So you're thinking, "Hey, I want to be totally irresponsible with my computer and load it up with crapware!" Really, isn't everyone getting tired of having to be so stinking responsible on the Internet all the time? We certainly are. We're ready for system protection that isn't afraid of our reckless browsing, indiscriminate downloading, and general apathy towards good computer usage habits.
...Which is why we love Windows Steady State. It creates a cache file in which your operating system operates, meaning any harmful changes can be undone by simply emptying the cache. After downloading it's a snap to install - just a few obligatory clicks and the usual EULA mumbo-jubmo and you're set.
Our first test was pretty a pretty low-intensity workout. We surfed, bookmarked, set up a POP account and downloaded a few messages, and cluttered up the desktop with a dozen or so hilariously named folders. After issuing the old Windows - U - R we waited anxiously for the system to reboot.
There it was, just as it had been before - no trace of any of our activity. The desktop was still tidy, no favorites or emails were anywhere to be seen. So far so good, but let's try some real abuse!
Microsoft has released a new version of its free virtualization sotware with support for the latest Microsoft operating system updates. Virtual PC 2007 SP1 includes support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 as host and guest operating systems. That means you can run the virtualization environment if you're using those operating systems, or if you want to emulate them. Microsoft also threw in Windows Server 2008 Standard for good measure.
Like its predecessor, Virtual PC 2007 SP1 does not officially support Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Home Premium or Home Basic. But for the most part, it will run just fine on those operating systems. You will, however, get a warning message telling you that you're using an unsupported OS when you install the software.
If you've been hanging onto a Windows Mobile phone or PDA you bought 4 years ago because it still does the job, odds are you haven't been able to install cool new programs like the Iris or NetFront web Browsers, MSN Direct, or the Last.fm player for Windows Mobile. But how can you know if it's worth buying a newer device that runs Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6? Why not take the newer operating systems for a test drive using Microsoft Device Emulator?
Just so you know, installing Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6 in an emulator is easy. Getting it to interact with your desktop so you can copy and install files takes a bit more work. And you'll need a fairly fast computer to run the emulator. On our system it ate up to 340MB of RAM and used a fair bit of CPU cycles.
Yesterda we showed you how to install Windows XP in a virtual machine using Ubuntu Linux and VirtualBox. But Virtual Box ain't the only game in town when it comes to virtualization software for Linux. If you go to to the add/remove applications window in Ubuntu and click on the third party applications option, you'll see that VMWare Player is available. And starting this week, you can also download and install Parallels Workstation for Linux.
Parallels is probably best known for making virtualization software for OS X that enables Mac users to run Windows without rebooting. Unlike VirtualBox and the VMWare Player, Parellels charges $50 for a licensed copy of its Workstation software. But there's a 15 day free trial, so you can try the software out of a while before deciding whether its worth the asking price.
Of course, VirtualBox and VMWare Player are both pretty easy to use and work quite well, which leads us to wonder why anyone would pay for virtualization software for Linux that doesn't appear to offer any advanced features at the moment? We're not morally opposed to companies releasing commercial software for Linux, and we even think it's great that you can find commercial software using the add/remove applications window. But if you're going to charge for an application designed to run on Linux, you should really make sure it offers some benefits that you can't already get from free and open source software.
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.
Microsoft issued a press release today stating, among other things, that Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions can now be run in a virtual environment. This is good news for those of us who don't want to buy the more expensive editions of Vista just to run it virtualized on our Mac or Linux machines.
We checked the EULA for Vista Home Premium today, and it still says you can't virtualize it, but they will be updating that soon since this announcement wasn't supposed to go live until tomorrow.
Virtualization basically means you can run Vista in an intermediate piece of software so that it's contained and separate from your base OS. If you have a copy of Vista lying around and would like to virtualize it, try Parallels or VMware Fusion for Mac, or VirtualBoxfor Linux.
You have until tonight at Midnight (MST) to buy all basic JumpBoxes for just $24.99. What is a JumpBox? It's an easily installable server application, similar to BitNami. In their library of downloadable JumpBoxes, JumpBox has applications for Document Management, Blogging, Bug Tracking, CRM, and Development, among others.
What sets JumpBoxes apart from other server products is they are aimed at Virtual Environments. Using virtualization, IT managers and other curious geeks can try out server software packages without having to use existing hardware, therefore softening the cost of adoption. Also, unlike most open source solutions, JumpBoxes are supported by a company that will give you technical support. This added support feature takes a bit of the unknown factor of many of these open source packages.
JumpBox is attempting lower costs and save time for those responsible for getting IT software solutions up and running.
Does anyone have any experience with JumpBoxes? Sound off in the comments!
Apple appears to have changed its stance on virtualization... a little. The licensing agreement for OS X 10.4 strictly reads that you can only run Tiger on a single "Apple-labeled computer." And while the license for the desktop version of OS X 10.5 Leopard states the same restriction, Apple'se license for the server version of Leopard holds a little surprise.
You still need to buy a separate license for every Leopard Server installation. But in addition to installing Leopard Server on an Apple machine, you can install multiple copies of OS X 10.5 Server on a single machine. In other words, once VMWare and Parallels offer support for Leopard virtualization, you'll be all set.
