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Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 Removes Linux Support
Psykechan writes "MSFN has got themselves a beta of the new MS Virtual PC 2004 which should be out at the end of this year. Most notable in their 'fixes' is the removal of Linux, BSD, Netware, and Solaris from the supported OS list. They may still work, they just aren't supported. We all thought that this would happen after MS bought Connectix but this just makes it official."
Why bother buying it at all then? if you really can only really test Microsoft OSes with it now then I can't see that being of much use to anyone.
Well their not a monopoly. I am glad the DOJ put the smack down on them.
I didn't use the preview button, so get over it!!!!
Mike
is still in there, you select "Other" in the hard drive image set up, and just have to format the image yourself, rather than VPC doing it for you. End of discussion.
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
Maybe someone could inform Kollar-Kotelly or whats-her-name? To me this is a clear case of a monopolist buying a company and killing support for alternate products.
Wenn ist das Nunstueck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
They need it to support older versions of Windows. Easier to create an emulation layer than to maintain backwards compatibility.
Or maybe they just wanted to kill a nice migration tool. Why would they do that?
Microsoft's concept of "choice" is like the "managed democracy" of Putin's Russia.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
Just like Sony with the Virtual Game Station & Bleem! Cast. Sony sued the bejesus out of Bleem and Connectix. Connectix won and the Bleem ran out of funds. M$ decided to cut straight to the chase. Lets not forget what happened to Bungi after it's acquisition by M$, the games already in production got behind, especial on the ports, and nothing big has happened since then.
Is there anything better than clicking through Microsoft ads on Slashdot?
From the MSFT web site:
Microsoft Virtual PC is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems simultaneously on one workstation, providing a safety net to maintain compatibility with legacy applications while you migrate to a new operating system.
After saying that, it would be kinda embarrassing to mention that it supports Linux.
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
Especially on a Mac, I guess?
Programming can be fun again. Film at 11.
Are the guys at MS indirectly saying that Windows is not stable? Seems they could be finally saying it!
Also, if Virtual PC supports Mac OSX, couldn't it also support some of the BSDs since OSX has at least some BSD components underneath?
No. VMWare is a virtualiser rather than an emulator. You need to emulate the ix86 instruction set on a Mac in order to run ix86 software.
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
Yeah, that's the impression I got as well. VPC lets them say Hey you can migrate your old NT 4 stuff onto WS03 + NT4 on VPC. And if the Longhorn wave breaks backward compatibility I can see a stripped down VPC being built into the OS kind of like Classic in OSX.
"Windows Me offers tremendous reliability and stability improvements..." -- Paul Thurott
MS removes features in beta, release it and gauge reaction. If highly negative, say "That was only a beta" and add the support back. If no reaction, then go ahead with plan.
The prophet has spoken.
Belief is the currency of delusion.
They may still work,
For those of us who remember Windows 3.11 and DR-DOS, the question that comes to mind is "Really?? For how much longer?"
Q. Why is there a delay between the end of sales for Connectix Virtual PC for Windows and the start of sales for the Microsoft version of Virtual PC?
A. Development work takes time, and we want to ensure a quality product for customers. Much of our development focus is on improving the security of the product so that it meets stringent Microsoft standards.
MS tried to buy VMware and did not succeed. They intended to halt support for Vmware on linux. Instead they bought Connectix and plan to bundle "virtual PC" capability into Windows server in order to kill off the VMware market. Flat out, too many folks are consolodating wintel servers into VMware sessions running on top of Linux and MS does not like it.
I've been boycotting Microsoft for some time due to their dishonest, FRAUDULENT and unseemly activities.
But this pisses me off. Not that I use VPC much, but I do have a licensed copy.
No more.
I am now going to Pirate VPC and do my best to make sure pirated copies of VPC show up on as many forums and distribution points as I can find.
I've had it with Microsoft extorting money from schools for Windows licenses for every Mac they have. I've had it with Microsoft spreading lies about its competitors. I've had it with the Justice department going after MS for stupid anti-trust when straight Fraud and Theft charges are just as appropriate. And I've had it with the low moral, arrogant, incompetant Microsoft employees that are responsible for the Seattle half of the dotcom bust with their poorly run (and no longer running) companies.
I'm a Mac user, and I just became a Microsoft enemy. I believed that this was a free market and Micrisoft was allowed to compete, and anyone who bougth their stuff was just a fool. But this is it. This isn't a criminal activity-- they can make their software fail to run Linux and suck a little more... but buying the only x86 Emulator on the market and then hobbling it just pisses me off. ITs not enough that they have %90 market share-- no, they have to piss all over us.
