March 2, 2007 at 10:55 am · Filed under Technology
With major strides being made to bring Windows applications to the Mac, isn’t it only a matter of time before we’ll have a robust, mainstream virtualization product that will allow the Mac operating system (OS) and its applications to run seamlessly on Windows-based PCs?
Intel and AMD are building hardware support for virtualization into their systems, and with Apple’s adoption of Intel technology for their Macs, it seems safe to assume that consumers will soon be able to choose their computer operating system independently of their choice of hardware. Or not making a choice at all, they’ll simply install a base operating system on top of which they’ll be able to install one or more operating systems using virtualization.
Software developers “discovered” the benefits of virtualization some time ago through products like VMware and Virtual PC, a product Microsoft now offers as a free download. With these and similar products such as VirtualBox by InnoTek, programmers are able to develop products for multiple platforms without the added hardware investment. Apple’s switch to the Intel platform has fueled a resurgence in the interest in virtualization. With virtualization, those who own Macs can take advantage of the broader software choice available to Windows users.
Virtualization can be superior to dual/multi-booting because separate operating systems can coexist in RAM and features such as cut-and-paste between OS environments and on-the-fly task-switching between applications installed under different operating systems. Perhaps what we need now is hardware that will boot up its own virtual machine manager which will, in turn, boot each installed operating system as separate windows coexisting throughout the session.
For those wanting a starting point for learning about virtualization, try this link.
“Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall Findlay are receiving salaries from the Liberal Party to help prepare for the coming election, but how much they earn is being kept secret.The lack of transparency is causing concern among some Liberals and leading to speculation that private deals were made because Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Hall Findlay were the two leadership candidates who dropped off the ballot early and threw significant support behind Stephane Dion. The secrecy is also driving speculation among some Li berals that Ms. Hall Findlay and Mr. Kennedy are earning big salaries.”
About four years ago when I first began to visit blogs on a regular basis, I was taken aback by the general lack of civility displayed there, especially as relates to expressing opinions. Recent experience suggests that the situation today is much the same.
As I read letters to the editor and comments on the Internet that have been made by visiting surfers, I notice how frequently people attack writers rather than their lines of reasoning. You know how it goes: if you deplore the US presence in Iraq, your opinion is dismissed because you’re an anti-Bush leftist. Or if, heavens forbid, you favour the war in Iraq, you’re a right-wing warmonger and can have no valid opinion about, for example, how the Americans are freeing the Iraqi people from tyranny.
You express a single opinion, and these clairvoyants are able to sum up your complete political philosophy with a three-word cliché. No use of logic, no counterargument, no original thought or insight—just attack the writer as being a this or a that, and add an expletive or two for good measure. It’s a cheap, offensive age-old strategy.
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