5 ms·

Use Windows for the metal OS, then run Linux on top (VMware or WSL). Best of both worlds.

by MichaelGG 10y ago

iagooar 10y ago
How is that best of both worlds? That sounds more like a Frankenstein to me.
- MichaelGG 10y ago
  You get Windows driver/graphics and power support. You get the applications that need Linux. No screwing with blobs and updates and whatnot.
raihansaputra 10y ago
i'm curious, do a lot of people run this setup? does the overhead of running in vm for your daily tasks worth it?
- Const-me 10y ago
  I was running OSX in VMWare every day for a couple of years, did iOS development. With 8 GB RAM and fast Intel SSD in my Windows laptop, the VM was faster then hardware MacBooks I saw. Modern hardware-assisted virtualization is very efficient, BTW that's exactly what allowed those cloud computing.
  - Ezhik 10y ago
    Doesn't VMware have really lacking graphics support? I remember Yosemite and on with their fancy effects are barely usable.
    - Const-me 10y ago
      VmWare’s virtualized 3D accelerated GPU is IMO very good. Not sure about compatibility with the recent OSX, though. I used lion and mountain lion, and those worked well. AFAIR I’ve used vmware tools from Fusion.
  - raihansaputra 10y ago
    if i knew a few weeks ago i would probably think a bit more of buying another macbook. osx allows vm installs?
    - Const-me 10y ago
      Technically yes. Not sure about the latest OSX, but when I used that, everything worked fine for me. Legally no. VM or not, the real hardware needs to be made by Apple.
      - raihansaputra 10y ago
        no need to tweak kexts like you do with a hackintosh?
        Const-me 10y ago
        No need to tweak kexts. In the host machine, you need reasonably fast Intel CPU, hardware-assisted virtualization enabled in BIOS/UEFI, enough RAM, also unofficial VMWare patch to unlock OSX guests on PC hosts. In the guest OS, you need VMWare tools for OSX, they exist because VMWare supports OSX guests when running on OSX hosts.
dr1337 10y ago
Or just wait for Windows 10 Redstone on Aug 2 and run the Bash on Linux Subsystem for Windows. No overhead and you get full speed with unmodified debs.
- zouhair 10y ago
  Not having cron is a deal breaker. Cygwin is still better in that aspect.
Shorel 10y ago
Not really, a modern Linux will do a real boot faster than Windows does its fake-boot-it-really-was-hibernation-wake-up thing. If you do web development it is also a much better development experience than using Windows. Bluetooth devices work much better in Linux than Windows (at least the ones I have). USB devices are also much better handled in Linux. I never see an 'Installing device driver for this USB stick' message. I plug my kindle in Ubuntu, it opens Calibre. I plug my kindle in Windows, it shows a folder. I lose all these niceties if I run Linux inside a VM.

Use Windows for the metal OS, then run Linux on top (VMware or WSL). Best of both worlds.

iagooar 10y ago

How is that best of both worlds? That sounds more like a Frankenstein to me.

MichaelGG 10y ago
You get Windows driver/graphics and power support. You get the applications that need Linux. No screwing with blobs and updates and whatnot.

raihansaputra 10y ago

i'm curious, do a lot of people run this setup? does the overhead of running in vm for your daily tasks worth it?

Const-me 10y ago
I was running OSX in VMWare every day for a couple of years, did iOS development. With 8 GB RAM and fast Intel SSD in my Windows laptop, the VM was faster then hardware MacBooks I saw. Modern hardware-assisted virtualization is very efficient, BTW that's exactly what allowed those cloud computing.
- Ezhik 10y ago
  Doesn't VMware have really lacking graphics support? I remember Yosemite and on with their fancy effects are barely usable.
  - Const-me 10y ago
    VmWare’s virtualized 3D accelerated GPU is IMO very good. Not sure about compatibility with the recent OSX, though. I used lion and mountain lion, and those worked well. AFAIR I’ve used vmware tools from Fusion.
- raihansaputra 10y ago
  if i knew a few weeks ago i would probably think a bit more of buying another macbook. osx allows vm installs?
  - Const-me 10y ago
    Technically yes. Not sure about the latest OSX, but when I used that, everything worked fine for me. Legally no. VM or not, the real hardware needs to be made by Apple.
    - raihansaputra 10y ago
      no need to tweak kexts like you do with a hackintosh?
      - Const-me 10y ago
        No need to tweak kexts. In the host machine, you need reasonably fast Intel CPU, hardware-assisted virtualization enabled in BIOS/UEFI, enough RAM, also unofficial VMWare patch to unlock OSX guests on PC hosts. In the guest OS, you need VMWare tools for OSX, they exist because VMWare supports OSX guests when running on OSX hosts.

dr1337 10y ago

Or just wait for Windows 10 Redstone on Aug 2 and run the Bash on Linux Subsystem for Windows. No overhead and you get full speed with unmodified debs.

zouhair 10y ago
Not having cron is a deal breaker. Cygwin is still better in that aspect.

Shorel 10y ago

Not really, a modern Linux will do a real boot faster than Windows does its fake-boot-it-really-was-hibernation-wake-up thing. If you do web development it is also a much better development experience than using Windows. Bluetooth devices work much better in Linux than Windows (at least the ones I have). USB devices are also much better handled in Linux. I never see an 'Installing device driver for this USB stick' message. I plug my kindle in Ubuntu, it opens Calibre. I plug my kindle in Windows, it shows a folder. I lose all these niceties if I run Linux inside a VM.