If you're worried about infecting your PC with a virus or similar security threat, there's no reason why you couldn't use a virtual operating system to test new software. There are many other good reasons why you might want to use a virtual operating system manager. For instance, you can run a virtual Linux operating system, without having to leave Windows. If you have a virtual desktop manager, you can even open your virtual OS on another screen and quickly switch between open spaces.

VMware Workstation 6.5 is the latest version of the virtual OS manager that now enables you to run a secure virtual operating system, so you could take your virtual OS on the road, along with VMware Player 2.5 and leave no trace of your virtual environment on your host PC.

VMware Workstation and VMware Player links.

We've previewed the beta's of the new VMware Fusion for Mac a few times on this blog. It's a superb product that enables you to run Windows, or another OS such as Ubuntu, on your Mac, without having to leave your regular desktop. Indeed, if you use Leopard, you can use Spaces to open the virtual OS on another screen, then quickly switch between both operating systems. Really effective.

VMware Fusion 2 is finally available and ships with a whole host of new features. We won't go in to all the new features here, but the final release now enables you to allocate up to four CPU cores to each VM (providing you have an eight-core Mac!), which is superb for Mac Pro users. Allocate a few CPU cores and 2GB of memory to Windows Vista and you shouldn't see too much slow down at all.

VMware Fusion 2 for Mac link.

If you're seeking an alternative, there's no reason why you couldn't buy yourself a Mac laptop and use OS X to manage your photos, your iPod and handle your work. If you need to launch Windows, simply run a virtual manager such as VMware Fusion and you'll be able to run XP, Vista or Linux OS, without having to leave your regular operating system.

VMware Fusion 2 RC1 is now available and it's still free whilst in beta-testing. The new version has a few additional features including a free version of McAfee Anti-Virus, including 12 months free updates, so you can keep your Windows-based virtual OS virus-free during use. There are also many fixes and enhancements.

VMware Fusion link.

If you own a fast Intel-based Apple Mac, you can quite easily run a Windows virtualisation tool such as VMware Fusion and you'll find that Windows runs very smoothly and efficiently alongside your existing OS X installation. With Unity support, you're able to run Windows applications right on top of OS X, as if they were a native OS X application.

VMware Fusion 2 Preview 2 is now available and this contains a host of new features. Unity 2 now enables you to run Windows on your Mac desktop without seeing any reference to Windows. For example, if you prefer Microsoft Outlook to Apple Mail, you can arrange your Mac desktop to launch Microsoft Outlook as your default email client, natively. You can also share your Documents folder from both the Mac and Windows. There are many many more new features and we suggest you read through the Fusion 2 Preview 2 new features list for more information.

VMware Fusion 2 Preview 2 link.

Install an Windows-based operating system and it won't be optimised for your PC. For instance, the various network settings won't recognise the type of Internet connection, nor will the graphic drivers be tweaked for your graphics card. Of course, you can manually tweak and optimise your drivers, OS and other settings. For instance, it's relatively easy to download an application to manage your network connection or optimise your hard drive.

TuneUp Utilities 2008 is a suite of tools brought together under one interface that will make the tweaking and optimising of your operating system more effective. However, it also goes further by enabling you to find and locate deleted files, defragment files and much more.

TuneUp Utilities 2008 link.

If you're like me, you'll love to download and test the latest software. However, whilst 99.9% of commercial software is problem free, security developers would have us think that any potential software - even from commercial brands - has a potential trojan, virus or other issue that could affect your PC. Of course they're going to make you worried. They want to sell you security software.

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 SP1 has free (yes, free) commercial virtual operating system software that will enable you to host another copy of Windows (XP, Vista) on top of your existing installation. This would enable you to test software, upgrades, new drivers and do a lot more with the OS, without worrying about breaking or causing problems. The new SP1 adds more functionality, such as the ability to host a Vista SP1 or XP SP3-based OS.

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 SP1 link.

If you were one of the early adopters, you may wonder why you upgraded to Vista. Well, we often wondered why we bothered. We've spent the last year upgrading all our commercial software, across various systems connected to the network. Reason for the upgrades? Vista compatibility. Surely an operating is merely a platform to run your software, not the other way around? Anyway, given the choice, we'd prefer to use Vista over XP, partly due to the improved security and enhanced visuals.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is the first official service pack from Microsoft. It's been discussed since summer 2007, so seems like we've waited months for arrival. Once installed, nothing appears to have changed...much. However, it does ship with a few new features, support for latest standards and security updates. So, definitely worth the upgrade if you're a Vista user.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 link.

I wonder if it is worth a poll to see how many people are better or worse off after installing Vista? I was one of those early adopters, but didn't realise I'd have to fork out hundreds of pounds to upgrade my commercial software, simply so it could be 'Vista compatible'. Worse than that, over Xmas my Vista-based laptop decided that it would become non-genuine for no obvious reason. I didn't even get the opportunity to re-enter the activation code or call Microsoft. Eventually, after trying a repair, it decided it would boot so far, tell me it was non-genuine, then reboot. Loop. Grr! I couldn't check my email, admin servers or write blog entries, until I was back in the office.

Guess what? I'm now using Leopard on my MacBook and I can do all my work and, if really must use Windows on the road, I've got Windows XP running on VMware Fusion for Mac. Absolutely no issues so far.

Microsoft Vista SP1 RC Refresh has recently been made available and, if you're having issues with Vista, it might be worth installing. We're not sticking it up for download on vnunet.com, yet, as it's not quite ready for prime-time. It's still a release candidate.

Microsoft Vista SP1 RC Refresh link.

Whilst we wait for Windows XP Service Pack 3 and are able to download the first release candidate of Vista Service Pack 1, there are many organisations who are happy with the stability of their operating system installation and/or have software installed that may be incompatible with the forthcoming service pack. For this reason, they'd be keen to implement a system that prevents the service pack from being automatically installed on a workstation.

Microsoft Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit is a free and official tool designed to stop a service pack from automatically installing on your computer or a workstation on your network.

Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit download link.

Looking back, Vista has been available for 18 months if you take in to account the original public beta release back in Summer 2006. However, it hasn't been as popular as Microsoft anticipated. Why not? The problem is that the majority of software has to be upgraded, which means that corporates will need multi-workstation licenses, which results in huge expense. Also, Vista isn't particularly fast compared to XP, which means that if you have an old PC, you might see a performance hit.

So, Microsoft have been busy working on the first Service Pack and the release candidate has been made available as a public download. Although officially it won't be available until early 2008, you can get the benefits of a new release - including some new features - right now.

Windows Vista SP1 RC download link.