VirtualBox 6.0 Release

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

This is a major update. The following major new features were added:

• Implemented support for exporting a virtual machine to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
• User interface: greatly improved HiDPI and scaling support, including better detection and per-machine configuration
• Major rework of user interface with simpler and more powerful application and virtual machine set-up
• User interface: a new file manager enabling user to control the guest file system and copy files between host and guest.
• Graphics: major update of 3D graphics support for Windows guests, and VMSVGA 3D graphics device emulation on Linux and Solaris guests
• Added support for surround speaker setups (as used by Windows 10 Build 1809)
• Added utility vboximg-mount on Apple hosts to access the content of guest disks on the host
• Added support for using Hyper-V as the fallback execution core on Windows host, to avoid inability to run VMs at the price of reduced performance In addition, the following items were fixed and/or added:
• Execution core: fixed single-stepping in certain circumstances (bug #17316)
• User interface: video and audio recording can now be separately enabled
• Audio/Video recording fixes and improvements
• Audio: better support for attaching and detaching remote desktop connections
• Serial port emulation fixes
• Serial ports: allow changing the serial port attachment while a machine is running (bug #6115)
• Networking: Added a workaround for older guests which do not enable bus mastering for the virtio PCI device
• Networking: fixed wrong RCODE from DNS AAAA query with –natdnshostresolver1 (bug #18171)
• iSCSI: In cases where there is no ambiguity, the LUN of an iSCSI target is automatically determined, for targets with non-zero LUNs
• Transparently resize disk images when merging if possible
• VBoxManage: support for DHCP options
• Fixed VNC/RDP (bug #18153)
• Guest Control: various new interfaces and features (see SDK documentation)
• Linux hosts: support Linux 4.20 (thank you Larry Finger)
• Solaris: installer fixes
• Shared folders: performance improvements
• Guest Additions: improved shared folder auto-mounting
• Windows Guest Additions: fix incorrect tablet co-ordinate handling with recent Windows 10 builds
• Linux Additions: fix for building vboxvideo on EL 7.6 standard kernel, contributed by Robert Conde (bug #18093)
• Linux guests: support Linux 4.20 (thank you Larry Finger)
• Linux guests: support VMSVGA in the Linux and X11 Additions
• MacOS Guest Additions: initial support
• OS/2 Guest Additions: initial shared folder support
• BIOS fixes
• ACPI: Up to four custom ACPI tables can now be configured for a VM

VirtualBox 5.0 Released July 9!

VirtualBox 5.0 (released 2015-07-09)

This is a major update. The following major new features were added:

• Paravirtualization support for Windows and Linux guests to improve time-keeping accuracy and performance (see the manual for more information)
• Make more instruction set extensions available to the guest when running with hardware-assisted virtualization and nested paging. Among others this includes: SSE 4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX-2, AES-NI, POPCNT, RDRAND and RDSEED
• xHCI Controller to support USB 3 devices (see the manual for more information)
• Drag and drop support (bidirectional) for Windows, Linux and Solaris guests
• Disk image encryption (see the manual for more information)
• VMs can now be started in separate mode. The VM process is started headless while the frontend runs as a separate process which can be terminated without stopping the VM.
• GUI: VM guest-content scaling support (including 3D acceleration)
• GUI: New User Interface settings page for customizing status-bar, menu-bar and guest-content scaling
• GUI: New Encryption settings tab for customizing encryption options for disk images
• GUI: HiDPI support including application icons and optional unscaled HiDPI output on Mac OS X (including 3D acceleration)
• GUI: Hot-plugging support for SATA disks
• New, modular audio architecture for providing a better abstraction of the host audio backends
• Support for the NDIS6 networking framework on Windows (default on Vista and later)

Download here

Exciting “new” Linux distros: SolydXK and Kwheezy

I stumbled across these two relatively new distros in my search for a Windows replacement.

Kwheezy is a great distro, almost everything you need is pre-installed and it’s got some great eye-candy.  http://www.kwheezy.com/en/.  Here’s a good review of Kwheezy: http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.com/2013/08/kwheezy-11-review-good-debian-spin-for.html

SolydXK isn’t quite the “everything but the kitchen sink” distro, but it’s also a really good option.  http://www.solydxk.com

Both are based on Debian’s stable branch.  Kwheezy 1.2 is based on Debian 7.1.

I’m really leaning toward one of these two for a full install on my secondary machine…potentially replacing the Windows 7 install, but definitely a dual boot install.

 

Parallels Workstation/Workstation Extreme products cancelled for Windows and Linux

I went over to Parallels tonight to search for some info and found that their website only mentions the Mac product.

I dug a little deeper in the support forums and found this sad little post:

Parallels Workstation – End of Purchase or Renewal Ability Notification

We are ending sales of our Parallels Workstation product lines in order to focus on some different market segments and products. Effective immediately, you will no longer be able to purchase new licenses or renew maintenance on the following products:

·         Parallels Workstation

·         Parallels Workstation Extreme

What does it mean for you?
* Parallels will no longer release patches or updates for these products;

* Parallels Support will not be able to escalate the requests to the development team for patches/fixes which are not covered in existing version/build of the product.

