A Virtualized Linux System For Windows

getupstandup1 writes "Ulteo today unveiled their Virtual Desktop (screenshots, download) which is a free, full Linux desktop that runs seamlessly on Windows. It's interesting because it's not running under Xen or VMWare, but instead uses the coLinux patch, which they claim allows the system to achieve 'great performance, close to a native installation on the PC.' No need to reboot the system anymore to switch from Windows to Linux." We discussed Ulteo when the Ubuntu-derived distro was announced a year back.

As opposed to... andLinux?

[Briareos (21163)]

Is it just me, or did this already exist [andlinux.org]? Doesn't sound that new to me...

np: Saul Williams - Grippo (Saul Williams)

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[Penguinisto (415985)]

Yep - and for a very long time, too [phatlinux.com].

I don't know...

[tehBoris (1120961)]

But isn't that project you linked more like Wubi?

Instead of being a Windows port of the Linux kernel (yeah... weird) like and/coLinux is, it is a Windows based Linux installer, which stuffs the whole distro's file system into a single file in your Windows' partition.

Re:

[by Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, Ulteo is kde, andLinux is gnome. Otherwise identical.

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[redxxx (1194349)]

I believe you may have that backwards. I run andLinux, cause it is useful for certain stuff and I can't just run linux, and it is KDE. There is another xcf or something version.

KDE in windows is going to be the better bet down the road for a lot of stuff, because you have to leap through fewer hoops with the filesystem, at least as far as most applications are concerned.

It's kinda amazing being able to get an awful lot of stuff just running apt-get from a terminal, while inside XP. A real VM is far secure of course. Security decent hardware firewalls and no small amount of obscurity doesn't bother me too horible.

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[hedwards (940851)]

It's kinda amazing being able to get an awful lot of stuff just running apt-get from a terminal, while inside XP. A real VM is far secure of course. Security decent hardware firewalls and no small amount of obscurity doesn't bother me too horible.

I was trying to figure out what the point of this really is.

Running Win apps on Linux is because there isn't a replacement for it or one that interoperates. Running Linux in a VM on Windows is good for things like security, but running Linux apps on Win just because, seems like an odd choice to me. Especially since one can get OO.org for Win, Firefox for win, Thunderbird for win, Gimp for win etc. Ok, so the last one is kind of cludgy. (Or it was last time I checked a few years ago, I'm sure it's much less so now)

There probably are a few which don't have Win versions, but VMs can be had for free, if you're a home or non-commercial user.

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[andrikos (1114853)]

OO.org for Win, Firefox for win, Thunderbird for win, Gimp for win etc

Did you mean OO FTW, Firefox FTW, Thunderbird FTW, Gimp FTW, etc?

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[loftyhauser (1149267)]

I'm an engineer/professor, and I teach computational fluid dynamics. I develop, test and run numerical simulations on UNIX systems, but I require a Windows system (for applications, mostly). I've found that andLinux is great for developing the applications on my Windows system. I tend to use command line tools, mostly, which are a pain in the MS world. Have you ever tried building a UNIX makefile code on Windows? And cygwin just doesn't cut it (OpenMPI doesn't work).

Texmaker

[backwardMechanic (959818)]

You may like Texmaker [xm1math.net]. It's developed by the guy who originally wrote Kile, but doesn't depend on KDE so runs on anything. I switched because I wanted to use the same editor under Win and Linux, but actually prefer it now.

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[PhotoGuy (189467)]

I'll vouch for the underpinnings of andLinux and Ulteo, which is coLinux. I've been using it for years (an Ubuntu distro) and it's extremely solid, reliable, and efficient. It's a great way to have your Linux dev world near at hand, while needing a Windows box for other reasons. (In fact, I run my home PBX smoothly in a coLinux service on an XP PVR box.)

I hear so little about coLinux, I feel like it's one of Linux's best kept secrets. It's cool that we're starting to see meta-distributions based upon it.

Re:

[kesuki (321456)]

"Is it just me, or did this already exist [andlinux.org]? Doesn't sound that new to me.."

What worries me, is this runs in 'system managment mode' sounds like colinux is a perfect system to design a 'stealth' rootkit around...

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/11/2044216&from=rss [slashdot.org]

great just great, as if paid hackers needed any help designing and deploying system managment mode rootkits, with colinux they can put a full LAMP server on somone's windows box and they'd never notice, except that their

Re:As opposed to... andLinux?

[nickos (91443)]

coLinux is a version of the Linux kernel that can run as a task under Windows. andLinux is a distro which uses coLinux and runs on Windows.

No 3d acceleration

[QuantumG (50515)]

Yeah, unfortunately the video output is as snappy as VNC or VMWare. Virtualize the 3d graphics driver already.

Now, more masculine!

