Virtualbox

edited 04/22/2011 @ 2:08:42 PM in Computer / Tech Talk
I've finally found the way to watch Netflix instant streaming on ubuntu. This was my original goal way back in the days of CPU magazine. I am now able to load up windows 7 while I have a virtual machine running in my Linux world. I don't need to buy any more $90-$170 windows licenses. Netflix has been the last reason to keep windows in my world.

My kid plays a lot of games that also require the windows OS. He'll stay connected until Linux makes enough good games to win him over. That wont be this decade. But, there is hope.

Thanks to cyclo - who has done this a long time ago - I kept trying to figure out how to get virtualbox installed. It was quite easy when I saw the YouTube video.
There are a few gotchas still left to figure out. I can't move my mouse from one world to another. Once I have locked myself into the Windows 7 window, I can't find a way to get outside to the Linux environment - so I cltr/alt-delete. That gets the virtual window to close.
One other problem is that I can't get the netflix streaming video into a full screen. It stays in a smaller window even if I open up the Linux window to full screen first. I'm sure there are ways to fix these glitches. I'll have to wait until Ubuntu 10.10 has been out there longer to give the users enough time to find these problems and write the fixes. It's OK. I'm still quite pleased that we've gotten to this point.

Comments

  • You could also try VMWare in Linux. I have not tried this combo yet as my host has always been a Windows based system. I think the latest VMWare Player (I use Workstation) now allows you to build VMs. They also feature 3D acceleration so you could even play some older games. Windows 7 Aero (transparency effects, etc.) now work in VMWare thanks to this acceleration.

    I myself now run my main development workstation, a couple of servers, in VMs. The advantage to this is pretty obvious. If I decide to upgrade my hardware, or host software (say from Win 7 to Win 8), I could just transfer the VMs and run them on the new environment. No need to re-install, reconfigure, etc. VMWare Workstation even supports multi-monitors so I don't miss anything when developing on it. Also in case my hardware blows up, I have backups of the VM which I can just then run on another PC, my laptop, etc.

    Another advantage is that by keeping my host PC lean and mean (without development databases and their associated services running in the background, etc.) the PC stays fast. And conversely, by running only development tools in the VMs, they too run efficiently, without the fear of getting viruses, power sapping DRM (from games), etc.

    My wish is for full 3D hardware acceleration be supported in Virtual Machines so I can install and play the latest games in VMs. That means I can keep the host PC real lean and mean where it acts mostly as a container for multiple VMs I am running.

    The one problem I have is managing patches on multiple VMs. This means I have to run the same OS, Software (browser, etc.) patch multiple times (for each VM).
  • The new faster computers have made VM easy. I did try to run VM on my P4 with XP and got into trouble when it was time to do partitions and create virtual hard drives. Somewhere during the install I didn't know
    how much memory to allocate for something. I hate when you get questions that don't give you a way to find the answer - you try the default and hold your breath. Anyway, it sounds like you've figured out a lot about using VM and creating a local cloud.

    You mentioned flavors of Linux. I've been hearing about Knoppix and am getting interested in how to use it. Is it any better than Ubuntu as far as finding weird old video drivers? You can make a flash drive with Knoppix and boot from that to fix a computer with corrupted Windows software.

    I remember having to go to the terminal and type in loads of weird (barely understandable) lines of code to create that link to that place that needed to be available to that process. It was very unclear. I don't want to go there if I can help it. Maybe I should just leave Knoppix alone. Ubuntu has been easy to install and use. I was into Fedora for a number of years and got used to that language. Now, it's apt-get install. I'm glad the repository wars have abated. Oh well, life goes on.
  • So, I'm continuing on the VM trail. I like Oracle's VirtualBox because it has a download for my 64 bit Maverick Ubuntu that's all compiled and easy to understand. I've added another 1 terabyte hard drive on which I store the VM Windows7 OS along with Firefox and whatever else I can think of doing. I watched a hulu TV show and finally got the VM display up to almost the same size as running normal OS's. It's up to 1600x1080 or something (I don't remember what the actual numbers are). I usually have 1920x1080. So, I loaded my Windows7 ultimate in two places using the same string of letters as the access code. What will Microsoft do about this? I guess if I use only one machine at a time, that access code is still OK. But, what if they see that I've got two machines running the same Windows 7? Am I worrying about nothing here? I'm a bit confused about how they access the machines and the codes. How do they know what amount of memory and what hard drives are being used. The processor is also probably detectable.
    Will this affect what my kid does on Steam? He is also going out into the wild world of servers on local machines providing games to play with his buddies from school. It bothers me to allow access to our machines from the outside world. I bet we could be hacked more easily if we let outsiders onto our machine. Any comments about this?
  • edited 11/09/2011 @ 2:36:37 AM
    So long as you have the VMs isolated from the host (no shared folders, etc.) and keep the VM software updated with patches I think there should be little to worry about. Have you tried VMware Player 4.0? I believe this also runs in Linux and it can also be used to create VMs from isos. The latest enhancements to VMware Player and Workstation features better 3D acceleration. My kids can actually play some older games like Warcraft 3 on VMs now. The host they are using is a PC powered by a Core 2 Quad 6600 with 6 GB of RAM. VMware's virtual graphics driver is becoming good enough to play many older 3D games. However, if your motherboard and CPU supports VT-d (in addition to VT), the guest VMs can have access to the Video card directly instead of using the virtual graphics driver. This means that potentially, with VT-d enabled, your VM guests would be able to play any game that your video card is capable of running.

    Unfortunately, not too many consumer oriented motherboards support VT-d but that is one thing I will be looking for on my next build... maybe summer of next year. I am hoping the prices of hard drives would be more stable by then.
  • edited 11/09/2011 @ 10:46:58 AM
    OK cyclo, thanks for the info on this subject. I'll see if my mobos will allow direct access to the video card. That would certainly make things more useful. I'm just learning how to keep the linux world isolated from the Windows 7 world on the hard drives. I know I can mount any drive with Ubuntu and fix things in Windows that I don't like. I know Windows doesn't recognize Ext4 files. So, I believe I don't share anything between them. But, I do have a printer that is connected via USB to a shared LAN. Both the Ubuntu world and the Windows7 world can access this printer. I hope no IP addresses get shared here. I really don't know how the whole shared thing works.

    Networks are still unknown territory for me. I've stayed away from wi-fi because I don't know if I would benefit from adding another router. Would I achieve the rates I get on all 4 RG-45 wired computers along with one flat screen?

    I read the users responses about all the available routers and just stay away after I see how many negative responses appear on almost all of them. I only need to connect one laptop when Nikolai comes over for a visit. I just give him an RG-45 cable and all is well. It sounds like there's a lot of buggy software and uncertain connections that require talking to my ISP techs, etc. I stay away if I don't need to learn all about another set of problems. Am I just chicken? Does everyone have wi-fi because of the cell-phone stuff?
  • As long as you are running only one machine at a time with that Windows 7 key, you will be fine. However, if you plan on running multiple machines with that key at the same time, you will need to purchase separate licenses for each computer. The VT-d stuff sounds rather cool, I will have to look into that. VMWare Player is free, isn't it cyclo?

    Wireless networking is just fine and quite easy to setup with a little experience. Also, wireless networking and cell phones are two entirely different things. (Although I do have my phone hooked to the wireless network when I am in range.) On a different note: this is why I do not really consider my professional life to be work, there is always something new and fun to read about or try out.
    "For God so loved the world..."
  • edited 11/10/2011 @ 1:04:18 PM
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