Productivity
February 3rd 2011 14:00
Virtual "Boxes" "Terminals" and "Appliances"
Like many of you, I have become gradually aware of "virtual" ware. In a world of terminals, clients, and other strange terminology for slimmed down hardware, virtualware has made inroads like never before. Maybe they chose their name wisely. The "virtual" world is a popular place to be. Without "virtual" friends, many of us would be pretty lonely, virtually alone.
Virtualbox
Virtualbox is freeware, and it performs well against such giants as VMware and Microsoft's Virtual PC. Installing virtual "boxes" from ISO downloads is a lot cheaper than paying for DVD's and burning, especially when the download somehow goes bad, and the ISO ruins a $1 DVDR. Bummer.
In fact, loading ISO's through Virtualbox is a lot of fun, and it gives users a great way to check out new operating systems, even new software.
Appliances
Appliances are preloaded boxes that can be downloaded and used immediately. Check out Turnkey. Its list of appliances for download is impressive. In fact, Turnkey's approach to its Linux distro is heavily based on virtual ware, and likely signifies a new trend in OS construction.
Prisms
This is a random rant for those who think "Prism" is software...
Prisms are "instances" of a browser window. So if you want to have a browser that starts at Facebook.com or gmail, etc., you can find a prism for that. It's interesting that some have begun to use "prism" as if it were software in and of itself. Hit CTRL-L in a prism, and you'll soon see that the prism is just a browser specialized to a certain location.
Virtual Terminals or Clients
Finally, virtual boxes or clients can be installed to a server, and terminals or clients can be configured to load the virtual box as if it were their native OS. Cool. I'm going to need to find a gazillion hours to learn and master that. So someone send me an old server to play with. Check out Untangled and VMware's free server OS. This is going to take some time. Fun, though.
Like many of you, I have become gradually aware of "virtual" ware. In a world of terminals, clients, and other strange terminology for slimmed down hardware, virtualware has made inroads like never before. Maybe they chose their name wisely. The "virtual" world is a popular place to be. Without "virtual" friends, many of us would be pretty lonely, virtually alone.
Virtualbox
Virtualbox is freeware, and it performs well against such giants as VMware and Microsoft's Virtual PC. Installing virtual "boxes" from ISO downloads is a lot cheaper than paying for DVD's and burning, especially when the download somehow goes bad, and the ISO ruins a $1 DVDR. Bummer.
In fact, loading ISO's through Virtualbox is a lot of fun, and it gives users a great way to check out new operating systems, even new software.
Appliances
Appliances are preloaded boxes that can be downloaded and used immediately. Check out Turnkey. Its list of appliances for download is impressive. In fact, Turnkey's approach to its Linux distro is heavily based on virtual ware, and likely signifies a new trend in OS construction.
Prisms
This is a random rant for those who think "Prism" is software...
Prisms are "instances" of a browser window. So if you want to have a browser that starts at Facebook.com or gmail, etc., you can find a prism for that. It's interesting that some have begun to use "prism" as if it were software in and of itself. Hit CTRL-L in a prism, and you'll soon see that the prism is just a browser specialized to a certain location.
Virtual Terminals or Clients
Finally, virtual boxes or clients can be installed to a server, and terminals or clients can be configured to load the virtual box as if it were their native OS. Cool. I'm going to need to find a gazillion hours to learn and master that. So someone send me an old server to play with. Check out Untangled and VMware's free server OS. This is going to take some time. Fun, though.
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