Windows 7 Update

I'm still dual booting my desktop, (and no that doesn't mean I have to kick it twice to make it work), with XP and Windows 7. As I stated in an earlier post, the main disappointment with Windows 7 is the version of Virtual PC that allows installing older operating systems such as Windows 2000, only works if the computer supports Hardware Virtualization. Sadly, my desktop does not. As an alternative, Sun's VirtualBox works quite well despite some quirks.

For a start, setting up file sharing in VirtualBox is not that intuitive, but I finally got it to work. Second, setting up an Internet connection within VirtualBox is a royal pain. I have yet to get it to work. I would like to, since I want to see if I can also set up XP. This requires an Internet link for activation, otherwise it'll timeout after 30 days.

I have a version of Virtual PC that works in Vista set up on my laptop and it works nicely. I especially like the drag and drop feature for file sharing between the Windows 2000 installation and Vista. I haven't bothered with the Internet set up for Windows 2000 since I have no need for it.

I sent an inquiry to a Windows 7 forum asking if there will be a version of Virtual PC that does not require Hardware Virtualization. Unfortunately the answer is no. Strike one against Microsoft and what is by far their best operating system.

So why bother with all this fuss? I do have some older games and software that will not run in Windows 7. These are 16 bit programs desiged for Windows 98 and ... gasp!!!! DOS. So far they'll run, albiet somewhat slowly in the case of my still favorite word processor, PFS Works, in the VirtualBox Windows 2000 combination. I did get a kick that a free DOS emulator, DOSBox, not only installed flawlessly in Windows 7, (and mind you, this is the hifaluting 64 bit version), but a couple of ancient DOS games work perfectly in DOSBox.

Still a couple of issues... first there isn't a 64 bit version of Zone Alarm yet. I have no idea how well the built in Win 7 firewall works, but I'll feel better when Zone Alarm is upgraded. Second, web browers. Firefox 3 is unfortunately flaky in any version. I've run into problems with web pages not loading completely. Opera seems better overall, and the 64 bit version of Firefox, the still ominously named Minefield, is ok although it doesn't support Flash yet. I've fiddled a bit with Internet Explorer 8 and it's.... Internet Explorer. It's ok in a pinch.

But overall, Win 7 is looking good. Even the Aero interface that brought Vista to its knees on my laptop runs quickly and smoothly. There may be hope for Microsoft afterall, though the Hardware Virtualization issue is still bothersome.