VirtualBox

Install Windows 8 virtually with free software

Don't have a dedicated PC on which to install Windows 8? No problem. Just install the OS virtually on an existing PC using a free virtual machine utility.

Various VM applications will let you install an operating system in a virtual environment on your Windows desktop or laptop. But not all are free and not all support the latest Windows 8 beta.

A product such as VMWare Workstation 8 supports Windows 8 but costs $200. Microsoft's own Windows Virtual PC is free but won't accept Windows 8 as a guest.

Instead, you can use Oracle's VirtualBox … Read more

Supereasy virtualization with Enigma Virtual Box

Enigma Virtual Box is a free file system virtualization tool that combines any program and all its associated files into a single boxed executable without extracting any files to your hard disk or creating any temporary files. It works by embedding a special loader that emulates the program's file system and directory plus all extra files in your system's memory. You can add all kinds of files to boxed executables, too, including images, videos, and music. With drag-and-drop and one-click processing, it's easy enough for novices, employees, and other non-experts. It supports Windows 2000 to 7, both … Read more

Oracle squashes 78 software bugs in latest patch

Oracle yesterday deployed 78 different security fixes aimed at patching holes throughout its various database products.

As part of the company's January critical patch update, 16 of the 78 fixes were considered critical, meaning they could be exploited remotely. The fixes stretched across much of Oracle's product lineup, including Oracle Database Server, Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite, Oracle Sun products, MySQL, VirtualBox, and PeopleSoft.

One of the patches addresses a major flaw that could compromise the security of Oracle database systems. Initially researched by InfoWorld, the flaw was shared with Oracle before the tech publication went live with the … Read more

Virtualization alternative VirtualBox version 4.0.0 released

Oracle has released a new version of VirtualBox, which is a free virtualization solution similar to offerings by Parallels and VMware that was initially developed by Sun Microsystems before Oracle purchased the company. The release is the next major version of the program, and offers a number of enhancements and bug fixes.

The key new features in the program are the following (see the entire changelog):

Installation reorganization into a base package with extensions Enhanced portability of VMs New VirtualBox Manager GUI that includes guest previews, sorting of VMs, editing of VM settings, and shortcut options for VMs Support for … Read more

Virtualizing Mac OS X Server with Virtual Box

Editor's Note: Since this story was posted, Oracle has updated its Web site to clarify that VirtualBox is for use only with Snow Leopard Server. Apple's EULA for Snow Leopard allows the installation of one copy of OS X on one Apple-branded computer, while Snow Leopard Server allows additional copies of Mac OS X Server on the same computer, as long as you have licenses for each of these copies. The article has since been updated to reflect this clarification.

On Monday Oracle released version 3.2 of their VirtualBox software, which it now own as part of its recent acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The update changes the developer references in the program, but also brings another bout of enhancements and optimizations, one of which is support for virtualizing OS X (Apple allows virtualization of the Server OS only). Seeing this as a feature, I couldn't resist giving it a shot to see how it runs.… Read more

State of virtualization: Parallels 5.0 released, VMWare Fusion performance

Despite being a Mac fan for as long as I can remember I have always been intrigued with the ability to boot multiple operating systems. When Apple came out with the Quadra 630 and PowerMac 6100 models that had optional DOS cards in them, I was awed at the notion of quickly being able to switch over to Windows with a keystroke, and have since tackled many options for running other operating systems on my Macs, including emulation and the now popular virtualization solutions enabled by the current Macs' Intel hardware. There's something just fun about being able to boot and use multiple operating systems on a computer.… Read more

VMware Fusion 3.0 with 64-bit support announced; VirtualBox Updated

Since the release of Snow Leopard, many people who use virtualization solutions have been frustrated by the lack of 64-bit support for their virtual machines. The three popular programs Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and Sun VirtualBox have so far been 32-bit only and while Parallels Desktop will run on the 64-bit Snow Leopard kernel and Virtualbox technically should as well, Fusion is still only a 32-bit application. VMware has a press release on their website that announces the release and availability of version 3.0 of Fusion, which brings 64-bit support along with other enhancements to the software.… Read more

VirtualBox receives major update

It's no secret you can run various flavors of Windows on Intel Macs using Apple's Bootcamp or other popular virtualization software options like Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion. Any of these work great if you need to run Windows software on your Mac or even test beta software worry free, but a fairly recent discovery of mine might be a better choice. VirtualBox is the free, cross-platform, open-source virtualization software I used to get the Windows 7 beta running on a Mac, and it just received a major update.

VirtualBox 3.0 (Windows or Mac) lets you create … Read more

Windows 7 on your Intel Mac - for free!

Most people who read The Download Blog are probably familiar with the coming release of Windows 7. For a full rundown of new features, check out Seth Rosenblatt's hands on post here, but there's plenty of Windows 7 content to pore over.

Judging from many of the comments, people who have used Windows 7 are saying it's the OS everyone hoped Vista would be. So when I read this week that you can easily setup and run Windows 7 in a virtual environment on an Intel Mac, I had to try it out. I can't advise … Read more