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.

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.

Built using Microsoft's Virtual PC product, Windows XP Mode actually runs a copy of Windows XP inside your Windows 7 installation. You can install older programs on the Windows XP virtual machine, allowing them to run in a more familiar environment. This is great for older games or programs that aren't yet compatible with Windows 7. Also, Windows XP Mode has new integration features that allow you to interact with the Windows XP system and applications more seamlessly than other virtualization packages provide.

The major potential downside to Windows XP Mode and the latest release candidate of Virtual PC is that they require your processor to support hardware virtualization to run. This means that, while Windows 7's performance enhancements will allow you to get the most out of older computers, processors that are more than a few years old won't be able to run Windows XP Mode. Microsoft provides a helpful page with instructions to determine whether your computer supports hardware virtualization, and in turn, whether you'll be able to run that old game from the MS-DOS days on your Windows 7 machine.

More details and changes from the last beta version of Windows XP Mode are available on the Windows 7 Team Blog.

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.

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.

One big strike against Vista was the fact that some programs which worked just fine in Windows XP just wouldn't run properly. Not even after playing with compatibility mode options. Microsoft has, however, come up with a brilliant solution for Windows 7 that could do wonders for Windows 7 enterprise adoption.

Dubbed XP Mode (XPM), the new feature should make Vista-esque program incompatibilities little more than a bad memory.

So how does it work?

First, systems will need to be running a CPU that supports processor-based virtualization. Windows 7 Pro, Enterprise, and Ultimate licensees will receive access to download a fully-licensed Windows XP SP3 Virtual PC environment from Microsoft. Unlike Virtual PC, though, it's not a standalone virtualization program. Once installed, XP Mode works behind the scenes and allows programs to run seamlessly alongside native Windows 7 apps.

And yes, that means even outdated programs like Internet Explorer 6 that some businesses still depend on for their daily operations will run just fine on Windows 7. According to Paul Thurrott, Microsoft claims nearly 100% compatibility with current Windows XP applications in XPM.

Microsoft needs Windows 7 to be a winner in the enterprise. Apart from cost, compatibility concerns are a huge factor for administrators considering an upgrade path. XP Mode might just squash that concern, which only leaves the final Windows 7 pricing structure.

We'll see how aggressive Microsoft is on that front as the RTM approaches.

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:

• VMWare Fusion
• Parallels Desktop
• Sun's VirtualBox

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

For the last few days, Windows 7 is just about the only OS anyone has been talking about. I figured it was high time for us to share the love and take a look at some other interesting free, downloadable operating systems.

Here's a collection of 20 that are worth checking out. There are plenty more, so if you'd like to add your favorites, share them in the comments!

Fedora 10 (pictured) - One of the few live distros that didn't have any trouble with the hardware on my MSI Wind netbook. My acid test: can it properly suspend and wake? Yes - and it does it faster than Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. OpenSUSE and Ubuntu both failed to resume properly.

Damn Small Linux - I wouldn't feel right not listing Damn Small. It's pretty amazing what you can do with a whole OS that's not much bigger than most Windows antivirus applications. 50mb gets you Firefox, XMMS, VNCViewer, MS Office Viewer, and much more. It's also easily extendable through the MyDSL service or by using the apt command.

Linux Mint - While it's based on Ubuntu, Mint has some features that I think make it a bit more user-friendly. For starters, there are several easy ways to find and install new software including the dead simple Mint Software Portal. Find an app, click the install button, bada bing!

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]

Twitter does have legitimate uses after all! One is finding sweet deals on some of our favorite software. If you happen to follow @vmwarefusion, you know what I'm talking about.

Team Fusion announced in their updates that today only, December 1, 2008, a copy of VMWare Fusion 2.0 for OSX is available for just $39.99! That's 50% off the regular price! The site has just updated to reflect the special price, though earlier, the promo code CyberMondayDeal needed to be entered to take advantage of the offer.

VMWare has a competitive upgrade offer in effect. If you're an existing Parallels or Virtual PC user, you're eligible for an additional $30 rebate.

The 30-day trial is still available for download as well, but how can you go wrong for $10?

[via TUAW]

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.

Want to try out a Linux distro but don't feel like switching from Windows, rebooting your computer, or installing a virtualization application like VirtualBox? MobaLiveCD is a Windows utility that lets you run any LiveCD in Windows without installing a thing. Just download and run MobaLiveCD.exe (which is a 1.4MB file), and select the ISO you want to run. Thanks to the magic of QEMU, you'll be able to run the Linux distro as a LiveCD in a window on your desktop. no reboot required.

Now, don't expect spectacular performance here. You're essentially running an operating system inside of another operating system, so things might be on the slow side. And it won't necessarily work with every host machine or every LiveCD. But at 1.4MB and with no installation needed, why not give it a try?

MobaLiveCD can also be installed to your hard drive, allowing you to launch LiveCDs via a right-click context menu. And you can create virtual hard drives to save data from your LiveCD sessions.

[via Lifehacker]

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]