VMware for Linux screenshots/information

here you'll find a collection of screenshots of the newly-released program VMware for Linux. it's right now in public beta, grab it from VMware.

NOTE: this page has not been updated since 1999, when VMware for Linux was first released. If you are looking for information on VMware's products as they exist today, please refer to VMware's website.

(12/9/99) Cleanup, performance, thanks

I haven't updated this webpage in a long long time, but I guess it's been past due. Anyhow, VMware is a fully-released commercial product now, and there's also a Windows NT version to boot! There's more than enough free tech support (FAQ's, newsgroups, etc.) available at their web site. Since last update, the Wall Street Journal I was featured in regarding VMware isn't available at MSNBC or WSJ.com any longer. The only place I could find it is at ZDNet: Desktops to get OS freedom of choice.

A lot of people have been emailing me about performance, what kind of computer I have, etc. Well, I can only speak for myself: my computer is a 350Mhz Pentium II with 128M of RAM. That's about it. It's running a Linux 2.2.x kernel. VMware runs very well -- I'd say a guest OS seems to be about 10% slower when there's no heavy CPU load on the host. Of the Windowses, Windows NT runs fastest; next comes Win95, then Win98. Hope this helps. Download the 30-day free trial and see for yourself.

Also, over the summer I interned at VMware -- doing mostly Linux development work and some NT development -- and I pretty much have to thank the fame this webpage received early on when VMware for Linux first went beta for the internship offer. Thanks to all the people who visited and made this page a semi-"authority" in March, 1999.

(3/26/99) Build 106

VMware released a new build today. it corrects some important things, like COM ports in 2.2.x kernels. a "what's new" is available.

(3/25/99) Wall Street Journal Article / MSNBC

i'm famous! check out this article in the Wall Street Journal about VMware. it begins and ends with comments by myself about VMware. i was interviewed last week by Lee Gomes, a journalist at the WSJ who seems to know a lot more about linux and such things than your average tech journalist. he wrote a large piece about linux in last sunday's (3/21) WSJ -- i'll put up a link to if i can find one. apparently the WSJ and MSNBC share content, so the same article is also available at MSNBC.

(3/20/99) new version of VMware beta

VMware mailed me today to notify me of a new version of VMware that's now available, build 103. here's a list of what's new with the release. it says it corrects some problems encountered by users in the last few days. i haven't tried it out yet, though.

if you want to run vmware using a raw disk, read run_from_hda.html -- official vmware info on this!

notes

oh, and usually my cpu meter reports good (a load, a load-and-a-half) cpu values while running vmware. ignore the spinning-out-of-control cpu meters in some of the later screenshots. that's probably because i served up 3 gigs of vmware binaries and pictures that morning between 8:30-11am (this site got "slashdotted" when vmware was first released).

what's here?

i've got my own shots of: the initial win95 install (plus some funny things i did while it was installing), finally getting things to work (say, networking), and the pretty fruits of my labor: shots of quake2, photoshop, AOL, pagemaker, icq, microsoft IE, and many others in action. ever since i got an extra IP and bridged networking working, i've been going crazy. coming soon: more working apps.

check out X windows running inside a vncviewer.exe running inside linux vncviewer running inside vmware running on X/linux. okay, things got out of hand. screenshots are below...

oh, and you can email me at cce3@cornell.edu 
      Name                            Last modified     Size  Description


[DIR] Parent Directory                15-Mar-99 11:23     -  my main site.  check it out!

words of encouragement/caution
[TXT] readme.html                     15-Mar-99 10:25     1k  read me.  easy enough?
[TXT] run_from_hda.html               15-Mar-99 10:22     1k  be safe!  don't boot straight from /dev/hda, read this little message from some vmware tech guy.

