Posted 10/31/2009 at 07:59:35am

I use VM Workstation for its USB support which the open source Virtual Box doesn't have and neither did Windows Virtual PC.  The USB support makes it a lot easier to build virtual machines when many of the key apps or files you want to use reside on a MyBook or Thumb Drive vs. having to burn everything to a CD or downloading the files. Although I also bought it via their academic site which means it is only $99 and $59 for the upgrade from a previous version since qualify as grad student.

Posted 08/22/2009 at 06:35:05am

Like most I use a PC at work and at home but since I am a grad student I checked out the the Apple student "discount" last year and it was a a joke - $50 on a MacBook and $200 on a macbook pro.  I ended up buying a Dell XPS laptop with better specs and a 3 year warranty for about $1K less.  I don't think Apple is even trying for the college crowd........until the coolness factor won't sell and parents won't pay the big bucks on a mac for the kid.

Posted 07/11/2009 at 10:37:23pm

Personally, I always use Acronis to make images of a build at various stages (base OS, with drivers and then one with my favorite software etc.) that are easily restored so I don’t need to waste my time reloading an OS if something blows up.   The worse part about any fresh install is the endless Windows updates and you can save a lot of grief and time if you simply backup your hard work during the build and on a regular basis. Making a backup of the Windows 7 fresh install should eliminate reinstalling from scratch and the activation problem which is slightly different than the above.  If you burn a bootable Acronis CD using the bootable rescue media function in the software even if the OS won't load you can boot to the CD and restore the last backup or the fresh install from my USB backup harddrive.