VMware Virtual Platform for Linux: Beyond Dual-Booting
Computing Rises to a New Dimension
Paul Jones
Computing is rising to a new dimension... er, a new platform, that is. Linux is enjoying a larger following, Windows NT now runs in many homes, not just in the office, and Windows 95 and 98 each have their share of the operating system (OS) pie. And I haven't even mentioned the many other OSes out there.
A few brave souls have two or more OSes on their computers. They dual-boot Windows 95 and Linux, or Windows NT and OS/2, or Windows 3.1 and Windows 98. They use third-party utilities that allow them to boot any of several OSes from a single menu (System Commander being among the most popular) or built-in dual-boot utilities like LILO, Windows NT Loader, and others. They add multiple hard drives to accommodate new OSes or repartition existing drives into multiple partitions. They even buy extra computers. And all this for the sole purpose of using more than one OS.
What if there were an easier way? What if you could not only boot to multiple OSes, but run them simultaneously... on the same machine? What if, in this make-believe environment, you could run Windows 98 and Linux and Windows 2000 all at the same time, each OS isolated so as not to affect the others? And what if you could do all this on that ordinary PC you're using right now? Now with VMware's patent-pending Virtual Platform™ technology you can!
Next: What Is It and How Does It Work? »
Skip Ahead
1 Computing Rises to a New Dimension
2 What Is It and How Does It Work?
3 What Are the Benefits?
4 Power User's Dream
5 Conclusion
