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Saturday, March 27

VirtualBox -- professional, flexible, open : Interesting solution for many problems !!

VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualizer for x86 hardware. Targeted at server, desktop and embedded use, it is now the only professional-quality virtualization solution that is also Open Source Software.
Some of the features of VirtualBox are:
  • Modularity. VirtualBox has an extremely modular design with well-defined internal programming interfaces and a client/server design. This makes it easy to control it from several interfaces at once: for example, you can start a virtual machine in a typical virtual machine GUI and then control that machine from the command line, or possibly remotely. VirtualBox also comes with a full Software Development Kit: even though it is Open Source Software, you don't have to hack the source to write a new interface for VirtualBox.
  • Virtual machine descriptions in XML. The configuration settings of virtual machines are stored entirely in XML and are independent of the local machines. Virtual machine definitions can therefore easily be ported to other computers.
  • Guest Additions for Windows, Linux and Solaris. VirtualBox has special software that can be installed inside Windows, Linux and Solaris virtual machines to improve performance and make integration much more seamless. Among the features provided by these Guest Additions are mouse pointer integration and arbitrary screen solutions (e.g. by resizing the guest window). There are also guest additions for OS/2 with somewhat reduced functionality.
  • Shared folders. Like many other virtualization solutions, for easy data exchange between hosts and guests, VirtualBox allows for declaring certain host directories as "shared folders", which can then be accessed from within virtual machines.
A number of extra features are available with the full VirtualBox release only (see the "Editions" page for details):
  • Virtual USB Controllers. VirtualBox implements a virtual USB controller and allows you to connect arbitrary USB devices to your virtual machines without having to install device specific drivers on the host.
  • Remote Desktop Protocol. Unlike any other virtualization software, VirtualBox fully supports the standard Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). A virtual machine can act as an RDP server, allowing you to "run" the virtual machine remotely on some thin client that merely displays the RDP data.
  • USB over RDP. With this unique feature, a virtual machine that acts as an RDP server can still access arbitrary USB devices that are connected on the RDP client. This way, a powerful server machine can virtualize a lot of thin clients that merely need to display RDP data and have USB devices plugged in. 

Download VirtualBox

Here, you will find links to VirtualBox binaries and its source code.

VirtualBox binarie

The binaries in this section are all released under the VirtualBox Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL). By downloading, you agree to the terms and conditions of that license.
  • VirtualBox 3.1.6 for Windows hosts x86/amd64
  • VirtualBox 3.1.6 for OS X hosts Intel Macs
    Due to an accident the original 3.1.6 Mac OS X package (build 59338) was broken. Please install the fixed package if you installed the broken package. Sorry for the inconveniences!
  • VirtualBox 3.1.6 for Solaris and OpenSolaris hosts x86/amd64
  • VirtualBox 3.1.6 Software Developer Kit (SDK) All platforms (registration required) 
This is a snapshot of the OSE sources at the time of the stable 3.1.6 release.
This is the current development code, which is not necessarily stable.
  • Checking out from our Subversion server.
    svn co http://www.virtualbox.org/svn/vbox/trunk vbox
    This is the current development code, which is not necessarily stable.

    Note: The repository was recently moved. If svn update aborts with an error message regarding a moved repository, then do
    svn switch --relocate \
       http://virtualbox.org/svn/vbox/trunk \
    http://www.virtualbox.org/svn/vbox/trunk
After getting the sources in one of the ways listed above, you should have a look at the build instructions.


End-user documentation

This page is for end users who are looking for information about how to download and run VirtualBox.
In order to run VirtualBox on your machine, you need:
  • Reasonably powerful x86 hardware. Any recent Intel or AMD processor should do.
  • Memory. Depending on what guest operating systems you want to run, you will need at least 512 MB of RAM (but probably more, and the more the better). Basically, you will need whatever your host operating system needs to run comfortably, plus the amount that the guest operating system needs. So, if you want to run Windows XP on Windows XP, you probably won't enjoy the experience much with less than 1 GB of RAM. If you want to try out Windows Vista in a guest, it will refuse to install if it is given less than 512 MB RAM, so you'll need that for the guest alone, plus the memory your operating system normally needs.
  • Hard disk space. While VirtualBox itself is very lean (a typical installation will only need about 30 MB of hard disk space), the virtual machines will require fairly huge files on disk to represent their own hard disk storage. So, to install Windows XP, for example, you will need a file that will easily grow to several GB in size.
  • A supported host operating system. Presently, we support Windows (primarily XP) and many Linux distributions on 32-bit hosts and on 64-bit hosts. Support for Mac OS X and Solaris and OpenSolaris appeared in 1.6.
  • A supported guest operating system. Besides the user manual (see below), up-to-date information is available at "Status: Guest OSes". 
VirtualBox for FreeBSD. This screenshot shows a first version running Ubuntu. NAT networking works.
VirtualBox for FreeBSD. This screenshot shows a first version capable of running Windows.
VirtualBox for Mac OS X. One virtual machine is running in seamless mode on Leopard. Note the realtime preview of the virtual machine in the dock.
VirtualBox for Mac OS X, currently in beta test. Two virtual machines are visible: one with Windows Vista, another with Gentoo Linux.
Creating a new, empty VM for installing Windows Vista.
The new VM in the VirtualBox main window. Note that an ISO file (containing the Vista setup CD) has been mounted as the VM's CD-ROM drive.
After starting the VM, it boots off the virtual CD-ROM (the ISO file with the Vista setup), and Vista Setup starts up.
Vista is installing into the virtual hard drive.
Vista install complete: the log-on screen.
Compiling VirtualBox on Ubuntu Edgy Eft in VirtualBox on Windows XP.
Details of a snapshot performed after Vista installation. We can revert the virtual machine to this snapshot at a later time.
Damn Small Linux 2.0 works damn well in VirtualBox!
The Virtual Disk Manager allows you to work with VM images.
VirtualBox in Vista inside VirtualBox on XP? Perhaps some day...
A community-based effort is underway to port VirtualBox to OS/2 hosts. This screenshot shows a first alpha version. 

