Any reason there hasn't been virtual machines before on PC's?
I first worked with virtual systems on CP67 and / or CMS (Cambridge Monitoring System), in the late 60's on machines that were a thousand times the size and power requirements and 1/1000 the processing power of modern PC's . . . in case anyone out there thinks this is new technoloogy or anything!
Hyper-V virtualization in action
by Ed Bott | April 16, 2008 11:59pm PDT | Image 1 of 11
Previous | Next
Connecting to a virtual machine
By Ed Bott
Recently, I took a closer look at Microsoft's release candidate of Hyper-V, the virtualization platform that didn't quite make it into Windows Server 2008.After less than a week, I'm hooked. In this image gallery, I'll show you how Hyper-V works, what it can and can't do, and where it falls short on the client side.
To work interactively with a Hyper-V virtual machine, you open it in a window like this one, either locally or from a remote terminal. The toolbar along the top of the window allows you to start, stop, or pause the machine or save its state. The VMBus devices shown here enable integration with a mouse pointer and enhanced video settings.
For the full review, see Is Hyper-V ready for the Windows desktop?.
Recently, I took a closer look at Microsoft's release candidate of Hyper-V, the virtualization platform that didn't quite make it into Windows Server 2008.After less than a week, I'm hooked. In this image gallery, I'll show you how Hyper-V works, what it can and can't do, and where it falls short on the client side.
To work interactively with a Hyper-V virtual machine, you open it in a window like this one, either locally or from a remote terminal. The toolbar along the top of the window allows you to start, stop, or pause the machine or save its state. The VMBus devices shown here enable integration with a mouse pointer and enhanced video settings.
For the full review, see Is Hyper-V ready for the Windows desktop?.
Just In
I've been using VMWare for more than five years, and Virtual PC has been around for that long as well.
Ed:
I really don't think it would take Microsoft that long to do this. I mean, they already have toolkits for producing stripped down XP and Server 2003 appliances. A lot of those appliances never became very popular, but the toolkits exist. All you would need to do is deploy that stripped down appliance into a built-in VM with Hyper-V, fixed for ACPI, with a dumbed down interface, and its done.
Maybe I am oversimplifying things, but if there is a will, there is a way.
I really don't think it would take Microsoft that long to do this. I mean, they already have toolkits for producing stripped down XP and Server 2003 appliances. A lot of those appliances never became very popular, but the toolkits exist. All you would need to do is deploy that stripped down appliance into a built-in VM with Hyper-V, fixed for ACPI, with a dumbed down interface, and its done.
Maybe I am oversimplifying things, but if there is a will, there is a way.
Integrating, stabilizing, and testing the virtualization module would take a year, minimum. And adding support for USB and power management would add another year or two.
Join the conversation!
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
Vendor Showcase
