OpenOSX Provides Virtual PC Alternative

lucas.clemente writes "OpenOSX has just announced a cheap alternative to Microsoft's Virtual PC for Mac OS X, OpenOSX WinTel. What's more, the OpenOSX version will be compatible with Apple's new G5 architecture, whereas Virtual PC users will have to wait until the next major upgrade for G5 compatibility." It's a frontend to bochs, which we've discussed before as a possible Virtual PC replacement, and the biggest obstacle seemed to be getting it up and running. Perhaps this product will fill that hole. Prices start at $25 for download, but it is covered under the GPL.

Comments

License?

[singularity]

"The software on this CD is distributed under the GNU General Public License and the OpenOSX WinTel License."

The only link on the page I can see to anything about a license is a link to the GPL

I have no idea what the actual software is released under. They currently do not seem to have the OpenOSX WinTel license available yet to look at.

This looks interesting, though. Almost enough for me to install it.

Re:Not fair...

[Vector7]

> BTW... Is anyone out there using Bochs?

Yes, but not for running applications. Bochs is very useful as a development tool to test operating systems or in general self-booting code that would otherwise have you rebooting your computer every five minutes.

Re:Bochs

[coolgeek]

Just wait for a VPC update. I'm sure you won't have to wait for 7.0.

I suggest that you not hold your breath on that: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 827904

excerpt:

Virtual PC for Mac Version 6.1 and earlier use a feature that is present in the PowerPC G3 and the PowerPC G4 named "pseudo little-endian mode". Virtual PC for Mac uses pseudo little-endian mode for increased performance when it emulates a Pentium processor. Virtual PC for Mac 6.1 must use pseudo little-endian mode to function.

The new Power Mac G5 processor does not support pseudo little-endian mode. Therefore, the current versions of the Virtual PC for Mac program do not run on the Power Mac G5.

This is a non-trivial problem.

For desktop users, just add a PC

[jeffreym]

I've been using Windows emulators on Macs since the "beginning" and have 4 licenses for VPC currently, but we use them on laptops, where it would be inconvenient to bring along a PC laptop AND a Mac laptop just to have access to more than one platform. For desktop use, one can add a PC for not much more than the price of VPC + OS and, if space is a problem, as it is for me, build an inexpensive Athlon PC with a Shuttle case and put in a KVM switch to keep to a single keyboard and monitor.

We have 3 shuttles with 2400+ processors, 256MB ram, 80GB drives, running Windows 2000 Pro. We already had flat panel monitors which the iBook users mirror when sitting at a desk, so it was simple to place a KVM between their external keyboard/mouse and monitor. The cost of the box was less than $400 each and that included an OEM Radeon 9000 Pro in each of them, which is not really necessary for standard 2D work as they come with decent graphics built in for modest 2D work.

I just don't see the gains for running VPC on a desktop Mac considering the low price of PC hardware; but for a laptop, it's really handy and since there's not much chance of a G5 laptop anytime soon, we can hope there will be a workable solution when and if the G5 architecture comes to Powerbooks.

Do this:

[BibelBiber]

Run Linux on your mac, install MOL http://www.maconlinux.org (if its not yet in your Distro) and you have the possible chance to run about as many Mac OS instances as you like (or your hardware is able to serve). Its really fast and I think it as fast as run without Linux. So check that out.

PS: Did I miss something about using Links in /.?

Re:Charge worth it!

[cmdrbuzz]

You do realize that OpenOSX just took Fink and produced their GIMP package.

WITHOUT CREDITING FINK

I don't think that is fair at all.
It even caused the primary devloper of fink to resign because he was fed up of people stealing his stuff, without credit.

Look here and here to judge for yourself.

Re:Bochs

[Textbook Error]

It is, because the G5 DOES support pseudo little-endian mode. It must be a stupid fuck-up on MS's side (as if that'd suprise anyone).

VirtualPC does not use the PowerPC's ability to boot in big or little endian - it uses the lwbrx/stwbrx instructions, which will automatically endian-swap during a load or store. This allows them to keep data in memory in little endian form, have it swapped automatically when it's brought into a register for processing, and have it swapped back when it's written out to memory.

This is the feature which isn't present on the G5, and was responsible for the big speedup in the latest rev of VPC - and the reason it now requires a G3 or G4 (since the previous PPC chips didn't support these instructions).

Since the G5 doesn't support this feature either, they'll need to go back and resurrect some of their previous code - they will doubtless take a performance hit for having to do the swapping themselves, but the massive bandwidth in the new systems will probably help cancel some of that out.