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Tuesday, March 23

5 Reasons why Ubuntu 9.10 is better than Windows 7

1) Security
Windows 7 is no more secure than Windows has ever been. Is it better than Vista? Sure. Is it faster than XP? Not so much. Does it run a ton of popular applications? You betcha. But is Windows 7 still prone to an endless array of malware programs and stuck with a pre-Internet security model? Yes — yes, it is.
I'm able to keep a Windows PC safe. I run my own Windows PCs and servers and help with friends. While I'm good at computers, I'm sure anyone who's reasonably smart can manage it as well. But I'm lazy: I don't want to always be keeping my eye on Windows threats; I don't want to worry about being hacked while shopping online; and I don't want to be careful about avoiding clicking on a crooked link in yet another malicious e-mail letter.
With Linux, I can be lazy and safe.
2) Cheap
I'm also cheap. I use older computers until they fall apart. I have Ubuntu 9.10 working great on a 1.4GHz Pentium IV HP with 512MB of RAM — a machine I got back in 2000. I could no more get a decent version of Windows 7 (Home Premium or above) to run on that box than I could get my old Toyota RAV-4 to break 100 MPH on the highway.
But forget about the hardware: let's talk upgrade prices. You can get Windows 7 now quite cheaply. For example, Windows 7 Home Premium lists for $119.99 as an upgrade, but you can do a clean install for the same price. With some shopping around, you can easily get that version of Windows 7 for around $50. Compare that to Ubuntu, where the price is... uh... zero.
3) Easy upgrade
This is how I upgraded Ubuntu: I downloaded and burned a CD, booted up my Ubuntu system with it, and installed the new version. I was done. Total time, just short of an hour.
This link describes how I upgraded my XP PCs to Windows 7. It took me eight hours. Here's the short version: I had to use two additional programs — Windows Easy Transfer and LapLink's PCmover — besides my installation DVD. When I do this for a business, I replace Windows Easy Transfer with User State Migration Tool 4.0.
It isn't easy. Unless you love playing with technology for its own sake, don't do it. If you really want Windows 7, and you're currently using XP, buy a new Windows 7 PC. It's not only easier, but when you consider how much time the process takes, it's also cheaper.
The upgrade path from Vista is much easier, but it's still time-consuming: Microsoft itself estimates that it can take up to 20 hours.
4) Hardware compatibility
There is a persistent delusion that Linux only supports a limited set of peripherals. Wrong. Ubuntu Linux supports pretty much every piece of hardware out there. Yes, there are some items, especially graphic cards and chipsets, for which you may need to download a driver to get the most out of your graphics.
What does this have to do with comparing Windows 7 and Ubuntu? A lot. Even though Microsoft did a much better job of supporting hardware with Windows then they did with Vista, it still has gaps in supporting commonplace devices.
For example, there's the already infamous iPhone synchronization problem, which seems to be a combination of 64-bit Windows 7 and certain high-end motherboards that use Intel's P55 Express chipset. Or how about this one, which I find hard to believe but it's true: many HP printers still don't have Windows 7 drivers.
How can this be!? The last time I checked with IDC, HP still had 54% of the U.S. printer market. Amazing. Simply amazing.
5) Applications
Conventional wisdom is that Windows has the software advantage because it has more polished applications than Linux does. And it does. But how many of those do you use? Sure, if nothing but Adobe Photoshop will do, then you're not going to want to run Linux. Of course, my question to you then is why aren't you running Snow Leopard on a Mac — but that's neither here nor there.
But, with the exception of games, I don't see any reason to favor Windows. Ubuntu Linux comes with a free office suite, OpenOffice. If you want an office suite for Windows 7, you're going to be paying extra for it. Want an e-mail program? Outlook Express doesn't come with Windows anymore. Ubuntu has Evolution, the best e-mail and groupware client on the planet as far as I'm concerned. Need to back up your system? Both can do that, but only Ubuntu has its own online back-up service, Ubuntu One, with 2GB of storage.
Want a program that doesn't come with the operating system? Easy. Use the Ubuntu Software Center, Ubuntu's new one stop application "store." I put store in quotes because it's all free. With Windows, you know the drill. Go to your local store, poke around what's available on Download.com and Tucows, etc. etc. Just be sure to have your credit card ready since a good deal of Windows software isn't open source or free.
I don't expect really to convince any Windows fans out there to switch. What I do hope for though is to give you some food for thought. Give Ubuntu a try; there are many easy ways to try Linux without changing anything on your Windows PC. You may just fine that Ubuntu or another desktop Linux will do everything you want to do on a computer with a lot less trouble and money.

