[Ham-Computers] Virtual PC 2007

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

Hi all,

Since "virtual" computing was discussed briefly a few weeks/months ago,
I thought I'd let everyone know that Microsoft released Virtual PC 2007
last month.  And, as for the last couple of years, it's FREE.

I've installed it and my virtual sessions seem to run the same, so I
can't really tell any difference.  Officially, it now supports Microsoft
Vista and has support for the hardware "virtualization bit" (VT).  As my
system here at work doesn't support the VT bit, that might be why I
haven't seen or felt any difference in operation.  I'll try it at home
(Core2Duo) and see if the VT enhancement makes any difference.

You can get Virtual PC 2007 here:

  http://www.microsoft.com/virtualpc

If you dont' know what Virtual PC is, it allows you to create a
"virtual" computer running inside your existing Windows environment.
It's really nothing new, but the technology available today makes
running virtual "sessions" much smoother and a better experience.  A
prime example of using Virtual PC is creating a session with Windows 98
so you can run all your older Win98 and DOS apps.  This is basically how
Microsoft is getting "around" compatibility issues - they'll tell you to
download VPC and create a virtual session for that old app you have.

Anyways, for reference, VMWare is a competing product - better
performance, tweakability, and USB support, but a bit harder to get
going "out of the box".  Another example is "Parallels" for the Mac.
But, for ease of use and price, Virtual PC can't be beat.

73,

  - Aaron Hsu, NN6O