Posted 07/03/2007 at 03:35:03am

VMware actually has a free version of VMware server. It's not kept as up-to-date as the paid-for VMware infrastructure version, but for the average geek at home the free virtualization products from VMware are worth looking at. The server does require registration, and they inquire how many VMware server licenses you need, but they then send those licenses free of charge. Perhaps not as robust as Microsoft's free VM products, but VMware has a longer virtualization history, support for more devices, and, when properly configured, can be less resource intensive. In the end free is free- I use both MS VirtualPC, VirtualServer, and VMware server (as well as VMware Player for running virtual appliances- many of which are also offered for free- at your own risk).