This change does not apply to the desktop operating system. And Apple still strictly forbids installation of OS X on a non-Apple computer, which means there's no way to run Leopard on a PC without violating the terms of your license. Still, it's nice to see Apple crack the window a bit, even if they're not ready to open the door and let you run OS X, Linux, Windows all on the same box (unless you bought that box from Apple).
Microsoft engineer Eric Traut gave a presentation on virtualization technology at the University of Illinois last week. And as part of that presentation, he showed off a few old versions of Windows running in Virtual PC. And he also pulled up a disc image running a tiny version of Windows 7.
No, we can't tell you anything really new and exciting about Microsoft's successor to Windows Vista. But we can tell you that Microsoft has begun work on the next generation of its operating system, which you probably already knew.
Basically, Traut showed off something called MinWin. This won't be available to the public, but is essentially a minimal Windows system running on the Windows 7 kernel. The kernel itself is just 25MB and MinWin takes up less than 40MB of RAM. It doesn't do much. Traut was basically showing its ability to host a simple HTTP server. But if you're hoping to skip over Windows Vista entirely and upgrade your XP system to Windows 7 in a few years, take heart in the knowledge that some progress is being made.
You can check out an 8 minute that includes a snippet of Windows 7 information at istartedsomething. Or if you're really into virtualization, you can check out Traut's entire hour-long talk.
If it weren't for Parallels Desktop, the virtualization product for Intel Macs that lets you run Windows alongside Mac OS X, many working Mac professionals would be forced to carry two laptops. So it's good news that the Mac's most popular method of running Windows within OS X (the other, less effective, method is VMWare) recently sprouted a few really useful enhancements:
Parallels' Coherence feature, which lets you use Windows application windows within OS X instead of in a Windows "box", now supports Expose, OS X's zoomed-out, view-all-windows mode.
Macintosh folders can now be mapped to Windows/DOS drive letters to cut down on navigating (before you had to create a network place).
Virtual Machine hard disk images can now be mounted to the Mac OS X desktop.
Windows windows now have OS X drop shadows in Coherence mode.
The iPhone can be synchronized with the Windows virtual machine.
Cisco, ever looking to stick its stubby fingers in a winning pie, is acquiring a stake in VMWare, makers of the ever popular line of machine virtualization software.
According to the press release, "Upon closing of the investment, the computer-networking company will own about 1.6 percent of VMware's total outstanding common stock. Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware also agreed to consider the appointment of a Cisco executive to its board in the future"
Virtualization is becoming a hot commodity, and VMWare is in a healthy position to capitalize. Everyone wants to be on the winning team, eh?
If you love your Mac but still need or want to run Windows, Linux, or Solaris, then VMware's Fusion is worth a look. Though it's still in beta and not expected to launch until later this summer, this virtualization tool gives you access to all the apps in a second operating system without requiring a reboot to access them.
We downloaded it to a MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo and then installed Windows XP without a hitch. Fusion will find and run the existing Windows OS that ships with Boot Camp, so a separate Windows installation isn't necessary in that case. According to the VMware website, Fusion also works with Vista. Once your OS of choice is installed, let the fun begin.
Parallels Desktop 3.0 is due out in a few weeks, with over 50 new features. But some features are cooler than others, so here are a few of the good ones:
3D graphics - play Windows OpenGL and DirectX games on a Mac without shutting down OS X
SmartSelect - set file types to open with your preferred applications on any platform
Snapshot - back up or restore your virtual machine
A full copy of Parallels Desktop 3.0 will set you back $80, but current users can upgrade for $50. If you preorder, you can save a few bucks get get your upgrade for $40.
Skype's Jaanus Kase obviously has way too much free time on his hands. On a whim, he decided to see if he could get all four versions of Skype (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows Mobile) running on one machine.
So he fired up Parallels on his Mac and set up two virtual machines, one to run Linux, the other for Windows. And inside of the Windows machine, he used Microsoft's Device Emulator to load a virtual Windows Mobile device.
The verdict? You can sit around and talk to yourself for hours on end. The Windows Mobile version didn't play as nicely as some of the others, but it's likely that this is because of the emulator rather than the Skype client. After all, we're talking about an emulator running inside of an emulator, on a machine that's running a grand total of four operating systems simultaneously.
Is there any rational reason why you might want to replicate this experiment at home? Of course not. But it's still pretty cool. What other programs can you think of that might be able to run in this environment?
Parallels Desktop for Mac is officially out, and it looks a lot like the beta release we told you about a few weeks ago. Parallels, for the uninitiated, is software that lets you install multiple operating systems on a Mac, and lets you launch an operating system from inside of Mac OS X without needing to reboot the computer, like you would with Boot Camp.
Here's some of the updates in the newest version:
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard host support
Windows Vista guest OS support
Ability to launch Windows applications on the Mac desktop and launch them from Dock
Drag and drop
There's a 15-day free trial available. The full version will set you back $80 plus whatever it cost to get your hands on the guest operating system you're installing.
Cisco, ever looking to stick its stubby fingers in a winning pie, is acquiring a stake in VMWare, makers of the ever popular line of machine virtualization software. 
If you love your Mac but still need or want to run Windows, Linux, or Solaris, then 
