The company, whose software lets an Intel server run several operating systems simultaneously, releases new software that supports a much wider variety of computers.
VMware Broadens Server Software
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Eugenia Loli
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Connectix has a product (Virtual PC) that will run OS/2 in a virtual machine on Intel hardware, and they also have a version that runs under OS/2 and boots other OSes in a virtual machine.
To my knowledge, VMWare can do neither.
It makes me wonder what other limitations their product might have…
VMWare in theory runs every x86-OS, just like Virtual PC, but the fact that VMWare is no geek-toy reflects in the number of officially supported operating systems. Virtual PC emulates a real graphics adapter to increase the chance for compatibility, VMWare ships with special drivers that allow the guest OS to partially use the host’s graphics adapter, to increase speed. These drivers are included, they exist for Windows (both 9x and NT+) and Linux. The Linux drivers are open source. If you want OS/2 compatibility for graphics more than 640×480 VGA (which VMWare Inc. thinks is unreasonable in their target market, and I totally agree with them), get someone to port the drivers. OS72 as is, with graphics in VGA mode, runs fine.
The string “OS72” means nothing at all in an OS/2 context, and to my knowledge *no* formally released version of VMWare will boot OS/2 even in text mode, much less in VGA.