I've checked now and then, over the last fifteen years, to see what has been written that allows a computer to run another pretend computer in a window. I've had windows open that gave me a BBC B or a Spectrum and they felt quite like using a BBC B and a Spectrum. That's called emulation.
The other branch is called virtualization and I've not been smitten until now. It lets you have another few of what you already have in front of you. I've got a PC but virtualizing allows me to think I've got several PCs. They've been, initially, expensive, and then they became free but not really stunning, but the one I tried today really is perfect all round as far as I can tell.
It's Sun who built it and it's on VirtualBox
To quote a paragraph, Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, and OpenBSD. So, whatever you're running (I'm running Linux, for example) it lets you run several other operating systems side by side on the same hardware. I just installed Microsoft Windows XP into what looks like a file to my Linux computer. On the screen it's a window on my Linux desktop. Inside that window it's an entire working Windows XP computer, complete with internet access. It can read and write to my DVD drive, see all my USB devices, as far as the XP knows it's all that exists on this hardware. It's been conned.
I could install other Linuxes alongside it. I could install Vista and Windows 95 alongside it. I could have them all open and running at the same time. I could leave jobs running on them while I work inside one of the windows and when I go back to the others they'd have finished whatever I'd told them to do for me.
It's like having a computer lab full of computers again.
I could even install VirtualBox inside my virtual XP computer and run a virtual Linux computer inside it. I'm not going to do that, it would be silly. Thinking about it, it might not get access to the Internet either.
I've got a Firefox browser open on my Linux desktop and Internet Explorer 6 open in my virtual XP computer, each logged into ForumGarden as different people. The virtual one's refreshing the user list every four minutes and I can see the refreshes in the small window at the same time as typing this.
I might be a bit late on saying wow but this is the first virtual handler I've seen that has it all working. It's wonderful. Congratulations to the team that's doing it.
Attached files
Virtual computers
Virtual computers
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
whuch linus distribution would you recommend for the average computer challenged numpty like me? Gave mandrake a serious try but gave up eventually. been looking at ubuntu but not plucked up the nerve to try it yet
Virtual computers
gmc;1104674 wrote: whuch linus distribution would you recommend for the average computer challenged numpty like me? Gave mandrake a serious try but gave up eventually. been looking at ubuntu but not plucked up the nerve to try it yet
It used to require the experimenter to isolate at least an unused partition of his computer and risk screwing up the existing installed Microsoft boot while attempting to go to a dual-boot machine. I may be timorous but, speaking for myself, it always terrified me.
There are now suck-it-and-see CDs and DVDs which will boot into their given Linux flavour and let you run indefinitely without touching your hard drive. They're called Live Linux CDs. There's a list of them at Comparison of Linux distributions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Downloading one of those, burning it as an iso image and booting from the CD/DVD drive is pretty pain-free and risks nothing of your existing setup.
It's possible that the live CD you choose will fail to work out what your machine's hardware consists of and refuse to run. I've not seen that happen.
Of the ones listed, I quite like Knoppix DVD and Linux Mint and Ubuntu. Puppy's perfect for keeping an old slow computer productive for another three or five years beyond where Microsoft's service packed installations will grind to a treacly halt.
They'll run slower than a fully-installed version of the same will, because they're coming from the DVD instead of the hard drive and it's not as fast.
If you have a spare memory stick you can save your changes to the boot desktop and it will come back next boot with your changes. That's worth doing if you're giving it a trial, it's frustrating otherwise.
If you decide eventually to install, making it a virtual install with VirtualBox will save you the terrors of dual-booting and you can have both systems running at the same time. You can even have a shared file area for exchanging files between the systems.
What I run is Slackware. It gets a harsh name for unfriendliness which I think is prejudicial and wrong but I'm not sure I'd offer it to someone wanting a system working straight from the box. It does actually work straight from the box but you need to have read the manual first to get that to happen. It has a few wonderful aspects and quite a number of deterrents.
It used to require the experimenter to isolate at least an unused partition of his computer and risk screwing up the existing installed Microsoft boot while attempting to go to a dual-boot machine. I may be timorous but, speaking for myself, it always terrified me.
There are now suck-it-and-see CDs and DVDs which will boot into their given Linux flavour and let you run indefinitely without touching your hard drive. They're called Live Linux CDs. There's a list of them at Comparison of Linux distributions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Downloading one of those, burning it as an iso image and booting from the CD/DVD drive is pretty pain-free and risks nothing of your existing setup.
It's possible that the live CD you choose will fail to work out what your machine's hardware consists of and refuse to run. I've not seen that happen.
Of the ones listed, I quite like Knoppix DVD and Linux Mint and Ubuntu. Puppy's perfect for keeping an old slow computer productive for another three or five years beyond where Microsoft's service packed installations will grind to a treacly halt.
They'll run slower than a fully-installed version of the same will, because they're coming from the DVD instead of the hard drive and it's not as fast.
