vmware posts

Filed under: Fun, Features, Linux, Lists

10 easy ways to play with Linux without leaving Windows

by Lee Mathews Sep 28th 2009

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.

Tags: beginner, fedora, kde, linux, livecd, LiveUSB, moba, ubuntu, virtualbox, virtualization, vmware, windows, wubi

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Commercial

Get VMware Fusion for as little as $9.99 today only

by Lee Mathews Dec 1st 2008

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]

Tags: cyber monday, CyberMonday, deals, virtualization, vmware, vmware-fusion

Filed under: OS Updates, Macintosh, Productivity, Apple, Microsoft, Commercial

VMWare releases Fusion 1.1

by Jason Clarke Nov 12th 2007

Virtual machines have been around for years, but it's only been in the last couple of years that performance on them has become good for regular and productive use. When Apple made their big switch to Intel processors, an upstart company named Parallels came along and did what seemed at the time to be the unthinkable: they created a virtual machine environment in OS X that allowed users to run Windows at virtually full speed.

Of course, veteran virtual machine company VMWare apparently took notice, and although they were later to the Mac virtual machine game, they arrived with years of experience behind them. Today, it's a toss-up as to who has the better product - and that's great for consumers. We're in the position of being able to watch a horse race between two very capable and competitive companies, and that means that performance and features are going to continue increasing at a rapid pace on both platforms.

VMWare has recently upped the ante with the release of VMWare Fusion 1.1, their aforementioned Mac virtual machine platform. As reported by our sister site TUAW, the new version of Fusion comes with Leopard support, experimental DirectX 9.0 support, full Vista and XP support, a beta version of VMWare importer, and overall improvements to speed and performance.

Parallels, it's your move.

Tags: Apple, Microsoft, OS-X, OSX, Parallels, VMWare, VMWare-Fusion, Windows

Filed under: Business, Developer, Google

The fight for programming talent, Google vs VMware

by Chris Gilmer Aug 21st 2007

VMware has their sights set on programmers. This comes in the midst of VMware's IPO last week, and has upped the anti to make sure they get the best possible computer programming talent around.

After VMware's first day of trading their shares jumped 76%, making it the biggest IPO since Google. Now with Google being the top company that programmers are hunting due to their compensations and lifestyle, VMware has stepped in and flashed the green. Reports are that the company is paying out between $130,000 and $160,000 plus stock options and compensations. With Google being the only company on the block that can even come close to these salaries and benefits, there is war about to start in Silicon Valley.

VMware, a virtualization solution company, realizes how Google made it to where they are today, with smart people. And the only way to lure top talent is to offer them competitive compensations.

DLS asks, Who would you choose to work for?

Tags: coder, google, ipo, jobs, programmer, silicon valley, SiliconValley, talent, vmware

Filed under: Business

Cisco picking up a stake in VMWare

by Grant Robertson Jul 27th 2007

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?

Tags: cisco, virtualization, vmware

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity

Access a second operating system on your Mac with VMware's Fusion

by Lisa Hoover Jul 1st 2007

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.

Gallery: VMware Fusion

Tags: fusion, linux, mac, tuaw, unity, virtualization, vmware, windows

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Commercial

VMware Fusion Beta 2 available

by Chris Brentano Mar 21st 2007

VMware's desktop virtualization application for Mac OS X, codename Fusion (seriously, what isn't Fusion these days?), has hit Beta 2 and with it a handful of new features to boast: experimental 3D acceleration for Windows XP SP2 & DirectX 8.1, Vista support, improved networking, 64-bit OS support on Core 2 Duo Macs, and a slew of other improvements.

Having tested the first beta release, I can indeed say that this update is much faster and more stable. I don't know if I would give up Parallels for it, but the two are a close match. In fact, it almost seems like VMware Fusion is less processor intensive on my Core Duo iMac than Parallels is, but without any formal testing I'm just going to chalk that up to first impressions. Like Parallels, it allows custom screen resolutions for your Windows virtual machine after you install the VMware Tools, and also has drag-and-drop copying from Mac OS X to Windows, both cool features that I certainly appreciate. If you are interested in testing it out, you can sign-up and download VMware Fusion Beta 2 for free.

Tags: fusion, mac os x, parallels, vmware

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Microsoft, Freeware

Microsoft VirtualPC 2007 available for free download

by Brad Linder Feb 20th 2007

If you thought it was cool when Microsoft began giving away free downloads of VirtualPC 2004 last year, check this out. VirtualPC 2007 has been released. And it's also free.

VirtualPC lets you run multiple operating systems simultaneously from within Windows XP or Vista. New features include 64-bit host operating systems, hardware-assisted virtualization, network-based installation of a guest OS, and the ability to run virtual machines on multiple monitors.

Heres' the list of supported host systems:

Windows Server 2003
Windows Vista Business, Vista Enterprise, and Vista Ultimate
Windows XP Professional, XP Professional x64 and XP Tablet PC edition

But I had no problem installing VirtualPC on my Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 system. And while the virtual systems supported are all Microsoft (Dos 6.22, Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, and Vista) and OS/2 Warp operating systems, I was easily able to run Damn Small Linux. Of course, Damn Small Linux also has an embedded version that comes with QEMU, allowing you to run a virtual installation within Windows without any other software, but hey I was looking for a complete operating system I could download and test quickly, okay?

