I use Virtual Box and find there is a very active community with regular updates.
Very simple to use. Has all the standard features of snapshots etc. Virtual box also has dual monitor support for Guests O/S. I think VMWare also does. Another cool feature is Seamless mode. Feature set [cid:[email protected]]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seamless.png> Seamless Desktop Mode running Kubuntu on Windows Vista. Note: Pop up menu with useful commands * 64-bit guests (64-bit hosts with CPU virtualization extensions) * NCQ<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Command_Queuing> support for SATA<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA>, SCSI and SAS raw disks and partitions * Snapshots * Seamless mode * Clipboard * Shared folders * Special drivers and utilities to facilitate switching between systems * Command line interaction (in addition to the GUI) * Public API (Java<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)>, Python<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)>, SOAP<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOAP>, XPCOM<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XPCOM>) to control VM configuration and execution [29]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox#cite_note-28> * Nested paging<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging> for AMD-V<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD-V> and Intel VT<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_VT> (only for Intel Nehalem<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture)> processors and up) * Raw hard disk access - allows physical hard disk partitions on the host system to appear in the guest system * VMware<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMware> Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMDK>) format support - allows VirtualBox to exchange disk images with VMware * Microsoft VHD<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHD_(file_format)> support * 3D virtualization (Limited support for OpenGL was added to v2.1, more support was added to v2.2, OpenGL 2.0 and Direct3D support was added in VirtualBox 3.0) * SMP<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric_multiprocessing> support (up to 32 virtual CPUs), since version 3.0 * Teleportation (aka Live Migration<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Migration>), since version 3.1 * 2D video acceleration, since version 3.1 Since version 3.2: * Mac OS X<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X> server guest support - experimental (only if VirtualBox is running on Mac hardware) * Memory ballooning * RAM deduplication (Page Fusion) for Windows guests on 64-bit hosts * CPU hot-plugging for Linux (hot-add and hot-remove) and certain Windows guests (hot-add only) * Deleting snapshots while the VM is running * Multi-monitor guest setups in the GUI, for Windows guests * LSI Logic SAS<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_attached_SCSI> controller emulation * Remote Desktop Protocol<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Desktop_Protocol> (RDP) video acceleration * Run and control guest applications from the host - for automated software deployments Since version 4.0: * The PUEL/OSE separation was given up in favor of an open source base product and a closed source extension pack that can be installed on top of the base product. As part of this change, additional components of VirtualBox were made open source (installers, documentation, device drivers) * Intel HD audio emulation * Intel ICH9 chipset emulation * A new VM storage scheme where all VM data is stored in one single folder to improve VM portability * Several UI enhancements including a new look with VM preview and scale mode * On 32-bit hosts, VMs can allocate more than 1.5 GB of RAM * In addition to OVF, the single file OVA format is supported * CPU use and IO bandwidth can be limited per VM * Support for Apple DMG images (DVD) * Multi-monitor guest setups for Linux/Solaris guests (previously Windows only) * Resizing of VDI and VHD images [edit<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VirtualBox&action=edit§ion=6>] Features only available with the extension pack Some features require the installation of the closed-source "VirtualBox Extension Pack"[30]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox#cite_note-29>: * Support for a virtual USB<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus> 2.0 controller (EHCI) * VirtualBox RDP<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Desktop_Protocol>: support for proprietary remote connection protocol developed by Microsoft and Citrix. * PXE<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preboot_Execution_Environment> boot for Intel cards Regards Adrian Halid Senior Analyst/Programmer IT Vision Australia Pty Ltd (ABN: 34 309 336 904) PO Box 881, Canning Bridge WA 6153 Level 3, Kirin Centre, 15 Ogilvie Road, Applecross, WA, 6153 P: (08) 9315 7000 F: (08) 9315 7088 E: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> W: http://www.itvision.com.au<http://www.itvision.com.au/> ___________________________________________________________ NOTICE : This e-mail and any attachments are intended for the addressee(s) only and may contain confidential or privileged material. Any unauthorised review, use, alteration, disclosure or distribution of this e-mail (including any attachments) by an unintended recipient is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient please contact the sender as soon as possible by return e-mail and then delete both messages. ___________________________________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Greg Keogh Sent: Thursday, 7 April 2011 2:45 PM To: 'ozDotNet' Subject: RE: [OT] Virtual machine alternatives >With VMWare player you could run your XP across dual monitors. I use it like >that on a Windows 7 host and it works beautifully. Now that sounds promising. Greg
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