new application screenshots
[IMG] wsjshot2.jpeg                   22-Mar-99 17:29   467k  i made this screenshot for the wall street journal, but it was too colorful and busy to be put in the newspaper.
[IMG] freakshow2.jpeg                 18-Apr-99 12:24   234k  i'm playing an old cd-rom game i had at hand, the resident's "freak show."
[IMG] word97_vs_wplinux.jpeg          23-Apr-99 17:29   234k  a friend sent me this shot of him running word97 and wordperfect 8 for linux at the same time.
[IMG] xilinx_licq_x11amp_make.jpeg    04-Apr-99 17:31   284k  i'm designing a 32-bit adder in xilinx (in vmware), playing an mp3, using licq, and recompiling x windows, all at once.  woohoo.
[IMG] aol-wow.jpeg                    16-Mar-99 02:31   239k  well, now my family won't be so scared of linux when i bring my box home from school -- they'll see aol, bastion of friendliness.
[IMG] cuteftp_sunsite.jpeg            16-Mar-99 02:37   237k  windows ftp program cuteftp caught in action at sunsite.unc.edu.
[IMG] finale_notation_software.jpeg   16-Mar-99 18:47   206k  me looking at the music to canyon.mid.  finale's a great program.
[IMG] ie_save.jpeg                    16-Mar-99 02:59   235k  downloading a file in internet explorer.
[IMG] internet_explorer.jpeg          16-Mar-99 02:51   228k  i didn't have netscape at first, so i had to try IE...
[IMG] microsoft_word.jpeg             16-Mar-99 17:36   225k  mmm ... my philosophy paper ... all nice and ready-to-print ... (printing works for me, too)
[IMG] netscape_communicator.jpeg      16-Mar-99 17:39   279k  i set /dev/hda to be my primary slave HD and i used my already-installed version of communicator without a hitch.
[IMG] pagemaker_and_icq.jpeg          16-Mar-99 02:50   197k  design program pagemaker at work next to a connected and working icq.
[IMG] photoshop.jpeg                  16-Mar-99 02:31   243k  mmm ... editable text ... i wish gimp had that ...
[IMG] photoshop2.jpeg                 16-Mar-99 02:31   243k  more gimp and photoshop running side-by-side.
[IMG] quake2_woah.jpeg                16-Mar-99 02:29   219k  quake2!  hey, it ran!  and not too slow, actually ... i mean, i wouldn't want to play it but i think the problem is more in the display than in the program's speed.  maybe fullscreen mode / new X server will speed that up.
[IMG] quake2_woah2.jpeg               16-Mar-99 02:29   198k  quake2 connecting to a lithium quake2 server somewhere!  wheeeeeee.  ... but i'm still sticking with quake2 for linux, of course.
[IMG] unix95_vs_the_real_thing.jpeg   16-Mar-99 17:01   235k  i got those unix95 ports of tcsh and ncftp, and i thought they were pretty cool when i ran windows.  but they don't hold a candle to the real thing.
[IMG] warcraft2_oh_well.jpeg          16-Mar-99 03:20   197k  warcraft2 not working, because of the absence of VESA drivers for vmware's display.  ...oh well, maybe the next version ...
[IMG] warcraft2_setup.jpeg            16-Mar-99 02:38   277k  the warcraft setup program worked fine though.
[IMG] windows_explorer.jpeg           16-Mar-99 18:25   233k  windows explorer.  uhh, yeah.
[IMG] x_in_vnc_in_vnc_in_vmare.jpeg   16-Mar-99 19:51   261k  i'm using x windows and linux.  i started vnc on both computer.  boom!  i'm using X through VNC throughanother VNC on virtual win95 running on linux.  confused?
[IMG] x_in_vnc_in_vnc_in_vmare2.jpeg  16-Mar-99 19:52   287k  same as above, different window highlighted to help you figure it out.
[IMG] xilinx_logic_design_editor.jpeg 16-Mar-99 03:14   204k  some logic design software that we have to use for CS314 here at cornell.  i was upset because it was only for win95/NT -- not anymore!

using win95 at first
[IMG] vmware_win95splash.jpeg         15-Mar-99 09:13   199k  i thought i'd never see the day ...
[IMG] welcome_to_win95.jpeg           15-Mar-99 02:07   261k  another one of those "first-time-running-win95" screens.
[IMG] my_hd_setup.jpeg                16-Mar-99 01:26   ???k  how my hard drives are laid out; a local newly-installed "virtual" hd on c:, my /dev/hda on d: and e:.
[IMG] first_time_running_windows.jpeg 15-Mar-99 01:40   365k  the windows logon screen.  i hate that screen.  don't you?
[IMG] vmware_startup.jpeg             15-Mar-99 09:12   165k  the initial fake-computer boot screen.  check out the cool fake BIOS and stuff.  and pressing F2 actually does give you setup!
[IMG] networking_works_yay.jpeg       15-Mar-99 03:07   237k  oooh ... vmware networking WORKS.  cool.
[IMG] it_had_to_happen_eventually.jpeg15-Mar-99 10:30   181k  the blue screen of death.  this happened after i booted from /dev/hda for the first time.  it was looking for a bunch of old devices that all of a sudden disappeared ...
[IMG] paint.jpeg                      15-Mar-99 02:10   233k  i couldn't resist.

installation of win95
[IMG] get_more_done_hah.jpeg          15-Mar-99 01:25   299k  get more done?  *i'm* the one running your OS, the gimp, netscape, X, and licq at the same time, aren't i?
[IMG] hey_are_you_guys_twins.jpeg     15-Mar-99 03:31   211k  wait a second ... no ... those kde people couldn't have been thinking of ... no, that's a silly idea.
[IMG] initial_settings_screen.jpeg    15-Mar-99 01:45   334k  the initial settings screen i got when i ran windows for the first time.  woohoo!
[IMG] laptop.jpeg                     15-Mar-99 01:31   302k  well, uhh ... WE can use laptops too ... depending on the model ... yeah ...
[IMG] more_fun.jpeg                   15-Mar-99 01:27   280k  more fun?  yeah, well, i'm doing pretty well myself...
[IMG] more_fun_xbill.jpeg             15-Mar-99 01:28   264k  in fact, i'm having fun right now WOMPING BILL'S ASS.  yeah.
[IMG] more_powerful.jpeg              15-Mar-99 01:26   282k  more powerful ... and who's running you, mofo?
[IMG] msn_email.jpeg                  15-Mar-99 01:33   268k  hey, look, now i can use E-MAIL?  it's a godsend!

i recently changed these links to vmware's download page, so no more "file not found" complaints.
[CMP] vmware.tar.gz                   15-Mar-99 08:46   1.8M  this is a direct link to www.vmware.com.
[   ] vmware-tools.exe                15-Mar-99 08:47   1.3M  also a link to vmware's site.
[CMP] vmware-tools.tar.gz             15-Mar-99 08:47   1.3M  same deal.
[CMP] vmware-xserver-svga.tar.gz      15-Mar-99 08:46   1.1M  see above.

get your license here; it's a link to VMware's license registration page.
[TXT] get_your_license_here           15-Mar-99 09:22     1k  get your license here.