If you have a spare memory stick you can save your changes to the boot desktop and it will come back next boot with your changes. That's worth doing if you're giving it a trial, it's frustrating otherwise.
If you decide eventually to install, making it a virtual install with VirtualBox will save you the terrors of dual-booting and you can have both systems running at the same time. You can even have a shared file area for exchanging files between the systems.
What I run is Slackware. It gets a harsh name for unfriendliness which I think is prejudicial and wrong but I'm not sure I'd offer it to someone wanting a system working straight from the box. It does actually work straight from the box but you need to have read the manual first to get that to happen. It has a few wonderful aspects and quite a number of deterrents.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
I've just finished converting all of my sytems into a virtual environment, including my phone system. It's just awesome, IMO.
Went with HPs VMware and now that I've got it running, I get to go off and get certified in it..:wah:
But I've gone from 16 servers to two and a rack of sas drives.. it's so pretty, I just step in and gaze at it sometimes..:-4:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl
I really do need a nap, however..
Went with HPs VMware and now that I've got it running, I get to go off and get certified in it..:wah:
But I've gone from 16 servers to two and a rack of sas drives.. it's so pretty, I just step in and gaze at it sometimes..:-4:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl
I really do need a nap, however..
I expressly forbid the use of any of my posts anywhere outside of FG (with the exception of the incredibly witty 'get a room already' )posted recently.
Folks who'd like to copy my intellectual work should expect to pay me for it.:-6
Folks who'd like to copy my intellectual work should expect to pay me for it.:-6
Virtual computers
I have been running Virtual environment at work for a year at least. We went to VOIP phone system in August 2008 love it I can control the world now.:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl
ALOHA!!
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
Virtual computers
It's interesting how many ways of working with computers can be described as virtual. I'd assumed when floppy said she was going virtual at work that she was putting a master client system image onto a server and all her users were going to run that on their desktop clients. One master to update, many clean machines among her client base.
It sounds, from what you wrote here, that you've had many single-function servers in the past and each of those is now a virtual job running on a single heavy-duty rack computer. The world sees each virtual box as a distinct computer but they're all sharing the same hardware.
They're totally different functions but they're both called virtual computing. Isn't it odd.
It sounds, from what you wrote here, that you've had many single-function servers in the past and each of those is now a virtual job running on a single heavy-duty rack computer. The world sees each virtual box as a distinct computer but they're all sharing the same hardware.
They're totally different functions but they're both called virtual computing. Isn't it odd.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
In reality we have be virtually computing all along just now getting the picture. I have 5 servers that are a virtual environments.:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl Oh then there is "Cloud" computing whoooo hoo!! your accessing the internet. 
[QUOTE]They're totally different functions but they're both called virtual computing. Isn't it odd.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]They're totally different functions but they're both called virtual computing. Isn't it odd.[/QUOTE]
ALOHA!!
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
Virtual computers
What I think virtual means is a system which thinks it knows what hardware instantiates it but in reality it hasn't a clue and the genuine physical hardware is something entirely different.
I'm sat at a Windows 7 beta screen which thinks it's on a PC with 1220MB of memory and a 128MB video card with 3g acceleration. It's really a simulation running on a Slackware linux computer with 2GB memory and nVidia 256MB graphics. For as long as I keep this window full-screen it actually feels like I'm using a Microsoft operating system but I can switch back and forth into my linux programs to get, for example, to my email. I've installed a BBC B emulator inside this Microsoft emulation and I can run Chuckie Egg in a full-sized BBC B window and Chuckie Egg hasn't a clue that I no longer own a BBC micro. Well, I do actually, but it's a lot easier running my BBC programs on here.
I'm sat at a Windows 7 beta screen which thinks it's on a PC with 1220MB of memory and a 128MB video card with 3g acceleration. It's really a simulation running on a Slackware linux computer with 2GB memory and nVidia 256MB graphics. For as long as I keep this window full-screen it actually feels like I'm using a Microsoft operating system but I can switch back and forth into my linux programs to get, for example, to my email. I've installed a BBC B emulator inside this Microsoft emulation and I can run Chuckie Egg in a full-sized BBC B window and Chuckie Egg hasn't a clue that I no longer own a BBC micro. Well, I do actually, but it's a lot easier running my BBC programs on here.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
Exactly I do this with my Phone Server which is Linux based and I control it through Window Server 2003 and the Internet. "Chuckie Egg" boy thats a blast from the past.
What do you think of Windows 7 Beta??
[QUOTE]What I think virtual means is a system which thinks it knows what hardware instantiates it but in reality it hasn't a clue and the genuine physical hardware is something entirely different.
I'm sat at a Windows 7 beta screen which thinks it's on a PC with 1220MB of memory and a 128MB video card with 3g acceleration. It's really a simulation running on a Slackware linux computer with 2GB memory and nVidia 256MB graphics. For as long as I keep this window full-screen it actually feels like I'm using a Microsoft operating system but I can switch back and forth into my linux programs to get, for example, to my email. I've installed a BBC B emulator inside this Microsoft emulation and I can run Chuckie Egg in a full-sized BBC B window and Chuckie Egg hasn't a clue that I no longer own a BBC micro. Well, I do actually, but it's a lot easier running my BBC programs on here.[/QUOTE]
What do you think of Windows 7 Beta??
