Re: Possibly OT, VMWare?

  • From: "Marlon Brandão de Sousa" <splyt.lists@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:28:57 -0300

Hello, Two e-mails replayed in one.

Am I even on the right track as to what VMWare can do, and is it
possible to do this without sighted assistance on a computer that
already has windows installed?

You are in the right track. Download vmware server and if you're using
JAWS you might want to download also the scripts I wrote to work with
it. The vmware server is a free package.

If you research on this list and the old blindprogramming archives,
you will find a thorough discussion related to it.

If so, is the price worth it, versus buying a new machine as a
dedicated linux box?

If you buy a new machine to install linux you will get a better
performanse. However I would try the virtual machine first. May be its
performanse will feet what you want, may be it won't... but you will
have the oportunity of doing all tests you want without spending cash
and, if you decide you will need more performanse, then you can buy a
dedicated box.
From the operating system point of view (in this case linux), there're
no differences between running it on a virtual machine. The system
"isn't aware" it's running on a VM. So a virtual machine is a group of
files (with the size you choose to create your virtual HD plus some
kbs), which are used through vmware.
It shares your ram, your processor and your hardware such as sound
card and networking. You can however create a virtual enviroment the
way you whish, inside the vmware possibilities (e.e virtual machines
have their own ip addresses, their own ram, their own hd and can share
gracefully your cd / dvd, keyboard, mouse and etc). You can simulate
tons of hd partition types and also you can choose dinamically howmuch
of ram the vm will use.
As already said, the system in the VM don't even know it's in a
running a VM (it won't even know nothing about your physical machine,
but recognizing it on the same network if you set it this way).

You cann set up your virtual machine with no sighted assistance. Once
the vm is created, it acts as a normal machine (it needs to have an
operating system installed). Some linux versions, such as Ubuntu,
allow an instalation with no sighted help (look for instructions in
the Orca screen reader site). Other operatiing systems and / or
versions (like windows or Slackware linux if you don't have a braille
display) don't allow for an installation with no sighted help .. but
it has nothing to do with the fact that you're installing them om a
vm. The gold rule is: Everything you can do in a physical machine you
can also do in a virtual machine.

What, in terms of performance, would it be like if I ran a virtual
machine from my external hard disk compared to if I ran it from my
internal one?

As your external Hard Disk is probably a little slower, you would also
loose performanse in the VM machine. It would be like if it you were
booting a system from your external HD in your physical machine * if
the disk is slower, then you loose performanse.

HTH,
Marlon

2008/10/9, Christy Schulte <christy@xxxxxxxxxx>:
> I've seen some discussion on this list regarding VMWare, and it sounded like
> this would make it possible to run linux and windows on the same machine at
> the same time. Seeing as how I very much want to get back into the linux
> scene for both personal and potentially future professional reasons I find
> this a fascinating prospect, so I did a little research. However, everything
> I'm seeing looks like it's intended for large businesses and data centers,
> which would be way, way over what I'd need for a single home computer.
>
> so my questions are as follows. Am I even on the right track as to what
> VMWare can do, and is it possible to do this without sighted assistance on a
> computer that already has windows installed? If so, is the price worth it,
> versus buying a new machine as a dedicated linux box? And if all this checks
> out, can someone give me a suggestion for which product I need to look for
> specifically?
>
> I have a feeling that there's a hang up somewhere and that I'd just be
> better off buying a new machine when I can actually afford it, but I figure
> it never hurts to ask. If nothing else, I'll hopefully learn something.
> VMWare wasn't covered in the networking class I just completed.
>


-- 
When you say "I wrote a program that crashed Windows," people just
stare at you blankly and say "Hey, I got those with the system, for
free."
Linus Torvalds
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