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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> Why wouldn't you spend less than half of that money on a new hard drive and dual boot isntead?
I'm using vmware right now to test the new DVD beta without having a DVD burner, since you can boot from an ISO image.
--It's great for "trying out" new operating systems. I run vmware from Linux host and can have Windows 98SE or ME running simultaneously without formatting my hard drive or rebooting. Vmware virtual disks can be scsi or ide, but to the host OS they're just files on your existing filesystem. However, you can also give vmware sessions access to existing physical disks and partitions.
--I bought vmware at first because I didn't want to re-do my Win98 installation on C:. Instead I stayed in Linux and did the install in Vmware. Now if there's a website that linux-native Opera can't handle, (I have problems with some Flash or Java sites, for example) I fire up vmware fullscreen, and view it from there. You can also cut+paste between host+vmware or between simultaneous vmware sessions.
--Another example: I got a free copy of WinME and vmware'd it to see if it was worth upgrading my C: install. (It isn't.) You can also duplicate your main install in a vm environment and see what the latest "security patches" from MS do to the system. ;-) VMware also has a nice roll-back feature that brings the virtual HD back to a saved state.
--One of my future plans is to have a BitTorrent session running in VM so that if I get hacked, only the VM will be affected - not my main machine.
--Another idea: Use vmware to see what the latest Knoppix CD looks like without having to reboot.
--Note: I believe vmware offers a 30-day free trial, so if you've been wanting to check it out I suggest you do so!