Teknoids

mark.folmsbee@washburn.edu wrote:
> Interesting.
>
> Is there much of a performance hit on this?

I have to defer to my betters re: the extent of the performance hit.
(VMWare has some flexibility about how much memory to allocate, etc.)
For the purposes I have in mind, which would be to use the virtual
machine only for the applications that require Windows, I'd imagine that
it's quite possible to configure a comparatively lean Windows
installation to run inside the virtual machine. (I don't know about
everyone else, but my Windows installation is pretty well encrusted by
now.)

My shoestring plan would be to use the free tools to do a proof of
concept by converting my current Windows desktop. For the second round,
I'd build a Windows image with only enough infrastructure to support the
Windows-only applications. Then I'd set up Linux box, install the Linux
VMWare Player there, and work through the bifurcated environment issues.

As I mentioned, I've used a variety of pre-built Linux Virtual Machines
on my Windows desktop. I had to make choices about things like how to do
the networking and how to share files between the two OSes. But I found
it to be a productive environment for my uses.

But maybe we should work this out in a CALI-wiki.

-Sara

>
> Mark Folmsbee
> Associate Dean, Computer Services, School of Law
> http://washlaw.edu
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sara S. Frug"
> Date: Friday, May 18, 2007 8:24 am
> Subject: Re: Vista question (was RE: [teknoids] Early Friday funny)
> To: Teknoids
>
>> I realize that those running university computer labs have much
>> less
>> latitude, but if I were running a small not-for-profit, I'd see
>> about
>> addressing the obsolescence by virtualizing Windows XP to run on a
>> Linux
>> platform.
>>
>> VMWare has two free tools available -- VMWare Converter (for
>> getting a
>> virtual machine image from a current installation) and VMWare
>> Player
>> (for using the virtual machine). (Microsoft, in its infinite
>> generosity,
>> has decided to allow a licensed physical machine to run up to four
>> virtual machines on the same license.) You can pay them for
>> additional
>> functionality.
>>
>> As a tech-friendly non-IT person, I've enjoyed using VMWare Player
>> on my
>> Windows desktop to test-run various Linux desktops and even
>> content
>> management system deployments. I've been waiting until I had a few
>> days
>> to try doing what I've described above. I sense in Tracey a
>> kindred
>> tinkerer. Perhaps she, I, and some like-minded folks might
>> collaborate
>> on one of those newfangled CALI wiki tutorials...
>>
>> --
>> Sara S. Frug
>> Editor
>> Legal Information Institute
>> Cornell Law School
>> Ithaca, NY 14853
>> 607-255-4370
>>
>>
>>
>> Tracey McCartney wrote:
>>> At 09:38 PM 5/17/2007, you wrote:
>>>
>>>> While we're on the subject of Vista ...
>>> So while we ARE on the subject, and apologies if I missed this, but
>>> are many of you upgrading to Vista in your labs, etc.? If we get
>>> funded again, I'll be making some decisions along those lines
>> for our
>>> handful of machines...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Tracey
>>>
>>>
>>