In a move sure to suprise no one, Microsoft confirmed to eWEEK.com that although they just released their upgrade to Virtual PC to manufacturing, it will no longer offer official support for BSD Unix, Linux, NetWare or Solaris on Intel. Of course, you should still be able to run them, but you’re on your own if you do. The software wizards and tech-support hotlines will no longer be of any assistance.
Microsoft has said all along that they are focusing on enabling Windows Server 2003 servers to run Windows NT 4 applications with the goal of finally migrating NT4 users to Windows Server 2003. The funny part is that Virtual PC will officially support OS2 and even Windows 3.1 … clearly the value of Virtual PC as a tech support and development tool is gone, and VMWare will be getting lots of new customers when they release their next version.
The one piece of good news is that they will now be including this in the MSDN subscription … so I get a free copy at work. [ ]
Edit Nov 11 1038]
Well, apparently, Microsoft didn’t like the tone of the first eWeek article, or maybe it was other similar articles in other e’zines, or maybe just the fact that every technology-related media outlet was reporting they had dropped support for Linux. They are now rushing around trying to reassure everyone that what I reported in the first place is true. Namely, that Linux (and indeed, any x86 operating system) will still run, they just want to make clear that they don’t know anything about Linux, that it’s considered “third-party software” and therefore, they can’t help you set it up.
Carla Huffman, Microsoft’s product manager for the Virtual PC, reassured customers that “You absolutely can run Linux in Virtual PC … there is no negative impact to customers to running non-Microsoft operating systems ... “ (Ok, ok, as much as I love that quote, I took it a little out of context: it actually says “... running non-Microsoft operating systems on Virtual PC”)
Anyway …
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