Well. That's it. This means war.
Yeah, and you guys panned the ipod too: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23
Then let me know how it works..
It doesnt of course..
For those with a Mac it *is* a big deal. Unless all you want to run is VMwindows.
But this is not suprising nor unacceptable, what is in it for Microsoft to support the competition? Nothing.....
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The developer of MacOnLinux is supposedly looking at hacking it to run in OS X, so you can run OS 9 and OS X inside MacOS X. There is some preliminary support in its codebase for running a Linux kernel inside the virtual machine, and with appropriate changes to a kernel, it could use a virtual drive, and run a full Linux install, inside the virtual machine. Unfortunately, you can't use an unmodified kernel. You'd have to have support for the MOL block device interface - it doesn't try to pretend it has an IDE interface. MacOS and OS X load drivers at boot (OS 9 loads them out of OF ROMs) to support it, so it's pretty much transparent there, but it might be slightly more involved with Linux.
If you know what you're doing, he would probably appreciate the help. If not, don't overwhelm Samuel with "ooh, I heard you're gonna do this! whenwhenwhenIWANTITNOWGIMMEGIMME!" This is open source, and he's contributing to the community, so be nice to him, he's doing you a favor by trying at all.
Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
My office uses VM Ware right now as a testing environment so we can try multiple versions of windows with our software. Still, there's obvious demand for a product that runs Linux and windows side by side, so it is clear here that Linux support is being removed because it's Microsoft.
Expect MS to bundle this into their dev studio to try to lock out VMWare and further reduce the ways to run Linux.
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
it allows Mac OS users to run Windows applications? What other application does that (reliably)?
When Windows applications are themselves reliable, we can fault the maker of emulators and hardware for problems. When the hardware maker is bought by M$, it will soon be junk.
I'm sure the previous poster considered the dearth of x86 hardware for Mac. He seems to think that x86 hardware for Mac is more useful for running Linux, BSD and other free software than it is for running M$ junk.
What this means is that Microsoft is moving to put in barbs to mess with anything but Windoze. That these barbs will mess windoze too is not their concern because Microsoft cares even less about Mac users than they care about their own users. They have always done this kind of thing and they always will. The next challenge is the Next Generation Security BIOS which will lock everything but M$ out of commodity hardware. If it's not under M$ control, it won't make money for M$ and M$ can't tollerate that. Wierd, screwed up, agressive and paranoid but true, M$ has and continues to repeate their desire to run everyone's computer.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
"If you want it so badly why don't you write a "contender"? I hate it when people complain about open source / free software but they don't do jack to help out the movement..."
That's a stupid statement. I wish people would stop using it.
Just because you are hungry or have an exquisite palate does not make you a good cook/chef.
There's already tons of crap code out there (BIND, sendmail etc).
Where people could help is with money. Even if they can't code, they may have other valuable skills and earn money with them. They can use that money to encourage people with the relevant coding skills to code.
There are many many other ways to help too.
calm down people!
You can download the trial from microsoft, and it still has options for running all the fun stuff (AKA linux, solaris, BSD). So they pulled the support. Big deal! The whole net is our support!
Look, any simulated X86 architecture that runs windows will by default run linux.
It's what we've been doing all along, right?
-- No Sig is a Good Sig
Microsoft has released a gratingly repetitive support document on this issue.
The blue box was fiction. No such work was ever "started at NeXT".
The Blue Box, in fact, existed as part of OSX server. Before Jobs closed off the Rhapsody on Intel product, the Red Box would have let users run Win32 apps, The Blue Box later became the TrueBlueEnvironment, and the Yellow Box became Cocoa.
If it get's to the point that VMware knows it's dead in the market, maybe people could buy out the software and turn it into open source like they did with Blender.
I wonder how much support for this would exist within the OSS community?
Shh.
Why is Microsoft evil for not specifically coding support for other OSes in VPC? I can understand the outrage if Microsoft specifically coded routines in VPC that would specifically target non-MS OSes and prevent them from running. But from what we know, this is not happening (yet). All they did was cut back on some features while improving others. As long as Microsoft is not actively and purposefully putting road blocks in VPC to prevent execution of non-Microsoft OSes, then what have they done that is illegal?
Microsoft should not be allowed to purposefully interfere with competitor's products, but they should not be forced to purposefully support said products.
"Jesus saves, but everyone else in a 10 foot radius takes full damage from the fireball."