[Champ (91601)]

I'm going to have to look into their "application balls" [ulteo.com] -- the applications I have now are all effete and neutered.

Re:Now, more masculine!

[moderatorrater (1095745)]

Their application balls just don't appeal to me. Personally, their system tray vagina sounds like something I'd prefer, even if it's not all that pretty.

Re:Now, more masculine!

[Mordok-DestroyerOfWo (1000167)]

That sir, is the most disturbing thing I've heard today. My hat is off to you.

Sweet

[DanWS6 (1248650)]

What games does this let me play?

Re:

[pandrijeczko (588093)]

As a primarily Linux user, I'm more than happy to help people getting to grips with it if they choose to give Linux a try - but likewise I respect anyone who gives good reasons why Linux is not for them.

But can we please stop with the "I won't run Linux because of lack of games" statements because they are meaningless.

Firstly, nothing stops you dual-booting both Linux and Windows in order to understand some of the benefits Linux could potentially bring to you.

Secondly, the fact that there are so few m

Near native performance

[by Anonymous Coward]

It's interesting because it's not running under Xen or VMWare, but instead uses the coLinux patch, which they claim allows the system to achieve 'great performance, close to a native installation on the PC.'

Doesn't VMWare (and most modern virtualization programs for that matter) run near native already? All the new major processors have the virtualization extensions built in. (I didn't mention Xen because it doesn't run on Windows)

In fact, wiki has a list. Look under the "Guest OS speed relative to Host OS" column: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_virtual_machines#More_Details [wikipedia.org]

Most are native or near native.

Re:

[Darkness404 (1287218)]

Doesn't VMWare (and most modern virtualization programs for that matter) run near native already?

Yes, But I think that this doesn't virtualize the entire OS just a part of it which would make it run faster.

But...

[Kingrames (858416)]

Does it have native support for wine?

Re:But...

[HappySmileMan (1088123)]

I hope so, Firefox now works great in Wine, so I can run Firefox in Wine, on Linux, on Windows, and if I have that copy of windows running in a virtual machine on my MacBook I'll be a god.

Re:

[mwolfe38 (1286498)]

Thats not bad, but I prefer doing all of my work on the command line in a cygwin instance of windows xp guest on an ubuntu host running windows hyper v through wine.

Can it use your 3d card? stuff on the usb ports?

[Joe The Dragon (967727)]

Can it use your 3d card? stuff on the usb ports? firewire? other add in cards?

Re:Can it use your 3d card? stuff on the usb ports

[drinkypoo (153816)]

In order: no, no, no, no.

I've run colinux, it provides you a console and a virtual network interface and that's about it. The console has some slow graphics.

The only one of those I know how to actually get you is to run Cygwin's OpenGL-equipped X server, and then use XDMCP to connect to your colinux VM.

Worst of both worlds

[HangingChad (677530)]

Why on earth would anyone want to run Linux on a Windows box? That's like building your house on a dung hill.

Though I suppose it comes in handy for accessing those Linux only web sites. ;)

Re:Worst of both worlds

[Vectronic (1221470)]

But... isnt a house on a dung hill, better than just standing on a dung hill by itself?

Especially since, you can make the air seem a little more fresh with freshners, take a shower, get out of the sun, etc.

Re:

[drinkypoo (153816)]

But... isnt a house on a dung hill, better than just standing on a dung hill by itself?

Actually, in this case putting the dung hill on top of the house [wikipedia.org] makes the most sense. You get the benefits of living in a house that's not built on a dung pile, and you still get the benefits of the dung pile!

Konami unavailable for comment

[Dwedit (232252)]

The Ulteo Logo looks like a dead ringer for Konami's old logo.
I guess this means you need to press Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A to get the thing to boot properly?

sweet

[RJBeery (956252)]

I can't wait to run WINE on it..

Linux on Windows

[typhoonius (611834)]

Finally, the stability and security of Windows with the application availability of Linux.

I've been waiting for this

[TekPolitik (147802)]

I've been waiting for this, because what I have always really wanted was to combine the application compatibility of Linux with the operating system reliability of Windows.

Re:I Spend Three Weeks..

[mwolfe38 (1286498)]

I'm not sure which is worse, trying to get ubuntu installed through virtual pc or relying on slashdot for all of your technology advice.

Re:I Spend Three Weeks..

[secolactico (519805)]

Indeed. Everybody knows that we come to slashdot for legal and romantic advice.

Re:I Spend Three Weeks..

[by Anonymous Coward]

go to doctor and have your subpoena replaced by a normal sized poena.

Re:

[Bryansix (761547)]

I'm at work. I support a Microsoft environment. I don't like it but that's what I do. So That's what I have to run.

Re:Just wondering

[moderatorrater (1095745)]

Linuces. The 'x' is only the nominative singular form, for everything else you use c + ending.

