virtualization

Part of virtual memory on a computer is where the contents of RAM are written to the hard drive (as a special file called a "swapfile") to free it up for other uses. As you use your computer, the system will load programs and data into RAM, which is like having your work on the top surface of a desk. As you place more items on the top of your desk (RAM) it may get cluttered, so to keep your work flow efficient you might free some space by putting a few items into the desk's drawers (… Read more

Hoping to tap the expanding online fashion market, eBay this week launched Fashion Outlet, a virtual U.S. outlet mall that lets brands and designers connect directly with eBay customers. Think of that outlet mall in the boonies without the drive down some random highway.

The launch of the fashion outlet follows the debut of eBay outlet sites in the U.K. and Germany. The fashion items sold through the "Buy It Now" feature are priced at 20 percent to 65 percent off retail price, making them comparable price-wise to items found at outlets, Miriam Lahage, eBay's … Read more

The Open Virtualization Alliance, a consortium committed to fostering the adoption of open virtualization technologies, today announced total membership of more than 200, up from 65 in just over three months. New members include CA Technologies, DataStax and Jaspersoft.

I spoke with Scott Crenshaw, VP and GM of Cloud for Red Hat, who told CNET that infrastructure as important as virtualization needs an open alternative. And Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) has emerged as a strategic initiative at many large companies, including Intel and HP. KVM is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware that provides for multiple virtual … Read more

Despite the threat of another recessionary period, Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Jason Maynard believes that IT budgets will hold up through 2011 and that the summer spending spottiness hasn't translated into meaningful expense cutting.

In today's e-mail newsletter, Maynard and team make the case for a positive call on IT spending despite the global macroeconomic fear permeating the market. This is based on first-hand qualitative feedback the team aggregated from CIOs and the 100 largest enterprise hardware and software vendors.

Obviously there is still a scenario where we have a repeat of the dramatic spending cutback of … Read more

When it comes to running alternative operating systems such as Windows or Linux on the Mac there are several options. The first is to use Apple's Boot Camp, which runs Windows natively on Apple's hardware, without OS X running at the same time. Because of the dedication of all the systems resources to the OS this is the fastest and most compatible method of running Windows; however, it does come at the cost of not being able to access your Mac applications at the same time.

The second option is to run a virtualization program, which takes advantage … Read more

Windows 8 will include Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization tool in an effort to attract developers, IT pros, and other users who need to run, test, or support virtual environments.

Describing the move in the latest edition of the "Building Windows 8" blog, Mathew John, a program manager on Microsoft's Hyper-V team, noted that Hyper-V has previously been available only in recent server-based editions of Windows, making Windows 8 the first client OS to include the feature.

Virtualization tools such as Hyper-V allow users to run multiple operating systems and environments on the same machine. That's helpful … Read more

Most of us have encountered online chat robots, virtual people who can hold conversations--at least sort-of--with mixed and sometimes hilarious results. Verbot lets users create their very own such robots. It takes some effort to learn how to use Verbot, and even more to create a bot that's capable of decent conversation. But if you're willing to invest some time, Verbot can be a fun and useful program.

Verbot comes with both an editor, which lets users create rules for their Verbots, and a player, which allows users to interact with their Verbots. Several sample Verbots are included … Read more

It's fair to say desktop virtualization has had a checkered past.

As far back as 2005, VMworld had presentations on the topic of desktop virtualization, also known as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. By 2007, VMworld had developed a desktop virtualization track with a number of deep-dive technical sessions. In June of 2008, IDC issued a report on "The Promise Of Desktop Virtualization" touting how desktop virtualization can help rein in the costs of managing and maintaining PC infrastructures.

In February of 2009, CRN reported Gartner's predictions that by 2013, between 10 percent and 15 percent of enterprise PCs would be virtualized. … Read more

Making the switch from Windows to Mac isn't as hard as you might think. That's because there are great options for using Windows software on your Mac through Apple's Boot Camp and other third-party virtualization software. Today, Parallels Desktop got a major update adding features to make switching to a different operating system even more seamless. There's also an upgraded mobile version for iOS you can use to remotely control your virtual environments from your phone.

Parallels Desktop has always been a great way to switch seamlessly between operating systems without the need to reboot your … Read more