, Beta

Free VMWare Player 3 can now create virtual machines

VirtualBox has always enjoyed one key advantage over VMWare: it's free. Sure, the VMWare Player is also free -- but all it can do is boot virtual machines which have been previously by another app.

Rather, that's all it could do until now. VMWare Player version 3 has hit the release candidate stage and is available for public download, and guess what? It's now got the ability to create virtual machines. That's pretty amazing news for virtualization hobbyists like myself.

Apart from the added VM creation chops, Player v3 also offers OpenGL support in guest machines, ALSA support on Linux guests, ThinPrint powered printing, Windows 7 support, and multiple monitor support.

And yes, it even supports Aero Glass in Vista and WIndows 7 just like its big brother.

Another great addition is the easy install wizard, which makes setting up popular operating systems on a new guest machine ridiculously easy. That is, when it works. The wizard should create a floppy configuration file which Ubuntu reads during the install process. When I tested with the Karmic Koala beta, though, Ubuntu's installer wouldn't recognize the floppy image and crapped out.

A regular install, on the other hand, worked just fine and completed in roughly the same amount of time as it took under VIrtualBox -- if not slightly less.

The download is free, weighs in at about 90Mb, and you'll need to have a registered account with VMWare to get access to the downloads.

Filed under: Fun, Features, Linux, Lists

10 easy ways to play with Linux without leaving Windows

While I haven't made the switch to Linux full time, I find myself spending more and more time experimenting of late. In particular, I'm enjoying projects like Moblin and the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

If you're still using Windows for your primary OS there are tons of ways to get your feet wet like a true penguin without making any serious commitments. Here are ten ways to play with Linux painlessly -- if you have another to share, please post it in the comments!

Virtualization

Moba LiveCD

Moba uses QEMU to boot LiveCD and LiveUSB images right from your Windows desktop. It works as a portable app and also offers context menu integration so you can right-click to launch fresh images.

Portable Ubuntu
Using Colinux, Pulseaudio for Windows, and the Xming X server, this package allows you to boot a fully-working Ubuntu environment inside Windows right from your usb flash drive. The bigger the better, obviously. I'd recommend an 8GB or 16GB if you plan on using it regularly.

Read more →

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware, Open Source

VirtualBox 3.0 goes Gold

Virtualbox 3.0
Just a few weeks after launching VirtualBox 3.0 beta, Sun has removed the beta label from the next version of the open source, cross-platform virtualization application. VirtualBox 3.0 includes a number of updates, including:
  • Support for OpenGL 2.0 for Windows, Linux, and Solaris guests
  • Ability to use Direct3D 8/9 applications on Windows guests
  • Support for Linux kernel 2.6.31
  • Up to 32 virtual CPUs
VirtualBox 3.0 also includes a number of bug fixes and improvements, and overall improved 3D graphics support. You can find more details in the changelog. Virtualbox is available as a download for Windows, OS X, Linux, or Solaris hosts.

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware, Beta

VirtualBox 3.0 beta 1 released (cross-platform virtualization app)

VirtualBox 3.0 beta 1
VirtualBox is a free virtualization application for Windows, OS X, or Linux. Like VirtualPC, or VMWare, VirtualBox lets you run an operating system within an operating system. Say, for example, you want to test out Ubuntu Linux without installing it or even logging out of Windows. Just download the Ubuntu installation disc image, fire up VirtualBox, and load the disc image.

Today VirtualBox 3.0 beta 1 was released. The update brings:
  • Support for up to 32 virtual CPUs
  • Direct3D 8/9 applications on Windows guests
  • Support for OpenGL 2.0 for Windows, Linux, and Solaris guests
There are also a number of bug fixes including better virtual mouse drivers, improved suspend/resume functionality on Solaris hosts, and GUI enhancements. You can read a more detailed list in the release notes.

VirtualBox 3.0 beta is pre-release software, and it could contain some bugs. I wouldn't recommend using it if you're afraid of mucking up your system, but the beta does provide a sneak peek at where this program is heading. The beta is available for download for a number of platforms including Windows, OS X, Solaris, and a whole slew of Linux distributions.

Filed under: Features, Windows, Macintosh, Apple, Microsoft

Installing Windows 7 on a Mac


We're pretty excited about Windows 7, and we know that users are too. After all, with any luck, Windows 7 will be what Vista was supposed to be. Lee has done a bang-up job covering Windows 7 tips and tricks for PC users, but Mac users who use Windows for work or for compatibility testing don't have to be left out. Hey, I might not ever switch back to using a PC full time (and I'm certainly not going to buy a laptop that doesn't have the word "Mac" in it), but that doesn't mean that I'm uninterested or unexcited about Windows 7.

Although Intel Macs can run Windows 7 in Boot Camp, for most users, the easiest and most hassle-free method will be to use virtualization. This way, you can test out all the features of Windows 7, without having to dual-boot. The big pitfall for virtualization: gaming and HD-video playback, are less an issue in Windows 7 because those areas are still being tweaked and aren't ready for prime time anyway.

The three big players out there for virtualization on the Mac are:

I've installed Windows 7 in the latest version of each program and tweaked the settings to get the best results.

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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Open Source, Windows x64

VirtualBox 2.1 supports 64 bit guest operating systems on 32-bit hosts

VirtualBox 2.1
VirtualBox is an open source virtualization application that lets you run one operating system inside another. For free. Say, for example you want to check out a new Linux distribution but you don't want to go through the trouble of rebooting your computer. Simple. Just download the disc image for Ubuntu, Fedora, or whatever OS you want to try out, fire up VirtualBox and run create a virtual machine that will let you run the disc image in a window on your desktop.

