I concur ... just got into virtual machines 2 weeks ago, to=20
cross-compile linux kernel and all the trimmings for=20
beagleboard/gumstix.  Having ubuntu in a virtualbox that I ssh into to=20
do the work has been very handy - lots of long slow downloads are=20
needed, and it is all happening on a laptop with screen off, not the=20
full-tilt power hungry desktop that I normally use.

Definitely worth spending some time fiddling with.  You don't even need=20
to burn an install CD for ubuntu, virtualbox can mount a .iso as "drive=20
d:" and boot from it.

One can see how all this can scale and fun crazy things could happen=20
with many thousands of virtual machines instantly created, frozen, and=20
restarted on a shifting array of real hardware and so cloud computing is=20
ushered in ...

It is a game-changing technology that people doing significant tech work=20
with software should all have knowledge of and be able to use.  A=20
valuable tool to have in your back pocket.

J



Vis Naicker wrote:
> I am running both Virtualbox and VMWare. Virtual box has a nice feature t=
hat
> allows me to run in headless mode - no display/interaction on the host
> machine, just remote access. I am running a WINXP machine on a fast serve=
r
> at work, while I am connecting to it by a very outdated laptop via RDP.
> Comparing this to a client who runs Citrix, costs are extremely lean.
>
> My next step will be to RDP via a cheap tablet PC - those $65-80 WM8650's=
,
> allowing decent mobility in the office/warehouse and keeping
> expensive/vulnerable equipment in a safer area.
>
> Vmware player pips Vbox for a beginner. Especially when I can deploy a fr=
esh
> image by Copy(Folder)-Paste-File-Open.
>
> VisN
>
--=20
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