ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Test Drive Linux with a Virtual Machine

Updated on June 27, 2008

Many Windows users feel uneasy at the idea of moving away from the comfort zone provided by what is familiar to them. Maybe Linux sounds interesting, but jumping off from your secure ground into the unknown UNIX-based world is not something you would easily do. Well, there is an alternative - virtualization; or, to use a fancier term,.X86 emulators. An emulator is a program that behaves like a computer inside your existing operating system (i.e Windows). It uses a virtual hard drive which is just a file in your real hard drive. With a virtual machine, we can test drive Linux without changing our physical computer's hard drive. Virtual PC 2007, for example, is a free product from Microsoft that you can download from Microsoft's Download Center at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads. I happen to use Virtual PC but there are other free emulators that also work well. VMWare offers a free virtual machine player and pre-built Linnux virtual machines ready for use.

Once you install your emulator of choice on your computer and download an ISO image of a Linux distribution, you can install it on your virtual machine just as if you were installing it on a new computer. Again, if you use VMWare, you don't even need to install it but I like the complete experience of installing Linux from scratch.

Linux distributions come in a variety of distributions, releases and versions (like Desktop vs Server). Personally, I like Ubuntu 8.04 Desktop because it comes with many different programs ready to use such as OpenOffice. I can open and edit all my MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. When you finish installing the operating system, you will have a fully working Linux computer to play with.

There are many things I like about using a virtual machine for Linux. You can configure it so, if you make a mistake like deleting important files, you just ditch the changes made in your virtual machine and restart it. You can also easily make your physical hard drive available inside the virtual machine and have access to your documents. As a side note, these advantages are equally true for Windows users. I used to receive desperate calls from friends whose children downloaded a virus or deleted their windows folder. Now, their kids use Virtual Machines to surf at their leasure. If they break it, a few mouse clicks and they are back in business.

Whether you just want to have an idea of what Linux feels like or you are ready to jump into Linux but don't want to risk loosing your computer in the process, having Linux in a virtual machine is definitely a viable solution. You can then experiment with different Linux distributions and see which one you like the most.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)