VMWare

Ok, so I finally tried out VMWare. Broke down and gave it a try. I mainly didn't think my computers could keep up with such a system. After using it, I must say I am impressed. I installed the free VMPlayer [1] on my laptop [2] and downloaded BT's VMWare image [3]_to test it out. One might wonder whether BT is streamlined and more efficient considering who produced the distribution. Never the less, when I started it up I thought it ran at speeds I would have expected with an on-the-disk install. I was highly impressed.

Then I tested it out on a fresh install. I downloaded the latest Ubuntu [4] ISO and installed it on a blank VM Disk. VMWare can mount ISO files as disks, a very nice feature. It installed pretty smoothly, again impressing me considering it wasn't running on a fancy machine. Though I was disappointed with Ubuntu (cf my Ubuntu rant), VMWare handled it quite nicely. I think what would be better is installing a real linux distro (ok, the rant is spilling over). Supposedly, Darwin can be installed as well. Wouldn't mind trying that, but first I'd have to get my hands on a copy... ;)

Installation is extremely simple. The installer takes care of everything, ie no instructions are needed. Then an image can be loaded. The catch with VMPlayer is you cannot create an image. However, there is a place online, EasyVMX [5], which will create one for you. Provide the parameters you want, ie disk sizes, and it will create all of the necessary files. Then you can install from a CD or ISO. Very simple. If not, the website has a tutorial.

Notes

• [1] http://www.vmware.com/

• [2] Stats on Dirac:

  • Dell Inspiron 1525
  • Intel Celeron 1.86GHz
  • 1GB RAM
  • Microsoft Vista

• [3] http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html

• [4] http://www.ubuntu.com/
• [5] http://www.easyvmx.com/

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