Virtualization for Mac

Here's a real virtualization for Mac: Both at once.

Parallels allow Mac to run both MacOS and WinXP at the same time much like VMware.

It sounds to me like a VMware clone rather than a hypervisor but only time will tell....

Feature Creep

"Tech's New Headache: Feature Creep" Businessweek is reporting this as if it was a new problem but in the computer world, it has been like this for decades. Feature vs reliability vs quick time to market. Unfortunately, as Microsoft has shown, quick time to market over features or even reliability wins in certain markets....

Virtualization Intro: preview

Here's someone attempting to introduce virtualization: "An overview of virtualization technology" and slaughters it badly.

What the author calls "para-virtualization" is the real deal. It's what IBM calls hypervisor. You let the hardware features virtualize itself. Software based virtualization gives complete control to the user running the virtualized environment but takes the performance penalty by not using the hardware. Hypervisor on the other hand efficiently uses the underlying hardware to virtualize all the available hardware resource which can be shared.

I'll write a real intro into virtualization technology, soon....

Virtualization News 2

Seems like this week is big on virtualization.

Microsoft hastens virtualization support

Virtualization bolsters Dell worldview

Not exactly virtaulization (dual booting BIOS or firmware really) but: Apple: Windows on a Mac is here

Rebate H3LL

For those who buy tech gears (esp at stores like Fry's), you can get suckered and not get any checks. Here's one report: "18 weeks in Amazon rebate hell"

I can relate since I've bought may things from various stores with mail in rebates (MIR). I found Fry's to be the worst [not them specifically but their mail in rebates so Fry's may have nothing to do with my problems I had -- I have several anti-virus software MIR not come through]. I got my MIR for my 2 cell phones at Amazon without a hitch so I think most people in general get their money. I'm still unhappy I didn't get my MIR from Best Buy for a LCD monitor (for $100).

Virtualization News

Seems like today is hot for virtualization news:

1) Xen and Virtual Iron are changing their directions to be more like VMware.

2) MSFT is also giving away their Virtual Server free and support Linux.

Also last week's post on howtoforge directions on Xen on Debian.

As Key Words pointed out, there is also SW install virtualization (not a true virtualization but more like install protection, since it's not possible to have multiple installs and be able to safely use one and unistall another or mix and match the various versions).

And last but not least, there is one more company: win4lin.

Tax at Waste

"Pork barrel technology projects on the rise." It used to be public works like roads or bridges to nowhere but now they have it even better: create technology porks that does nothing and still get paid. Software is the best since you can write piece of trash and say "it didn't work so let's scrap the project" -- and you didn't have to any real work since it can all be virtual. Never had to show anything to prove that the money was well spent. At least with physical things or even services, you have to do something and show results but with software, you can get away with 0's and 1's of garbage.