Re: Brainless Debian Stable installation and usage?
On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 20:40:58 +0100
Ralf Mardorf <ralf.mardorf@alice-dsl.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 2014-03-07 at 19:11 +0000, Joe wrote:
> >
> > So I'll be wiping XP off my old laptop (actually refitting the
> > original 40GB drive, as the 120GB drive which has run for the last
> > eight years is showing early signs of dementia) and running only
> > Sid on it.
>
> Depending to the needs, it might be useful to install Linux and to run
> XP in a virtual machine. With VBox it's possible to run a Linux
> desktop and a XP desktop seamlessly.
>
> Take a look at the link:
>
> http://picpaste.com/linux-jwm-and-windows-xp.png
>
> The above panel is a Linux JWM panel and the below panel is the XP
> task bar. XP does run as a guest in a Linux VBox. The upper right
> window is the XP file browser and the left lower window is a Linux
> ROXTerm.
>
One of my main requirements for Windows is in running several unusual
USB peripherals, and I've usually found problems with USB in a virtual
environment. One item is a programmer, and I can't really afford
glitches in driving it. I thought it would be more likely to be reliable
the other way around, so I'm building up a Sid installation in
Virtualbox under Win 8. I need gschem and a couple of other things that
don't have (useful) Windows ports, and they don't have to drive
peripherals directly.
My other need is for mobile use with some security, so I'm relieved to
find it quite easy to boot to Sid on an external USB drive. There are
all kinds of stories about Win 8 machines, which must have Secure Boot
firmware, and it was impossible to get any kind of hard data in
advance. I must remember to submit somewhere the information that this
particular model is OK in this respect, I had no way to know beforehand.
So I can run OpenVPN and/or ssh in an insecure network, with some
confidence in the firewalling. I would not operate any version of
Windows on public wifi. Given a pocket-sized USB drive which boots
Linux happily, I can't be bothered messing with dual-boot.
There is also the point that I only have OEM licences for XP, and that
doesn't cover virtualising. I figure that if I break the MS licensing
agreement, that makes me no better than them, and I'm not having *that*.
--
Joe
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