Anyway, while Microsoft is promoting VirtualPC for developers that need to make sure their software run properly on multiple systems, it's also a great tool for Windows users who might want to give Linux a test spin.

[via DailyTech]

Tags: virtual machine, virtualization, VirtualMachine, virtualpc, vmware

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

Virtualization: The OS cold war

by Grant Robertson Feb 13th 2007

Virtualization software, allowing you to simulate a "computer within a computer", is increasingly becoming a tricky subject. With products like Parallels Desktop, VMWare and Microsoft's Virtual PC allowing you to, in a way, mix and match operating systems, the licenses behind those operating systems are becoming more complicated and restrictive. Microsoft, for example, doesn't allow low-rent versions of Vista (Vista Basic, or Vista Home Premium) to be used within a virtual environment; If you want that privilege you'll need to cough up some extra dough for Vista Ultimate, Vista Business or Vista Enterprise. Not to be outdone, Apple doesn't allow OS X in a virtual environment at all, ever; Not on Apple hardware or anyone else's.

These kinds of license restrictions might have been understandable just a few years ago. Desktop virtualization was relatively new and, Apple's computers didn't have Intel processors. The world was a strange and different place. However, today all sorts of people run Windows on a Mac in a virtual environment, not just the ubërgeeks. So why has Microsoft decided to decree from on high that, if you want to run Windows in a window, you'll need to fork over extra dough?

Tags: paralells, Virtual PC, virtualization, VirtualPc, Vista, VMWare

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Commercial

VMware Fusion arrives for Mac OS X as public beta

by Chris Brentano Dec 22nd 2006

For those of you who have been holding out on Parallels, or haven't yet tried Boot Camp, VMware has decided to give you your Christmas gift a few days early and release the public beta of VMware Fusion. "What is this Fusion you speak of?" I hear you asking. It's VMware's foray into the Mac virtualization market, allowing you to run Windows, Linux, and likely most other x86 based OSes, along side your other Mac applications. Head over to their site to sign up and download the public beta today.

[Via TUAW]

Tags: apple, boot camp, fusion, intel, mac, parallels, virtual, virtualization, vmware

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: Utilities, Web services

EasyVMX: Build a virtual machine on the web

by Jordan Running Oct 17th 2006

EasyVMX is one of those things that makes me sit back and say, "Huh... that's neat." It's a handy web app that will build a virtual machine for the free VMware Player based on your specifications. Just fill out a few drop-downs and checkboxes (or a lot, if you're more technically-inclined), download and run the small virtual machine file it generates, and then pop in your OS's install disc. EasyVMX will generate virtual machines for Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD, and more. In case you're new to this virtualization thing like me, the EasyVMX tutorial is a good place to start.

[Via Rails Live CD Blog]

Tags: easyvmx, free, virtual machine, virtualization, VirtualMachine, vmware, web

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: Macintosh, Microsoft

VMware announced for Mac, MS shelves Virtual PC for Mac

by Jordan Running Aug 8th 2006

Yesterday at Apple's WWDC VMware announced a version of its virtualization product for Mac OS X, with a beta version to be made available later this year. VMware will be competing with Parallels, a relatively new virtualization solution that has gained a lot of ground in the past year. VMware would also be competing with Microsoft, a virtualization product it acquired from Connectix in 2003, but that's not in the cards. Shortly after the VMware announcement yesterday, Microsoft announced that it will be shelving Virtual PC for the Mac, saying that transitioning Virtual PC to Intel-based Macs would be "similar to creating a version 1.0 release."

Tags: apple, mac, microsoft, osx, parallels, virtualization, virtualpc, vmware

Filed under: Linux, Open Source

VMware preconfigured virtual appliances

by Jordan Running Aug 4th 2006

Okay, so we get the big deal about VMware: Through the magic of virtualization, it lets you run multiple, varied operating systems on top of one host OS. But wait, here's a new wrinkle (well, new to me, at least): The VMware web site has a directory of "virtual appliances," which are "fully pre-installed and pre-configured application and operating system environments that run on any standard x86 desktop or server in a self-contained, isolated environment known as a virtual machine." What that means is that if you a Linux box with the free VMware Server installed and you want to, say, run a networked file server with it, you don't have to bother with downloading ISOs, installing and configuring software, etc.--all you have to do is download the FreeNAS virtual appliance and boot it in VMware. Okay, that's nothing fancy--FreeNAS is easy to install on its own--but what if you wanted to use the same machine for running a Ruby on Rails development environment at the same time? Just download the Rails Appliance. There's free virtual appliances for pretty much any server task, like running the Asterisk PBX, a Jabber IM server, or a Battlefield 2 game server. I'm seriously going to be trying this out as soon as I get a new hard drive for that bare-bones box I have sitting in the closet.

[Via Matt Croydon]

Tags: linux, opensource, virtualappliances, virtualization, virtualmachine, vmware

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

View more Time Wasters

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