Microsoft VirtualPC 2007 available for free download

If you thought it was cool when Microsoft began giving away free downloads of VirtualPC 2004 last year, check this out. VirtualPC 2007 has been released. And it's also free.

VirtualPC lets you run multiple operating systems simultaneously from within Windows XP or Vista. New features include 64-bit host operating systems, hardware-assisted virtualization, network-based installation of a guest OS, and the ability to run virtual machines on multiple monitors.

Heres' the list of supported host systems:

• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Vista Business, Vista Enterprise, and Vista Ultimate
• Windows XP Professional, XP Professional x64 and XP Tablet PC edition

But I had no problem installing VirtualPC on my Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 system. And while the virtual systems supported are all Microsoft (Dos 6.22, Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, and Vista) and OS/2 Warp operating systems, I was easily able to run Damn Small Linux. Of course, Damn Small Linux also has an embedded version that comes with QEMU, allowing you to run a virtual installation within Windows without any other software, but hey I was looking for a complete operating system I could download and test quickly, okay?

Anyway, while Microsoft is promoting VirtualPC for developers that need to make sure their software run properly on multiple systems, it's also a great tool for Windows users who might want to give Linux a test spin.

[via DailyTech]

Tags: freeware, virtual machine, virtualization, VirtualMachine, virtualpc, vmware