vm posts

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

VirtualBox 2.0 released

by Brad Linder Sep 16th 2008

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]

Tags: virtual-machine, virtualbox, virtualbox-2.0, virtualization, vm

Filed under: Utilities, Linux, Open Source

Virtualbox Open Source Edition available in Ubuntu repos

by Ian Dumych Dec 29th 2007

For some time now, Innotech's VirtualBox virtualization suite has been open source. However, the binaries they offered on the site were proprietary, despite the fact that the core technology was not.

Now, Ubuntu Gutsy users have the option to install a completely open version of VirtualBox, known as VirtualBox OSE. It is almost identical to the older proprietary version, and is readily available in the Synaptic Package Manager. Users looking for a free and open alternative to VMWare need look no further. Just fire up Synaptic and get ready for some hot VM action.

Tags: Linux, Ubuntu, VM

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

VMware Converter: Turn your computer into a virtual machine

by Jordan Running Oct 30th 2006

So you want to upgrade to Vista or Linux but still have your old Windows install--the whole thing, apps, settings and all--available? That's just one of the scenarios in which VMware Converter could be extremely useful. It's a free beta app from VMware that makes it supremely easy to take your current system and turn it into a virtual machine. This is a task that in the past was possible but laborious. In addition to creating physical machines to virtual ones, VMware Converter knows a couple other tricks, like converting virtual machines to a newer version of VMware and converting images from other software like Microsoft Virtual PC.

In related news, LiveCD aficionados should check out this LiveCD Player Virtual Machine from vmwarez.com, which lets you create a virtual machine for VMware from any LiveCD ISO with just one click.

[Via Lifehacker]

Tags: free, freeware, virtual machine, virtualization, VirtualMachine, vm, vmware, vmware converter, windows

Filed under: Open Source

VMware Ultimate Virtual Appliance winners announced

by Jordan Running Aug 16th 2006

VMware Ultimate Virtual Appliance Challenge

VMware has announced the winners of its Ultimate Virtual Appliance Challenge, a contest which challenged teams to build preconfigured open source virtual machine images for VMware. I posted earlier this month about some of the very cool "Virtual Appliances" available at the VMware web site, and VMware's chosen winners are impressive indeed. The first prize winner is HowNetWorks, "a network analyzer that works at a higher level than more traditional network analyzers like tcpdump or ethereal." The team from Finland that created it will take home $100,000. The second place team, which will take home $50,000, built Trellis NAS Bridge, which "makes it easier to access files from one location (i.e., a client) even though the files may be stored on different computers, different file servers, and different operating systems," and the third place team's entry, which netted them $25,000, is Sieve Firewall, "a virtual machine that runs an extremely small Linux kernel to create a transparent bridging firewall." VMware also gave away prizes in Collegiate, Consumer, Developer, Server, and Community Choice categories.

Tags: challenge, contest, uvac, virtualappliance, virtualization, virtualmachine, vm, vmware, winners

Filed under: Windows

How to build a smaller and faster Windows VM

by Jordan Running Jul 20th 2006

When you're running a Virtual Machine, you don't always need all the trimmings--usually your goal is to get a particular set of tasks done, and a full-fledged install of Windows has a lot that gets in the way of that and can slow you down. Jeff Atwood has a great tutorial at his blog about creating smaller virtual machines. He says that since Microsoft made the Windows version of Virtual PC free, he's "become obsessed with producing the smallest possible Windows XP Virtual PC image." While your run-of-the-mill XP install takes up more than 1GB, Atwood's tutorial squeezes it down to 758MB. Still big, but better. One of his steps involves the use of XPlite, an app that will cost you $39.95, which might not be an investment more casual VMers would want to make. His tutorial is aimed at Microsoft Virtual PC, but it's probably applicable to other virtualization solutions as well.

Tags: fast, Jeff Atwood, JeffAtwood, virtualization, virtualmachine, virtualpc, vm, xplite

Filed under: Macintosh, Apple

Convert your Boot Camp partition to Parallels

by Jordan Running Jul 18th 2006

Mac Virtualization software Parallels allows OS X users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously, much in the same way as VMware does for Windows, and has been building a solid reputation as a good alternative to Apple's Boot Camp, which allows a Mac owner to install Windows, but requires dual-booting and a separate partition. But what if you've been Boot Camping for awhile but want to switch to Parallels? Do you have to start from scratch? As it turns out, no. Though it's certainly no walk in the park, Ars Technica's Infinite Loop blog has some info on how you can back up your Boot Camp partition and re-create it as an identical Parallels virtual machine. Not for the faint of heart, but if you're sick of dual-booting, this might be right up your alley.

Tags: apple, bootcamp, dualboot, mac, osx, parallels, switch, virtualmachine, vm

Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

I have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

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