I know, I know, it's like sacrilege to recommend a proprietary product when there is a good open source player in the field (VirtualBox), but wow, the new VMWare player is solid.
I've installed it on Ubuntu x64 and Windows 7 x64. Each did so with no complaint. Then I created an x64 guest on each with the other as the OS. So I have Ubuntu 9.10 x64 as host with Windows 7 x64 as guest and vice versa. Everything everywhere runs as it should!
It's so good that I prefer doing this to rebooting into the desired OS. I just run one, and if I need the other it boot it with VMplayer. All for free. The best thing for me, in addition to simply working, is that it recognizes USB without issue. This makes using USB drives possible. Something that has always been flaky on VirtualBox and ultimately has prevented me from using Virtual Technology seriously.
But now it all works. I should say it does not support 3D acceleration in most setups, so VirtualBox has it beat there. However, if you just want to try an OS, or have one around for that specific app at work. This will work. I've never used a more stable virtual environment and that is saying a lot. I can remember the SoftWindows for Mac back in the day. Yeah ... I'm that old :)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Like Clockwork, it's time for another operating system
About every two months I get an itch to mess up my world. I'm not sure where this masochistic tendency comes from, but it's impossible to deny. Just when my computer is working perfectly, I format and install a new OS.
Lately, this is not as satisfying as it used to be. Now, the install of the OS goes very well. Nearly all my important stuff shows up instantly. What's with that? Oh for the days for searching for drivers or looking for CDs and install codes. Nearly all of that is gone. Why? Basically the cloud and OS maturity.
For example, last week I installed windows 7. Within an hour I was using it to check email, my calendar, connect with friends, collaborate on lesson planning the works. All because of Google email, calendar, docs, and social networking.
Now, I installed Ubuntu 9.10 on the same machine. Very similar results, up and running easily and productively. I use Dropbox too, so all my key documents just started downloading from the cloud without even plugging in a usb drive.
I get the sense, this is only beginning. Soon, the OS may fade away entirely. Or is that the plan ... just what is google chrome os? .... hmmm
Lately, this is not as satisfying as it used to be. Now, the install of the OS goes very well. Nearly all my important stuff shows up instantly. What's with that? Oh for the days for searching for drivers or looking for CDs and install codes. Nearly all of that is gone. Why? Basically the cloud and OS maturity.
For example, last week I installed windows 7. Within an hour I was using it to check email, my calendar, connect with friends, collaborate on lesson planning the works. All because of Google email, calendar, docs, and social networking.
Now, I installed Ubuntu 9.10 on the same machine. Very similar results, up and running easily and productively. I use Dropbox too, so all my key documents just started downloading from the cloud without even plugging in a usb drive.
I get the sense, this is only beginning. Soon, the OS may fade away entirely. Or is that the plan ... just what is google chrome os? .... hmmm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