[QUOTE]What I think virtual means is a system which thinks it knows what hardware instantiates it but in reality it hasn't a clue and the genuine physical hardware is something entirely different.
I'm sat at a Windows 7 beta screen which thinks it's on a PC with 1220MB of memory and a 128MB video card with 3g acceleration. It's really a simulation running on a Slackware linux computer with 2GB memory and nVidia 256MB graphics. For as long as I keep this window full-screen it actually feels like I'm using a Microsoft operating system but I can switch back and forth into my linux programs to get, for example, to my email. I've installed a BBC B emulator inside this Microsoft emulation and I can run Chuckie Egg in a full-sized BBC B window and Chuckie Egg hasn't a clue that I no longer own a BBC micro. Well, I do actually, but it's a lot easier running my BBC programs on here.[/QUOTE]
ALOHA!!
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
Virtual computers
OK, having dowloaded and installed Virtualbox in its Ubuntu 8.10 AMD64 incarnation it runs fine and has allowed me to set up a virtual box - just like it says on the tin.
Given that the only release disk I have handy is Ubuntu 8.04 AMD64 I set up a new virtual machine to run that.
As soon as it tried to load the CD it failed, saying that the VM was 32 bit
I'm going to grump for a bit, then try again
Given that the only release disk I have handy is Ubuntu 8.04 AMD64 I set up a new virtual machine to run that.
As soon as it tried to load the CD it failed, saying that the VM was 32 bit
I'm going to grump for a bit, then try again
Virtual computers
VirtualBox has a 64 bit flavour on the download page.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
spot;1108802 wrote: VirtualBox has a 64 bit flavour on the download page.
That's what I installed
That's what I installed
Virtual computers
How odd.
I don't have any 64 bit operating systems to check with.
You could download Windows 7 overnight.
Download the Windows 7 Beta
Don't forget to write down the key when you're given one.
I don't have any 64 bit operating systems to check with.
You could download Windows 7 overnight.
Download the Windows 7 Beta
Don't forget to write down the key when you're given one.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
spot;1108811 wrote: How odd.
I don't have any 64 bit operating systems to check with.
You could download Windows 7 overnight.
Download the Windows 7 Beta
Don't forget to write down the key when you're given one.
They don't make it easy do they!
It's taken me this long to get through their "passport" registration screen - plonkers!
I don't have any 64 bit operating systems to check with.
You could download Windows 7 overnight.
Download the Windows 7 Beta
Don't forget to write down the key when you're given one.
They don't make it easy do they!
It's taken me this long to get through their "passport" registration screen - plonkers!
Virtual computers
Micro$oft really DO go too far!
Going in to download an anti-virus for Windoze 7, IE8 promptly hijacked my request, redirected it to one of their own pages and tried to make me go through a registration routine to obtain their anti-virus.
It would not allow me to go back to my download request and repeated this behaviour when I walked away and manually went back to the anti-virus I wanted.
I managed to get the download I wanted from a mirror but I object to the intrusion.
BTW, it loaded the 32 bit version of Windoze 7 which promptly reports that it's running on an AMD64.
I'll try loading the 64 bit version after the ironing done :wah:
Going in to download an anti-virus for Windoze 7, IE8 promptly hijacked my request, redirected it to one of their own pages and tried to make me go through a registration routine to obtain their anti-virus.
It would not allow me to go back to my download request and repeated this behaviour when I walked away and manually went back to the anti-virus I wanted.
I managed to get the download I wanted from a mirror but I object to the intrusion.
BTW, it loaded the 32 bit version of Windoze 7 which promptly reports that it's running on an AMD64.
I'll try loading the 64 bit version after the ironing done :wah:
Virtual computers
I managed but I agree they make a meal of it.
http://www.forumgarden.com/forums/gener ... ost1108188 has a screendump.
I could show you my program menu too if you like.
http://www.forumgarden.com/forums/gener ... ost1108188 has a screendump.
I could show you my program menu too if you like.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
Virtual computers
OK, although the sysinfo in the Windoze 7 32 bit version shows the processor as an AMD64, when I attempted to load the Windoze 7 64 bit version it refused on the grounds that it was incompatible.
When I loaded Virtualbox it claimed to be loading the 64 bit version so I suspect that there's a problem with the Ubuntu version of the 64 bit loader.
For all that, it runs well and I'm surprised that it will run at all given that I've only assigned 512 MB of RAM to the Windoze instance.
When I loaded Virtualbox it claimed to be loading the 64 bit version so I suspect that there's a problem with the Ubuntu version of the 64 bit loader.
For all that, it runs well and I'm surprised that it will run at all given that I've only assigned 512 MB of RAM to the Windoze instance.