Linked by Roberto Dohnert on Mon 23rd Jun 2003 02:31 UTC
If you have a mixed network like I do sometimes you have to compromise. At my job we run Windows, Linux and a sole Mac (Graphics dept.) and lets face it, when you do consulting work and if you design and develop custom applications you have to be able to develop for your clients platform and as much as I hate it, it's a Windows world. Before I used to have 2 workstations, one Windows and one Linux, or I had to dual boot. In the past, virtual machines have been lacking. Either they were too slow or lacking a certain pizazz to get the job done. Enter VMWare Workstation 4.
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I actually have to comment about three things.
1. The Bochs/Win4Lin/VMWare comparison is not an indication that the reviewer is not technically inclined. It is not a comparison of technologies, but a comparison of solutions. How do I commute to work? I can take a ferry, a bus, a train, ride bike, or walk. There is no similarity in the implementation, but they all provide a solution. Stop whining.
2. Portability. This was not mentioned, but it is a great strength. For example, a virtual machine in VMWare is just one big file (not counting config files - don't whine!) I can make a copy of this file, experiment with my virtual machine until it is in shambles, and just revert to the copy for my original environment. Also, if I don't want to use VMWare on system A and want to use it on system B instead, I can just copy the vm file and I have the entire vm on B as it was on A.
3. VMWare almost gives you the real thing. At work, I use Lotus Notes under Wine, but if I wanted to access it from home, I must use a VPN client (with SecurID generated passcodes) which cripples a user's system by not allowing any local communications, only VPN communications (you lose any local access to smb shares, cannot ssh to local machines, etc.) This VPN client doesn't work with Wine (it acts as a network adapter in Windows) and probably not with Bochs or Win4Lin. So, my guest OS gets crippled, but I can keep doing everything in my host, Linux, even running a sniffer to see why VPN sometimes fails (no, I can't see the encrypted packets, but I can see isakmp and esp negotiations).
IMHO, VMWare is not for everybody, only for those who have specialized needs.