Computer Science Canada VMWare |
| Author: | Roman [ Fri Aug 08, 2008 2:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | VMWare |
Does anyone use VMware Workstation? I got a copy of Workstation v.6, and I'm installing Ubuntu on it as I'm typing. Seems like a cool way to try out different operating systems and such, but to my ignorant (CS-wise) eyes I don't really see many other uses for it for an average consumer. Still cool though 
Any thoughts? |
|
| Author: | Aziz [ Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:48 am ] |
| Post subject: | RE:VMWare |
Testing, running multiple servers with one machine, etc. Relevant, I've been testing out sun's open source (I think) VirtualBox |
|
| Author: | btiffin [ Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | RE:VMWare |
Quote: I don't really see many other uses for it for an average consumer. Still cool though
When I did the talk at OCLUG, I was on a borrowed laptop. VirtualBox meant the professor didn't care what installs were required to run my demonstrations. Made for a nicer experience for all. It also opens the door to running XP in a virtual space, running Limewire or other risky software, getting the files you want to share, then simply restarting another virtual box. Nasty go away right quick. And it allows web services to post live demos, with little regard for hacks and slashes with an automatic reinstall of the application every hour or so. And as an old guy advocating for the membership of compsci.ca, virtualization is an up and coming career path. Learn the ins and outs of VMWare or VirtualBox and it will make a great entry on a resume. In demand. Cheers |
|
| Author: | Insectoid [ Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:14 am ] |
| Post subject: | RE:VMWare |
What exactly IS VMware/Virtualbox? It does sound quite interesting. Wait, don't tell me, I'll Google/wiki it this time. |
|
| Author: | Zeroth [ Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:09 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: RE:VMWare |
btiffin @ Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:08 am wrote: Quote: I don't really see many other uses for it for an average consumer. Still cool though
When I did the talk at OCLUG, I was on a borrowed laptop. VirtualBox meant the professor didn't care what installs were required to run my demonstrations. Made for a nicer experience for all. It also opens the door to running XP in a virtual space, running Limewire or other risky software, getting the files you want to share, then simply restarting another virtual box. Nasty go away right quick. And it allows web services to post live demos, with little regard for hacks and slashes with an automatic reinstall of the application every hour or so. And as an old guy advocating for the membership of compsci.ca, virtualization is an up and coming career path. Learn the ins and outs of VMWare or VirtualBox and it will make a great entry on a resume. In demand. Cheers Btiffin's quite 100% right that it is an up and coming choice. One of my relatives apparently works for the IT team of the Gartner Think tank. He helps sell solutions, and it was a great 3 hour discussion we had when we were supposed to be working. But we talked a bit about virtualization, and its a strategy Gartner is reccommending 100%, for green reasons, space saving and money reasons, and since Gartner has.... oh, some 17,000 clients they advise, I think its a very big area to go into.  |
|
| Author: | Roman [ Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | RE:VMWare |
Yea, my dad works at VMware and he hardly ever uploads anything on his actual computer... I can switch to something like Linux without having to give up Windows gaming And when I get some knowledge of what I'm doing, I can use it for the testing and server-running Aziz was talking about hehe... I just like the concept of having several computers within one. Although now that I installed Ubuntu on one of the virtual machines I don't really know what to do with it x_x |
|
| Author: | andrew. [ Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: RE:VMWare |
insectoid @ Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:14 am wrote: What exactly IS VMware/Virtualbox? It does sound quite interesting. Wait, don't tell me, I'll Google/wiki it this time. It's a "virtual desktop" application which virtualizes hardware. This means you can run an entire OS while you're still in Windows, Linux, Mac, etc. You can also run more than one at a time and the virtual HDDs for each OS are completely separate from your real HDD so you can download viruses and it will not affect your computer. Obviously, since the other OS is running on top of your real OS, there will not be a lot of resources available to your virtual computer (RAM, CPU, etc.). |
|
| Author: | Tony [ Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:31 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: RE:VMWare |
andrew. @ Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:21 pm wrote: you can download viruses and it will not affect your computer
Not quite. Most malware will behave as it would otherwise (with an exception of really advanced ones, that will detect that they are inside a VM and kill themselves, to make it incredibly difficult for the researchers to study them). So one could still get infected and have the payload execute. It's just that it's much more trivial to trash the VM image and load a fresh copy, than it is to wipe your physical HDD clean and reinstall the OS. Just keep in mind that if you are loading a fresh system every time, then your files and settings are not persistent (well, same as those viruses, I suppose). |
|
| Author: | DIIST [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:50 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: VMWare |
Virtual Machines are great and all but absolutely none of them support 3D acceleration. Also even speed enhancements features that many of them provide like taking control of Core2Duo VT technology doesn't help as its still very slow. So for a practical users it would be better off dual booting. Only thing i love about vmware is how easy it is to back everything up. VMWARE, 4gb memory stick, win 98 pretty much means a portable operating system as long as you have a vmware client. |
|
| Author: | md [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: VMWare |
DIIST @ 2008-08-19, 10:50 am wrote: Virtual Machines are great and all but absolutely none of them support 3D acceleration. Also even speed enhancements features that many of them provide like taking control of Core2Duo VT technology doesn't help as its still very slow. So for a practical users it would be better off dual booting. Only thing i love about vmware is how easy it is to back everything up. VMWARE, 4gb memory stick, win 98 pretty much means a portable operating system as long as you have a vmware client.
3D acceleration is only important if you game. For the majority of things the average user does VMs work quite well. |
|