Isn't it neat how computers can completely simulate other computers purely via software? (Background). Well, right now I'm reading a book that comes with a Linux Live CD containing relevant source code -- basically, a CD that you can boot from to see what it's like to use the operating system without interfering with the one you currently have. (Not to mention the benefit of having the exact same environment as the author so you can make sure It Works.) And that's how Live CDs are typically run: from bootup.
But with emulation, you don't need to reboot your whole computer just to get that Linux (or whatever OS) experience! You can set up a "sandbox" environment, or virtual machine that "pretends to be a computer". The software allocates a portion of your computing resources that you specify (disk space, RAM, etc.), and you just run the Live CD through that "pretend computer", freely switching from the window containing that virtual machine, to your web browser and whatnot. Again, it's without the hassle of rebooting every time you want to switch between that and the cute cat video you were watching.
So there I am -- I've got the virtual machine running a "sample" of an operating system off a Live CD, no need to reboot my "real" machine. But it gets better! I can go one step further and tell my pretend computer, "You know what? Let's go all the way. I want the full operating system -- not just the "sample" -- installed on your pretend hardware!" And then it dutifully runs through all the screens you would normally see when installing a Linux distro as your operating system, seizing control of the sandboxed software-that-thinks-it's-hardware, for a full wipe of the, um, non-OS you had there before.
Sorry, I don't know why ... I just find this all so hilarious ... virtualizing the use of a "sample" operating system before I install it on its virtual hardware.
(For those who are curious, the software I'm using is Oracle VM VirtualBox, available free for (IIUC) personal non-commercial use. I learned about it from LessWrong.com's failed attempts to teach others how to play with the site's code.)
A blog by Silas Barta
Showing posts with label linux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label linux. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Well, I took the plunge and installed Ubuntu (again)
Three years ago, I tried to install Ubuntu. Let's just say it went so badly that I'm not even going to give the details for fear that someone I chewed out at the time will notice the similarity between my case and "that jerk on the Ubuntu help site three years ago" and target me for reprisals.
Needless to say, it actually worked this time, since I was smart enough to install it on a completely different computer as a hedge against failure (instead of merely trying to isolate it to a partition on a secondary hard drive) and because the development crew has gotten its act together.
And I have to confess, I enjoy it for the most part. There's still a lot to get used to, and a lot of settings to configure, but I was amazed how easy it was to get wifi working, to install Firefox plugins (note how I don't snidely call it "liarsux" anymore?) and how many Free (yes, "they" want you to capitalize it), useful programs come bundled, and yet the system has no bloat ... everything is fast. Unlike on Windows, there isn't a huge list of processes of questionable purpose running that you can't shut down.
I've also gone back to using Vimperator which I had blogged about before, which means that yes, I made this post without ever using the mouse. But of course, like with most user interface design, the half-genius Herr Stubenschrott had to ruin his own code's functionality. Previously, you would hit the 'f' key and a bunch of key commands would pop up over the links like "ds". Then, hitting "ds" would activate the link. But now, they're all numerical, like "24", which makes it much less convenient.
Stubenschrott, in his defense, now permits you to call up a link by typing the first few letters of it, which I had suggested allowing before ... but it kind of defeats the purpose when the key commands blot out the first two letters! And the entire link becomes highlighted and impossible to read! Fortunately, someone wrote a script that converts it back to the old way.
All in all, a seamless, enjoyable transition so far. Now, to move over the old hard drives, files, and email...
Needless to say, it actually worked this time, since I was smart enough to install it on a completely different computer as a hedge against failure (instead of merely trying to isolate it to a partition on a secondary hard drive) and because the development crew has gotten its act together.
And I have to confess, I enjoy it for the most part. There's still a lot to get used to, and a lot of settings to configure, but I was amazed how easy it was to get wifi working, to install Firefox plugins (note how I don't snidely call it "liarsux" anymore?) and how many Free (yes, "they" want you to capitalize it), useful programs come bundled, and yet the system has no bloat ... everything is fast. Unlike on Windows, there isn't a huge list of processes of questionable purpose running that you can't shut down.
I've also gone back to using Vimperator which I had blogged about before, which means that yes, I made this post without ever using the mouse. But of course, like with most user interface design, the half-genius Herr Stubenschrott had to ruin his own code's functionality. Previously, you would hit the 'f' key and a bunch of key commands would pop up over the links like "ds". Then, hitting "ds" would activate the link. But now, they're all numerical, like "24", which makes it much less convenient.
Stubenschrott, in his defense, now permits you to call up a link by typing the first few letters of it, which I had suggested allowing before ... but it kind of defeats the purpose when the key commands blot out the first two letters! And the entire link becomes highlighted and impossible to read! Fortunately, someone wrote a script that converts it back to the old way.
All in all, a seamless, enjoyable transition so far. Now, to move over the old hard drives, files, and email...
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