* If you have a personal Support Plan, please contact your Parallels sales representative or one of the Parallels offices.

I wanted Parallels and the Workstation product to succeed, but you can only ignore a product and customers for so long.

VirtualBox 4.2.6 (released 2012-12-19)

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

This is a maintenance release. The following items were fixed and/or added:

• VMM: don’t inject stale VT-x events to prevent crashes after VM reset (bug #11256)
• VMM: workaround for buggy BIOSes which enable MONITOR only for certain CPUs (bugs #9460, #10686)
• GUI: fixed trimming of anti-aliased text in details-view element headers (4.2.0 regression)
• GUI: fixed create-settings-file-alias functionality on Mac hosts (4.2.0 regression)
• GUI: fixed take-guest-screenshot functionality on Windows hosts (bug #11095)
• GUI: several minor fixes, including palette fixes (bug #11191)
• GUI: fixed Windows 2012 OS type (bug #11206)
• GUI: allow to terminate the VM even if VBoxSVC crashed
• API: fixed cancelling of snapshots, previously this could lead to inconsistent VM configs (bug #6877)
• API: fixed identifying disk images by UUID (bug #11209)
• 3D Support: several fixes
• VRDP: fixed occasional crash with external authentication (bug #11156)
• VGA: fix for double scan text modes
• USB: fixed invalid pending request count at the time of service of DEVICE POWER requests (Windows hosts only; bugs #10021, #11056)
• USB keyboard: Korean keyboard workaround (bug #11150)
• Storage: fixed hang with QCOW images and asynchronous I/O enabled
• Storage: fixed hang with newer VHD images (bug #11279)
• Storage: actually write the non-rotational flag to the VM settings (4.2.0 regression)
• Virtio-net: fixed the problem with network statistics counters in Session Information dialog (GUI)
• Metrics: introduced network rate and disk usage metrics
• Metrics: fixed a crash under certain conditions on Solaris hosts
• BIOS: fix for El Torito
• Shared Folders: if the host folder of a shared folder mapping does not exist, keep it active but mark it as invalid to prevent inconsitent saved states (bug #11147)
• VBoxManage: fixed converting disks from raw images
• VBoxManage: show snapshot description in the VM or snapshot information
• VBoxManage: make implicit opening of media consistent in all places dealing with media
• VBoxManage: the iSCSI initiator name was not stored in the settings file when doing storageattach (bug #11212)
• VBoxManage: metrics collect now properly handles ‘CPU/MHz’ and ‘Net/*/LinkSpeed’ metrics
• VBoxManage: changing the image UUID or parent UUID as part of storageattach works now in all safe cases
• VBoxManage: introduced storageattach –medium additions as a shortcut to mount the additions image (bug #11165)
• OVF: fixed importing OVF files cerated by recent VMware products (bug #10905)
• Linux hosts / Bridged Networking: fixed the problem with leaking connections in conntrack (bug #11178)
• Linux Additions: added support for ConsoleKit sessions in the vminfo service of VBoxService
• Linux Additions: don’t crash during remount under certain conditions (bug #11291)
• Linux/Solaris Additions: fixed guest memory metrics collection
• Solaris hosts: added a dependency to ensure that the user directories are reachable when starting VBox services
• Windows host installer: integrated user-contributed translations, thanks to all contributors!
• Windows Additions: fixed auto-logon installation for Windows 8
• Windows Additions: don’t fail if the shared folders host service is not available
• Windows Additions: fixed Guest Additions startup on Windows 2000 guests (bug #11253)
• Windows Additions: auto-resize fixes for Windows 8 guests

Add User to sudoers list

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/how-to-add-a-user-to-the-sudoers-list/

How to add a user to the sudoers list:

1. Open a Root Terminal and type visudo (to access and edit the list)
2. Using the up/down arrows, navigate to the bottom of the sudoers file that is now displayed in the terminal
3. Just under the line that looks like the following:

root ALL=(ALL) ALL

1. Add the following (replacing user with your actual username):

user ALL=(ALL) ALL

1. Now press Ctrl+X and press Y when promted to save

That’s it, your new user now has root privileges!

Example Sudoers Screenshot:

Disabling a Dell PointStick (TrackStick) in CrunchBang Linux

I recently discovered CrunchBang Linux, an awesome Debian based distro, and have been testing it as an alternative to Windows 8.

I installed it on a spare Dell D630 notebook at work and found out the the little pointstick caused the pointer to randomly wander around the screen.  Since I never use the PointStick I wanted to disable it.  In Windows, there is a nice little Dell utility that allows you to customize the behavior of the PointStick and TouchPad.

However, in Linux, it’s a little different (command line), but almost as easy.

