This evening I discovered that VMware has a free virtual machine player for Windows and spent some time setting things up. One thing lead to another and I found myself putting together a two-part tutorial series on how to set it up.
Part One: Overview of Virtualization and Installing the VMware Player

Part Two: Setting up a Virtual Machine

I’ll expand on this more tomorrow, but it’s late now.
In the meantime here are the links referenced in the videos:
VMware Player: http://www.vmware.com/products/player
Appliance Library: http://www.vmware.com/appliances

Target Audience: This guide is intended for PC users new to Linux and outlines an easy way to configure an existing Windows machine to run Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” in parallel.  It is acknowledge this may not be “dual-booting” in the true sense of the word, however from the standpoint of a new user it is considered comparable. 
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I’ve spent a great deal of time in Ubuntu lately, during which time I’ve discovered a really cool new feature in the Hardy Heron beta (v 8.04).  As ZDNet reported …

This post originally started as part and parcel to “Ubuntu Linux Experiences“, but would have resulted in an exceptionally long piece covering two distinctly different topics. So I’ve split them in two.
Despite my love for open source software, there are certain things that I prefer to do – or can only do – on proprietary systems. For example as far as I’m concerned nobody beats Mac’s digital media production capabilities (such as audio and video editing).
Additionally, like it or not Windows is still one of the main focal points for …

OS Trifecta
Originally uploaded by acousticdad
This OS triple-play was not nearly as difficult to pull off as you might think.
Ingredients
1) Intel-based MacBook
2) VMWare Fusion
3) Windows XP Professional
4) Ubuntu Feisty Fawn
Steps to Implementation
1) Download VMWare Fusion and install on Mac OS X.
URL: http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/features.html
Installation directions are exceptionally easy to follow and require only 10 to 20 minutes to complete including reading time. 30-day evaluation licenses are available for those interested in preliminary inquiry only. Retail price for a single license is USD$80.
2) Launch VMware Fusion Library
Select New and follow …

Following on my last post about my issues with the Windows Vista operating system on my short-lived new machine, after far too many late nights and even more restores, rebuilds and exponential amounts of frustration, I discovered only one sure-fire way to resolve the difficulties I was having with the OS: return the machine.
Let it never be said that I took the easy way out. Being the good IT professional and researcher I am, I devoted no less than 30 hours this week in total to resolving the problems …