Windows 8 with VMware and VirtualBox
Visiting Friends
How does the latest Windows work in a virtual machine? We tried out Windows 8 as a guest system in vMware Workstation and virtualBox on Linux.
Life without Windows is often quite difficult. One of the biggest problems is that the Linux environment offers no viable alternative for certain Windows programs. In some cases, you can still run the Windows application in Linux using the Wine Windows compatibility API; however, Wine does not work for all applications and situations. A second alternative is a dual-boot system, which requires you to reboot the computer each time you need a Windows program. However, despite these alternatives, users are increasingly turning to virtualization as the most efficient means for accessing Windows applications from Linux.
Virtual machine technology is so mature that, in normal use, it is difficult to tell the difference between Windows on a virtual machine and on a physical system. Unless you are running games, which really do perform better on a native installation, virtualization is a viable option for a wide range of desktop applications. We decided to try out the latest Windows 8 release on a pair of the leading desktop virtualization tools for Linux environments: VMware Workstation 9 and VirtualBox 4.2.2.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.
-
Critical Linux Vulnerability Found to Impact SMB Servers
A Linux vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10 has been found to affect SMB servers and can lead to remote code execution.
-
Linux Mint 21.1 Now Available with Plenty of Look and Feel Changes
Vera has arrived and although it is still using kernel 5.15, there are plenty of improvements sure to please everyone.