The key tool is xinput (thanks to this post on ceder’s blog)

You can disable the device via a couple simple commands:

"xinput list"
# xinput list
⎡ Virtual core pointer                        id=2    [master pointer  (3)]
⎜   ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer                  id=4    [slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Microsoft Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse® 1.0A    id=10    [slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ DualPoint Stick                             id=12    [slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ AlpsPS/2 ALPS DualPoint TouchPad            id=13    [slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Macintosh mouse button emulation            id=14    [slave  pointer  (2)]
⎣ Virtual core keyboard                       id=3    [master keyboard (2)]
    ↳ Virtual core XTEST keyboard                 id=5    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                                   id=6    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                                   id=7    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Power Button                                id=8    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Sleep Button                                id=9    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ AT Translated Set 2 keyboard                id=11    [slave  keyboard (3)]

to find the “DualPoint Stick” device

# xinput -set-prop "DualPoint Stick" "Device Enabled" 0
to disable it

Linux Integration Services 3.2 released for Hyper-V

New version of the IC was released yesterday (1-Dec-2011).

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28188

Overview

When installed in a supported Linux virtual machine running on Hyper-V, the Linux Integration Components provide.

Driver support: Linux Integration Services supports the network controller and the IDE and SCSI storage controllers that were developed specifically for Hyper-V.

Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V: Boot devices now take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC) to provide enhanced performance.

Timesync: The clock inside the virtual machine will remain synchronized with the clock on the virtualization server with the help of the pluggable time source device.

Integrated Shutdown: Virtual machines running Linux can be shut down from either Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager by using the “Shut Down” command.

Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: Supported Linux distributions can use up to 4 virtual processors (VP) per virtual machine.

Heartbeat: Allows the virtualization server to detect whether the virtual machine is running and responsive.

KVP (Key Value Pair) Exchange: Information about the running Linux virtual machine can be obtained by using the Key Value Pair exchange functionality on the Windows Server 2008 virtualization server.

Integrated Mouse Support: The cursor is no longer bound to the VMConnect window when used with the Linux Graphical User Interface.

====

New/updated from 3.1 release:

• Synthetic Mouse Support: The virtualized mouse device is no longer bound to the VMConnect window, and can now be used with a RDP session.
• Merged Device Drivers: We now present a single device driver for both IDE and SCSI devices (hv_storvsc).
• Windows 8 Fix: The synthetic network device (hv_netvsc) can now be used with a Windows 8 host, eliminating the hang on boot that was previously seen.
• SCVMM Fix: This release fixes the issue as described in KB2586286.
• Improved Setup Experience: Users now only need to run install.sh (as root) to automatically detect the correct architecture and install the appropriate drivers.

 

Parallels Workstation 6 for Windows and Linux released!!

It’s been a long time since Parallels gave the Win/Linux community any workstation love!

I bought the upgrade to 4 back in 2009!  They had a small booth at the Cloud Expo in Santa Clara.

Too bad I missed Kurt S. from the Connectix days.

http://www.parallels.com/products/workstation/

Top Features Include:

Tested and certified on a wide variety of Windows editions and  Linux distributions to support your efforts across multiple environments.

• VM configuration capabilities for CPU and RAM allocations on a  per VM basis to help enforce good neighbor policies.

• Configurable VM isolation for advanced testing scenarios.

• Adaptive hypervisor improves performance for active window  applying the computers power where you need it most.

•  Fast virtual machines with Intel VT-x2 support (VPiDs, EPT & Flexpriority) taking  advantage of the latest hardware improvements.

• Plug and play support for a wide range of USB 1.1 and 2.0 devices.

• USB smart connections remember assignments or default to your desired configuration  eliminating reconfiguration.

• Easy virtual networking to enable moving between offices, networks and more.

• Drag and drop, copy and paste, share files between Virtual Machines as well as the host OS to simplify the movement of data.

• Coherence simplifies interaction by integrating application from multiple VMs onto the host desktop for easy access.

• Configure undo-disks to automatically reset VMs to their original starting state enabling rapid testing scenarios and share computer support for labs and  classrooms.

• Remotely start, stop & reset virtual machines without physically sitting at the computer extending administrators management reach.

• Access VMs and their applications from iPads and iPhones with Parallels Mobile allowing you to take your workstation with you, virtually.

• Easily convert physical environments into virtual machines with the Parallels Transporter application.

• Automatically encrypt virtual machines to improve privacy and security.

Supported Host OS Software

32-bit:

• Windows 7

• Windows Vista SP1, SP2

• Windows XP Pro SP3

• Windows XP Home SP3

• Debian 6.0

• Fedora 14, 15

• RHEL 6, 6.1

• SLED 11 SP1

• Ubuntu 10.10, 11.04

64-bit:

• Windows 7

• Windows Vista SP1, SP2

• Windows XP Pro SP2

• Debian 6.0

• Fedora 14, 15

• RHEL 6, 6.1

• SLED 11 SP1

• Ubuntu 10.10, 11.04

CentOS 5.2-5.6 Hyper-V support announced

http://blogs.technet.com/b/openness/archive/2011/05/15/expanding-interoperability-to-community-linux.aspx

“Specifically, effective immediately, Microsoft will support Windows Server2008 R2 Hyper-V to run CentOS. CentOS is a popular Linux distribution for Hosters, and this was the number one requirement for interoperability that we heard from that community. “