Re: [9fans] Native vs Emulated

[Martin C.Atkins <martin_ml@parvat.com>]

On Sun, 6 Mar 2005 21:58:48 -0500 Russ Cox <russcox@gmail.com> wrote:
> for me, the novelty of this wore off real fast.
> a simulation of three computers running three
> different operating systems is no easier to
> use than three actual computers running three
> different operating systems (though it is admittedly
> easier to carry around).  i found that the os-os
> boundaries were really frustrating to keep hopping
> across, with distinct file systems, desktops, snarf
> buffers, etc. attached to each one instead of a
> unified whole.

I'm a long-time user of vmware, and I'd agree with a lot of this.
Especially the comments about the inconveniences of os-os boundaries,
and "os-hopping".

On the other hand, I think this underestimates the advantages of
never having to partition a disk again, getting access to other
systems without having to dedicate a physical machine to them, and
being able to minimise the hardware that one has to administer (not
to mention, buy!).

Like all things, there are advantages and disadvantages, and it
depends on what you're doing, but virtual machines (almost?) always
seem to win over multi-booting - where the os-os boundaries are
much harder to overcome.

Martin

--
Martin C. Atkins			martin_ml@parvat.com
Parvat Infotech Private Limited		http://www.parvat.com{/,/martin}