Wither Virtual PC?

Published Tuesday, May 30, 2006 1:14 PM

I love Microsoft Virtual PC. I think it is a super-easy platform for day-to-day virtualization, especially when doing demos and simple testing. Sure Vmware has more features and options, but it is also more complex and nowhere as easy to install and start running with. I am curious when Microsoft plans on updating Virtual PC. Virtual Server R2 has been grabbing all the headlines and all the focus has been on Enterprise virtualization and Longhorn\Hypervisor. Will Virtual PC wither on the vine and die? I for one, hope not. Sure Virtual Server runs on Windows XP Professional, and is even supported for development environments. However, it is nowhere as easy to set up and get going with. Microsoft, please keep updating and supporting Virtual PC!

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by Chris Haaker

Comments

# Kevin Remde said on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 9:25 PM

I agree, Chris.  I love Virtual PC, too.  

I can't speak to the plans (because I don't know them. :)  But I know that Windows Vista Enterprise Ed. is going to have a built-in virtual machine engine in order to support/address the most difficult application compatibility problems for those stubborn old LOB apps that just can't go away.  

I'm currently a new fan of Virtual Machine running on Windows Vista, by the way.  I even did a webcast today while running Windows Vista beta 2 as my host machine and Virtual PC to drive my demos. It worked great!

Cheers!  (See you in Boston!)
Kevin

# Wayne Grixti said on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:16 PM

I have heard a lot about Virtual PC Express that will be included with Vista. Once again I am not sure of all the details but we will need to wait and see.

I primarily use Virtual PC to test new software and utilise it heavily for application packaging using Wise Package Studio. This is a very nice way to maintain a clean build environment.

Wayne

# Troy Wilch said on Thursday, June 01, 2006 10:36 PM

Same here! Virtual is the way to go. Some performance hit but for app testing, you can't go wrong. I would like to see VPC incorporate the ability to erase changes as easy as VMware does. VPC requires shutdown and restart where VMware keeps the session open. I'm sure thoses changes are coming. The Vista inclusion is supposed to address the performance hit by eliminating the parent application and embedding it into the OS kernal. Should be a lot smoother.
   As exciting as VPC is for the hardware end, expect to see more verticals in the way of virtualized applications also. Soon, your PC will just have the OS installed with virtual apps on top of it in their own environment. You'll be able to transfer the same app from a XP machine to a vista PC. Or even run every version of Microsoft Outlook with no conflicts. Exe's and MSI's will become a thing of the past as well as the dreaded "does not support your current operating system". God technology is great!

# Brian S. Tucker said on Thursday, June 01, 2006 11:55 PM

Why is it that so many people I run across don't like VPC 2004? Everyone says that it's slow.. I don't have any issue with it.... I have several labs I use for client engagements and never had an issue... If this is something included with Vista, I say no. I like the fact that I can run my images on an external hard drive. Unless of course I can continue to do it that way....