I need a good Virtualization solution, I used to use windlows a lot and dual boot my Linux for a while, but now I only use Windows like 10-15 Percent of the time and that is mostly just for gaming/game related activities (Linux has WAY to go on the gaming department to be taken seriously as far as gaming goes, I did not spent 600+ for my 8800GTX to just use compizfusion) well any way I need a serious VM App to VM My windows instead and turn it more to like 90-95% LNX and 10-5% Winblows Well any way I had 2 in mind VirtualBox and VMware I really dig VirtalBox's Simple and friendly menus and but I also download a lot of VM Distros to try out and they are most all in VMware's VMDK format which I don't think Virtualbox "fully" supports so I need a suggestion as to which VM software you guys think is better and why? and any other software I might want to consider and Why? (excluding Cross over Linux and WINE). As always thank you guys in advance for your help.
I am aware of that I still want to dual boot but just for games, but I want to VM other apps, like Img Burn Any DVD ect ect.
You don't need to VM imgburn. Use K3B, or gnomebaker for burning disks (.ISO included). K3B is as good as or better than Imgburn IMHO anyway, and DVD's can be done on *nix without the need for Anydvd (not tried it myself, but it can be done). Apart from gaming (which i use a console for) *nix will do just about anything that windoze makes you pay for.
DeVeDe? Todisk, dvdauthor.. to name a few. the thing to remember about running an OS in a virtual environment is that everything seems to work just fine.. until any application tries to make direct hardware calls.. just like when burning disks or calling functions from sound/graphics chips.. It all falls down pretty quick then. Linux isn't the best platform for dvd work.. lots of learning and much trial and error needed.. I cracked it, but I'm not telling how because I don't want to get in trouble for discussing encryption and copy protection cracking in the kind of detail you need.
In my opinion, VMware is the best option. It offers the most features and it has a strong support base. The biggest con is that it costs money, as opposed to VirtualBox. Xen is another option, but the last time I tried it, it didn't support Windows virtual machines. Since then, it has been purchased by Citrix, so things may have changed. Finally, you might want to look at Parallels. I've read a lot of good reviews about it, however it does cost money. I hope one of these is helpful for your situation. If so, let us know what you chose and how it worked.
Cost Cost Cost... All those things are closed binaries.. The secret of *nix is the FOSS philosophy. Running windows binaries should be A LAST RESORT, not a first choice through ignorance of the alternatives.. This is the inherent problem with tools like wine and VM's.. while there is a cheat then the makers of the software, games and hardware will continue to blind themselves to 25% of computer users. I ripped saw4 with nothing more than open source free tools.. so slysoft and the rest can see my finger.. and I wasn't born with enough middle fingers for all these ripoff exploiting the situation software writing companies... Linux now has the lead with dvd ripping and authoring. It's easier as you only need a couple of tools to do every disk there is, not a multitude of different things and methods. The copy protect people are working to stop WINDOWS n00bs ripping disks, not us more skilled users. They can't do that anyway.. unless they want to risk the sales by releasing unplayable disks.. All the copy protections currently used have been cracked by linux users who were only trying to watch the content, not copy it..... The only valid use for a VM is testing scenarios which might damage your hardware or software, or building software to run in a different operating environment.. period.. If you have a tool.. say some commercial hardware running software which DEMANDS a commercial OS solution the only realistic course is to keep on and on at the manufacturers until they either.. compile binaries for your OS (shouldn't be hard.. they had to compile from source somewhere for their chosen platform anyway) or release the source under the GPL for us to make our own... There is probably an obscure FOSS solution around which will work, just a matter of finding it, and maybe compiling something slightly different. This is an argument we are actually winning slowly with the hardware makers, and will lead to a better situation for EVERYBODY, both makers and users.
