Posted 10/27/09 at 02:30:07 PM by Paul Lilly

Hot on the heels of Windows 7's recent release, VMware today has made available its Workstation 7 desktop virtualization software with a handful of new features for software development and testing.

The new version supports both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and works with features in the Windows 7 interface, such as Flip 3D and Aero Peek. And according to VMware, installing Windows 7 on a virtual machine is easier than on a physical PC.

Several improvements were made in the latest release, which VMware claims will help developers, QA engineers, sales professionals, and IT admins cut back on hardware costs, as well as save time and resources by streamlining tasks. This includes new IDE integrations for SpringSource Tools Suite and Eclipse IDE for Java & C/C++, the ability to run up to four virtual CPUs and 32GB of RAM dedicated to each virtual machine, and improved 3D graphics capabilities with DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.1 support.

Workstation is available now direct from from VMware for $189, or $99 if upgrading from a previous version.

Read More

Posted 10/03/09 at 10:29:49 PM by Justin Kerr

Microsoft announced today via its Windows Blog that it has released the final version Windows XP Mode to manufacturing, and it should be available for download on October 22nd, the day of the Windows 7 launch. Presumably the new version of Virtual PC is included in this RTM, curiously however, no mention of this was made. Microsoft has also not indicated if this would be available early for MSDN or TechNet subscribers, but let’s face it, October 22nd isn’t as far away as it used to be.

For those who haven’t yet hard about Windows XP mode, it’s a way for Windows 7 users to run applications within a virtualized Windows XP shell for compatibility reasons. Windows 7 RC users who want to give the beta version a test drive can still download the technical preview at the Microsoft Download Center up until the new version is released on launch day.

Want to learn more about Windows XP Mode? Check out our feature focus series which helps you make sense of all the new features.

Read More

Posted 08/05/09 at 04:04:23 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Windows 7’s XP Mode has attained RC status. The RC build of Windows XP Mode is available as a download on the Microsoft Windows website. Windows XP Mode is designed to work in concert with Windows Virtual PC (formerly Microsoft Virtual PC) “to help ease the migration process to Windows 7 by providing additional compatibility for their older productivity applications.”

Windows XP Mode ensures that applications designed for XP run seamlessly on Windows 7. Although legacy Windows XP apps run from within a virtualized environment, they can be accessed in exactly the same fashion as native Windows 7 apps.

Windows 7 users will have to ensure that their CPU supports Intel Virtualization Technology or AMD-V for Windows XP Mode to work. It is also important to check whether hardware virtualization, if supported by the CPU, is turned on or not. If this feature is disabled, it will have to be enabled in the BIOS settings.

Read More

Posted 07/14/09 at 01:30:00 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Although Windows has included the Program Compatibility Wizard and Compatibility tab to help older programs to run properly under the current version of Windows since Windows XP, these features are not always able to help older applications to run. While Windows 7 continues to offer these features, some editions can also use a better way to run older Windows applications: XP Mode.

Join us after the jump for an in-depth look at XP Mode: the FAQs, what it can do for you, who benefits most from XP Mode, and how to use its new features.

Read More

Posted 07/07/09 at 08:00:30 AM by Paul Lilly

If this is the first time you've heard of VirtualBox, there's a good chance it won't be your last. The open-source virtual machine software, now owned by Sun, is giving the likes of VMWare Workstation a run for its money, and with the release of VirtualBox 3, the VM now supports experimental 3D graphics.

Not entirely new, developers have been slowly adding support for accelerated 3D graphics, and with the latest release, it's possible to run Direct3D 8 and 9 games or applications. That's in addition to OpenGL support.

Other new features and fixes include a revamped settings dialog, the addition of a minimalistic toolbar for seamless and full-screen mode, Windows 7 Remote Desktop Protocol client support, fixed TX checksum offloading for Linux kernal 2.16.8 or higher, fixed USB dongles issues, and lots more.

Changelog
Download VirtualBox 3

Read More

Posted 04/29/09 at 05:58:29 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Tuesday, Microsoft clarified exactly what Windows 7 users will need if they want to run XP Mode (officially known as XP Virtual Machine). Although it appeared initially that XP Mode would include Windows XP SP3, Cnet's Ina Fried reports that users will need to supply their own licensed copies of Windows XP SP3 to go along with the free XP Mode download for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions.

As we reported Monday, XP Mode will indeed require hardware virtualization support in the processor, meaning that low-end processors as well as some older mid-range and high-end processors from Intel and AMD won't support XP Mode. Microsoft also states that computers will need at least 2GB of memory to run XP Mode. Thankfully, potential XP Mode users won't need to wait until after Windows 7 ships to see if XP Mode works for them: Fried states that Microsoft will roll out a beta of XP Mode at the same time as Windows 7 RC - May 5th for most of us.

To find out who will be happiest with XP Mode, and how to manage it, join us after the jump.

Read More

Posted 04/27/09 at 05:13:29 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Once Windows 7 ships, Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate edition users will be able to download a free Windows XP Mode upgrade from Microsoft, WinSuperSite's Paul Thurrott reports. What Thurrott calls XP Mode will enable these versions of Windows 7 to be almost perfectly compatible with Windows XP applications. Essentially, Windows 7 will have "Windows XP inside" when XP Mode is installed.

What is XP Mode? Officially known as Virtual Windows XP, it combines a hardware-accelerated host virtualizer based on Virtual PC with a fully licensed copy of Windows XP Professional SP3 which the user must supply [updated 4-29-09]. While, at first glance, this might sound like little more than a more convenient replacement for downloading a copy of Virtual PC 2007 and scrounging up a Windows XP Pro disc and license from a dead PC, there's a lot more to Virtual Windows XP.

As the WinSuperSite screenshow reveals, Virtual Windows XP will be able to share your system's USB drives, and when you install apps to Virtual Windows XP, your Windows 7 menu will automatically be updated with shortcuts, enabling you to run Windows XP programs in separate virtualized windows on your desktop. Although the virtualizer used by Virtual Windows XP is a host-based virtualizer, these features put it miles ahead in usability compared to Virtual PC 2007 plus Windows XP. And, because Virtual Windows XP's virtualizer requires hardware virtualization support, it won't bog down your system the way an unaccelerated virtualization host will do.

Are there any downsides? For a couple of potential gotchas, and for your chance to sound off, join us after the jump.

Read More

Posted 02/18/09 at 10:04:45 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Cnet's Matt Asay reports that Microsoft has decided to set up an interoperability alliance with Red Hat. In enterprise computing, virtualization is the name of the game, and virtualization is what this alliance is all about. Whether you're running Red Hat Enterprise virtualization technologies, Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Microsoft Hyper-V server, the interoperability agreement will enable Red Hat or Microsoft guest operating systems to run on any of these virtualization platforms and get technical support. For details, see the Red Hat website or the Microsoft TechNet blog announcement.

It will take time for Red Hat and Microsoft to validate server platforms for interoperability, and valid software support contracts are required. The best news for those of us who support enterprise-level virtualized platforms on Red Hat or Microsoft? No more finger-pointing, so you can spend your evenings winning your favorite frag-fest instead of playing pass-the-buck with operating system support staffs. 

Read More