Linux in Windows

"andLinux is a complete Ubuntu Linux system running seamlessly in Windows 2000 based systems (2000, XP, 2003, Vista; 32-bit versions only)."
"andLinux is not just for development and runs almost all Linux applications without modification."

http://andlinux.org/
Freeware. No VMware or Virtual PC needed.

hmm, couod be useful for cross linux and windows blitzmax developers

Hmm, agreed

Could be useful for development otherwise i dont see much point. For me the whole point in using Ubuntu is i dont have to put up with windows quite so often in the first place. Also, almost all so called "Linux apps" usually have builds for nearly all other platforms anyway.

I would be more interested if it was the other way around but unless MS get to be more open with directX i guess it wont happen :(

> I would be more interested if it was the other way around

HOWTO: Windows XP running under Xen 3.0 on Ubuntu:
http://tinyurl.com/jetre
I am sure MS dont like it and will do nothing to make
it easier.

This brings forth a great deal of frustration for some unknown reason. Is it just me or is it very unsettling?

Would make it simpler to add Linux detection code to ensure that it will definitely not run on it no mather how approached.

@stayne: What is it thats unsettling?

@dreamora: What would definitely not run? Why/who wants to stop what?

I think i missed something there :/

@Volker: Looks interesting, does it support DX9 though? I tried VMware but couldn't get it to work.

Why, its only vitualization its no different from installing on real hardware, you still need a licenced copy of windows. They should be more worried about the comp-layer kernels like wine.
At least a virtual machine makes them a sale (if done with a legal copy of course)

I might have to try this. I am having to dual boot into Ubuntu to test out my code on linux machines, but still use a windows base OS as my main functional operating system.

If it supports DX im all over it :D

True, but that doesn't mean they like it, for two reasons:

1) It enables people to slowly start cutting ties with MS, enabling them to switch to a different OS and only string MS along while they need it

MS' entire current business model is built about barriers to change. You'll bet they'd forgo some minor profit in the short run (that windows license) to ensure profit in the long run (the windows licenses you'll buy over the next 20 years, whether stand-alone or through the microsoft tax on a new PC)

2) Vista's EULA actually prohibits running it inside a virtual machine, with the exception of the ultimate version (and only then after much omplaints from the industry)

(Partially they were afraid that people would use virtualization to get around Vista's DRM paths and such)

Anyway, this AndLinux does sound kind of interesting... But is there any benefit / drawbacks of it vs. running Linux inside VMWare?
(I run XP as my primary OS, but also have both a dual-boot into Fedora as well as a VMWare install of Fedora)

Looks kewl, but I'm fine with dual boot.. how would blitzmax work with this?

@D4NM4N
I don't have yet tested it. Forumsearch die not show up
if it supports DX, so I believe: No.
Take a look at Virtual Box if you don't get VMware running.
It' s free.

I've been messing with Windows XP 64bit in VMWare on Fedora Core 8 64bit, with mostly great success. CPU performance is around the same as when I ran Windows as the primary OS when I tested it with Cinebench. Though I have gotten no graphics acceleartion working. There's supposed to be experimental graphics acceleration support there, but maybe that's only for the Windows version of VMWare or the 32 bit one. :(

So for BlitzMax testing, it's really not that good. Though check out http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~andreslc/xen-gl/ VMGL, which gives you accelerated OpenGL in X11 based guest os's (Linux and co). Don't know if the host needs to be Linux too, or if it can be Windows.

On Intel CPU's you may need to go into the bios and turn on Virtualiztaion Technology to get it to work at all.

Wacom support is possible, but difficult to get working. I had to install wdaemon (v.0.14, v0.13 and below have a memory leak, fedora repos only has v.0.12), and configure that. Read the readme file that comes with it and google it. Now I can swith between using Wacom in Fedora and VMWare, by choosing it from the VMWare menu. Though, I still have a bug that I need to track down, as Fedora sometimes looses it's connection with it after multiple back and forth switching.

VirtualBox looks very promising, I'm planning to test it out next.

VirtualBox in 'seamless' mode pretty much does this the other way round (Windows apps in linux system). I don't think it does DX though :(

No need for that bother. The installer CD for Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy) - though currently a beta release - has a completely redone Windows end. Now it offers to "try Ubuntu inside Windows", which essentially sets up a virtual machine that actually works!
It also has a darn nice wallpaper...

Hardy also has a newer version of the wacom drivers (which appear to be getting a bit more support on the distro end) -- now works easily with the Bamboo tablets and (almost) supports hotswapping.

Gah! This would have been great to try! But alas I am on a 64-bit OS and cannot :-(