Hotsolder - Electronics & Other Geeky Pursuits: The Best Linux and Windows Combo I've Tried Yet

I like Linux. I really do. The problem is I have those pesky few pieces of hardware and software that just have to run on Windows. Dual boot is OK, but it is hardly handy. I have two monitors and a dual CPU -- it should be easier.

In the past, I tried running Linux under Windows or vice versa, but with mixed results. Topologilinux is ideal -- it lets you run Linux under Windows OR boot the very same copy of Linux. But it is not maintained very rapidly and it is based on Slackware, which I don't find as nice as some of the newer distributions. I've also used VirtualPC and Parallels to run Linux inside Windows, but it was never very seamless.

The other day my Parallels installation croaked beyond repair, so I decided to try something new. I had noticed that VirtualBox was now open source. This is similar to Paralells, VirtualPC, VMWare, etc. But two things have combined to make this a winning choice: First, VirtualBox has drivers you can install on supported operating systems (including Linux) that do a few neat tricks. In particular, it makes the mouse operate transparently! With most virtualizers, the mouse gets "captured" inside Linux (or whatever you are running) and you have to do a funny keystroke to escape to the regular OS. With VirtualBox you just click inside Linux or click inside Windows -- its all the same.

So one way to use this is to just put VirtualBox running Linux (I'm using kubuntu which is very nice) full screen on one monitor and let Windows have the other monitor. Works great.

The second thing I've been using to assist this, though is a piece of shareware called AltDesk. This is a piece of software that lets you have a bunch of virtual windows (there are others out there, but this one is very powerful and integrates well with the ultra-cool Windows shell called Aston from the same company). AltDesk can start programs automatically when you switch to a desktop for the first time, so you can make a virtual Linux desktop and switch between them at will. I keep the AltDesk bar at the bottom of my 2nd monitor (like a task bar) and use it to switch between desktops.

Performance is good although I'll confess that 2GB of RAM and a dual core clocked at about 2.2GHz probably doesn't hurt.

More great open source!

Labels: linux, software, Tips