Re:Just wondering

[thePowerOfGrayskull (905905)]

So Tux becomes Tuces? :D

it was though...

[samjam (256347)]

it was though, a perfectly cromulent word.

Re:Just wondering

[AlexBirch (1137019)]

You're right, so your post is like fex, and when you post a second time you have feces.

The Humorless Language Nazi Explains it All

[fm6 (162816)]

Whenever people hear a word that ends with "s" (or that sounds like it should), they assume that there's some silly grammatical rule that they need to know about. There is a rule, but it's so hard to follow, you shouldn't even try.

Here's the rule: a lot of words that end with "-us" (not all of them! more on that in a moment) are borrowed from Latin. In that language, a noun ending with "-us" is a singluar form (dominus, lord; servus, slave) that takes a plural form ending in "-i" (domini, lords; servi, slaves). In theory, it's more "correct" to use foreign inflections with foreign words. So instead of "octopuses", "styluses", and "circuses", people say "octopi", "styli", and "circi".

No, wait, nobody says "circi", do they? It's the "correct" usage, because it's a Latin word, but the established usage is "circuses".

The other examples I gave are commonly used, but are in no sense "correct". "Octopus" does not come from Latin: it's a Greek word, and the Greek plural is "octopods". "Stylus" is Latin, but it's misspelled Latin: the Romans spelled it "stilus". It got changed to "stylus" because somebody thought it was somehow derived from the Greek word "stylos". But it's not, so the "correct" way to refer to that thing that comes with your PDA is "stilus" and "stili".

But to heck with being "correct". It's the tar baby of the literate. Just use the rules you learned in grade school and be done with it.

Re:The Humorless Language Nazi Explains it All

[hedwards (940851)]

But to heck with being "correct". It's the tar baby of the literate. Just use the rules you learned in grade school and be done with it.

What's correct is what the vast majority of people do. That doesn't mean that using words like alot is really proper, but with the number of people misspelling that one, we may as well just admit that the spelling has changed, it would save an awful lot of red ink.

These sorts of arguments pop up frequently, and really as long as people can tell what is being said, there isn't really a good reason to argue too much about it. The speakers of the various languages will figure out a spelling, which will then be declared archaic and replaced with something knew. It's been happening for millenia.

Really, we ought to be migrating towards rules which are like the ones in grade school, except easy to understand and predictable. Some irregularities are going to crop up. But those should really be reserved for times when the alternative can't be pronounced.

Re:Just wondering

[_KiTA_ (241027)]

index => indices
linux => linuces
I think

I prefer the incorrect Linuxen, if only because I can then imagine giant penguins being used as cattle.

I would include a sound effect (i.e., Mooooo~) here, but I have no idea what kinda sound effect Penguins do. Perhaps...

SEGFAUUUUUUUUT~~~~

Re:

[mdfst13 (664665)]

index => indices

According to Merriam-Webster, indexes is also a valid spelling [merriam-webster.com]. In fact, indexes is listed prior to indices, which suggests that it is the preferred spelling.

Cecil Adams has an interesting discussion of Latin/English pluralizations hidden in a discussion of the proper plural of penis [straightdope.com].

Re:Just wondering

[Achromatic1978 (916097)]

In fact, indexes is listed prior to indices, which suggests that it is the preferred spelling.

Either that, or that the dictionary is in alphabetic order, as is the norm for dictionaries...

Re:Other way around, please

[Darkness404 (1287218)]

I don't think this will happen in as much depth as you are hoping. While Linux is 100% free and open source, it makes porting it to a proprietary OS easier then doing the reverse. WGA and other things don't help.

Re:You're DOING IT WRONG!

[Kirkoff (143587)]

There are a bunch of linux/x apps that I use at home I'd love to be able to use on my windows box at work. Think of stuff like Kate for text editing.

Re:

[BrentH (1154987)]

You know what I do these days is running Ubuntu inside a (seamless) virtual machine in Windows. Windows has to be native for the games, and it doesn't matter how often Windows is borked, the Ubuntu VM image is on a different partition and as soon as I've reinstalled windows I can load that image up and *boom* my entire desktop with all my sweet little apps are there again without reinstalling anything. Best of both worlds. The only thing better (aside from Linux supporting my games ;)) would be virtualizab

Re:

[tangent3 (449222)]

Yes, and definitely I would say it seems that coLinux was made with being a better alternative to cygwin/mingw in mind. I've been happily using AndLinux (Kubuntu + coLinux distro) running on my Windows XP for C++ development.

Re:

[TexasDex (709519)]

I've had a try at setting up a torrent for it: http://linuxtracker.org/index.php?page=torrent-details&id=5665e3caf528c853645efe633113c6bab9042718 [linuxtracker.org]