VirtualBox 2.1 was released last week, and it adds a bunch of new features, including:
  • Ability to load 64-bit guest operating systems on host machines running 32-bit operating systems
  • Experimental 3D acceleration via OpenGL on 32-bit Windows guest systems
  • Easier setup for networking on Windows and Linux host systems
You can find a complete list of new features and bug fixes in the changelog. VirtualBox 2.1 is available as a free download for Windows, OS X, Linux, and OpenSolaris.

[via Tombuntu]

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware, Open Source

Lee's Favorite Apps: VirtualBox

I do a lot of troubleshooting on various operating systems for customers, and I've got to provide a lot of phone support. Without VirtualBox, I'd need a whole lot more hardware than I care to cram into my workspace.

On a single XP Pro desktop, I've got Windows 98, 2000, Vista, Server 2003, and Ubuntu virtual machines at the ready. Giant hard drives are cheap, ram is cheap, and my CPU has plenty of juice to do a little virtualization.

I find VirtualBox a little less confusing and just about as powerful as VMWare. It has all the functionality I'm looking for anyways, and it's totally free. It would be nice if the SATA controller and RDP support were included in the Open Source edition, but that's not problematic since I'm not using VirtualBox for enterprise-grade situations.

Because VirtualBox operating system installs are damn near as responsive as your real OS, it's an awesome way to fix one giant issue with some new laptops. Several companies don't bother with XP drivers on some of their laptop models which can make downgrading a royal pain in the ass. Leave Vista in place, decrapify it, and then do your XP install in a virtual machine.

No driver issues to worry about, and all you've really got to teach someone is how to launch VirtualBox, start the machine, and how to use the hotkeys. It amounts to about 5 lines of instructions, and I've guided some pretty technologically challenged individuals through it without any trouble.

I also love that it's open source, modular, cross-platform, and that Sun gets a little loose on their screenshots page, declaring that "Damn Small Linux runs damn well" in VirtualBox.

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware, Open Source

VirtualBox 2.0 released

VirtualBox 2
Sun has released a major update to VirtualBox, a free virtualization application that lets you run one operating system inside another. VirtualBox 2.0 runs on Mac, Linux, and Windows machines and lets you run guest operating systems inside your computer's native environment.

For example, if you're a Linux user but you occasionally want to run a Windows application that doesn't perform well under WINE, you can load up VirtualBox and run Windows (assuming you have a valid license key).

The latest update brings improved performance for machines with AMD processors and support for 64 bit guest operating systems as long as your host OS is also 64 bit, and support for VHD disk images created using Microsoft Virtual PC. VirtualDisk 2.0 also adds support for the Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 9 Linux distributions. You can find a complete list of bug fixes and updates in the release notes.

[via Tombuntu]

Filed under: Linux, Freeware

vee-Dee Eyes Hooks You Up With Virtualbox Linux


Sure, the name makes you sound like you have some kind of horrible ocular infection, but vee-Dee Eyes has a massive collection of prefab Linux distros ready for you to run in VirtualBox.

VMware has been ruling the virtual machine game for quite a while, but Sun has made great strides with Virtual Box of late. Performance is very good (there's really no appreciable lag, even on our virtualized Windows Vista install), and it is free, after all.

You could also download five or six Linux iso images and install them yourself, but that requires a lot of additional time and effort. Since we're all about slack efficiency here, we figure why not take advantage of the virtualization community's efforts and grab some .vdi's that are ready to rock.

It's a great way to check out new alpha and beta releases and lesser knowns like Mandriva 2009.

Filed under: Business, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Open Source

Sun acquires another open source company

VirtualBoxIn an unexpected move, Sun recently snatched up yet another provider of Open Source software: Innotech, the creator of the popular VirtualBox program. As we previously covered, VirtualBox is a high quality virtual machine solution available under the GNU GPL. It is similar to competitors VMware and Parallels in both speed and features.

With this latest feather in its cap, Sun has an increasingly compelling stable of Open Source solutions, including a powerful operating system (OpenSolaris), a portable programming language (Java), a fully featured office suite (OpenOffice) and an already widely used database system (MySQL).

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Linux, Open Source

Run Windows in a virtual machine using Ubuntu and Virtualbox

Virtualbox in Ubuntu
A few months back we let you know that open source virtualization software VirtualBox was available in the Ubuntu repositories, meaning Virtualbox is a one-click install for Ubuntu users. What that means is you can install and run pretty much any operating system in a window while using Linux.

So we decided it would be fun to try running Windows XP within Ubuntu. Because as much as we love a good open source Linux operating system, there are some Windows applications that we just need to run on a day to day basis. And rather than rebooting into Windows. Inspired by an article showing 4 virtualization applications for Ubuntu, we fired up VirtualBox OSE (open source edition) and pulled out a Windows XP install disc.


Read more →

Filed under: Windows, Linux, Open Source

VirtualBox: InnoTek's virtualization goes open source

InnoTek VirtualBoxVirtualization was big in '06, and it's shaping up to be huge in '07. The first company to make big news in the new year is one we're not so familiar with: Germany's InnoTek. What's the fuss? InnoTek has unexpectedly open sourced its VirtualBox virtualization software. VirtualBox looks like a pretty mature virtualization tool that runs on Windows and Linux and supports Windows (including Vista), Linux, OS/2 Warp, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD as guest operating systems. Like many companies have done, InnoTek has split its product into two editions: An open source version and a "full" version with additional features aimed at enterprise customers. The latter is still free for personal use, but its source is closed. From the screenshots, it looks like VirtualBox has a pretty featureful GUI, which is something I miss with VMware Player.

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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