For those of you who think that Linux is terrible and Windows rocks, here is my say on why Ubuntu is better than Windows.
  1. No Viruses - Thats true! as Linux does not recognize Win32 Executables so the possibility of having a virus on-board is absolutely 0%
  2. Open Source - Unlike Windows, Linux distributions are open source and the source code can be edited and modified to the most to suit your needs.
  3. Better Learning - While Windows just teaches you how to install and run a program, Linux helps you do that using a Terminal. So if you fall in a situation where you don't have a GUI, you can operate things well.
  4. Free Software - Every application and software on Linux is free and open source. You don't need to worry about licenses anymore and you can always find a better and free Linux alternative to a Windows application.
  5. Easy to Use - This point may seem ironic but is true to a lot of extent. Linux Ubuntu is one of the most user-friendly and easy to use Linux distribution which even beats Windows XP and Vista in usability and ease of use.
  6. Ubuntu Community Help - Ubuntu has a very active support and help community where you can get answer to your questions and problems in minutes.
  7. Cool Desktop Effects - For those who think Aero in Windows Vista is damn cool! wait till you experience Compiz on Ubuntu which provides better 3D desktop effects with less resource usage.
  8. Easy Upgrade - You can upgrade Linux Ubuntu through the package manager and all applications can be installed/updated through it. There is no need to Google for freewares as the package manager helps you find all of them.
  9. Highly Customizable - If you like customizing your operating system without a billion registry and software hacks then Ubuntu is your ultimate choice.
  10. Experience Live - Linux Ubuntu CDs come with a pre-installed OS environment which allows you to run the OS without even installing it. Carry your Ubuntu Live CD with you and use it on any PC anywhere around the world.

Download :UBUNTU 10.04

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How to stop Windows 7 reboot loop -: Little Trick !!

 
We know pretty well that Windows 7 is a quite new operating system which is still in its RC version and therefore not ready (at the time writing)  for the market and regular not-savvy users. That’s why we should not be surprise if, every now and then it reboots automatically to prevent the computer from being damaged beyond recovery. Such a behaviour is preset by Microsoft and it is triggered upon system failure. Anyway, if you are not a lucky person your Windows 7 may become stuck and therefore enters in a infinite reboot loop, an endless series of  turn-off and turn-on loops without any apparent way to get out of it. Let’s s lean how to stop Windows 7 reboot loop thanks to a little trick!
  1. When your computer starts its next reboot (black screen), just hit F8 on your keyboard a lot of times till you get the Advanced Boot Options screen.
  2. Now, with your arrow keys, select Disable automatic restart on system failure and press Enter.
  3. Well, done!

Thursday, March 18

How To fix Vista Problem With "USB Device Not Recognized"


I’ve had the dreaded Windows Vista for exactly a year now and I just had my first real “issue” with the OS. It was the dreaded Windows Vista “USB Device Not Recognized” error that seemed to appear after a quick power blip in my home.
For those of you not familiar with the famous Windows Vista USB Device Not Recognized error, I’ll give you a quick synopsis: you are using Windows Vista and minding your own business when suddenly a little pop-up message appears and tell you, surprise! you have a “USB Device Not Recognized!” There’s an annoying little bell that rings and you click on the stupid pop-up bubble and get.. well… nothing.
At least for me I saw nothing. And here’s the problem: you can’t find anything wrong so you can’t actually fix anything. Windows Vista doesn’t tell you which USB device is not recognized, which USB port has the problem or what it thinks is happening. The error message “USB Device Not Recognized” is just about completely meaningless. But every 30 seconds the bubble pops up again with that annoying little bell.

So I did what I do whenever I hear a discouraging sound coming from my car engine: I turned up the volume on my iTunes and promptly forgot about the message. Eventually I got smart and just turned the Windows Alert sound off.
After a few days the error was still popping up and though I couldn’t hear the bell, the bubble was troubling me. Other people have spent hours searching through documentation and reloading Windows Vista from scratch and downloading USB drivers. I am far too lazy to do that anymore, so I just went searching on the internet for the stupidest most implausibly easy solution I could find.
And it worked.


The solution is simple:

1. Unplug (not just turn off) you PC.
2. Unplug all your USB devices from your PC (and, heck, any power supplies as well)
3. Wait 30 minutes or more.
4. Plug in your essential USB devices (keyboard, mouse).
5. Plug in your PC, turn it on.
6. Pop in the rest of your USB devices.

Ta-da, your Windows Vista USB Device Not Recognized Error is solved. This worked for me. I actually did it once without unplugging the USB devices and the problem went away for about three days and then appeared again. I did it again, taking out all my USB devices and I’ve been going for a couple weeks now with no problem.




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