Host a secure virtual operating system with VMware Workstation
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.




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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.