First, you need to download a VMWare disk image (.vdmk). Here's a torrent file. Unpack the bz2 file to somewhere convenient. Next, open up Virtualbox (install), go to File > Virtual Media Manager and add the VDMK.
Either create a new appliance or add a second controller to an existing device. You'll need to change the network adapter to Intel Pro 1000 MT Desktop in order for the network to work.
Boot to the new hard drive and try ChromeOS out. There's not much to see, but it does launch fast, even in a VM.
Noticing that the Ubuntu Netbook Remix has been promoted to front page status on the Ubuntu.com site, I decided to try out the 9.04 version. There are a couple of issues along the way if you don't want to burn the image: the instructions for getting it to work are below.
Download the .img file from the UNR download site. Use BitTorrent if you can -- it's faster and easier on the mirrors.
Convert the.img file into a VirtualBox .vdi file. In order to do that, you'll need to use VirtualBox's command line. Open a terminal and cd to the directory that you've downloaded the ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix-i386.img file to. When there, issue the following command: VBoxManage convertdd ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix-i386.img ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix.vdi
This will leave you with the original file and a new file, ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix.vdi.
Create a new machine in VirtualBox with a 4GB hard disk, choosing "Linux" as the operating system and "Ubuntu" as the version. Give the machine between 512MB and 1GB RAM. Increase the video memory to 16MB. Finish and close the wizard.
Add the Netbook.vdi file as a second hard disk. Open the "Hard disk" tab of the machine's properties, and click the plus icon, setting the new drive as "Primary slave." Select the ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix.vdi file, adding it with the Disk Manager when requested.
Boot the machine and hit F12 to choose to boot from the second hard disk. You'll need to press "2."
Choose your language and to "Install Ubuntu Netbook Remix." I won't explain how to do that here. You can give it the whole disk. It should be a simple, if slow, process.
Reboot the computer. You'll be in the UNR interface, but it will be dog slow because of the generic VESA driver being used. Luckily, there's a way around that problem.
Install the Guest Additions. While the machine is running, go to the machine's VB menu and choose Devices -> Install Guest Additions. If you are using the open source version of VirtualBox, you'll probably be prompted to download the Guest Additions .iso file, which will take a few minutes. The disk will appear in the right-hand menu bar. Click on it to make sure the CD is mounted. Open a terminal (in Accessories) and type the following: cd /media/REACTOS
sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run
Install updates. You should be prompted for this. I won't detail it.
Reboot and use the computer. Mine is still a little slower than it should be, but it's OK with the Guest Additions installed.
UNR is an interesting and innovative interface. It gets good use of low screen resolutions, and it does this without creating a one-off interface: all the changes use the Gnome framework (e.g. the panel mods are simply panel applets).
The Wall Stree Journal reports that IBM is planning to buy Sun, maybe even inking the deal this week. Sun reportedly wants a buyer, and IBM makes sense. Why?
Sun is a company which has recently transitioned to an open source business model, but they haven't quite figured out how to make it work yet. Java, MySQL, and a good part of Solaris are OSS now. Then of course there's OpenOffice.org and VirtualBox. People knowledgeable about Sun have talked about the struggle inside the company over OSS, with the public face seeming to waffle over what it wants and where it needs to go. It hasn't quite figured OSS out as a business model.
Then there's the hardware side. SPARC and the server line have seen a recent refresh, and enterprise geeks have been drooling over them. Does IBM really need more hardware in its line-up?
In contrast to Sun, IBM is a business that understands open source. It has been selling services on several competing OSS operating systems since 2000. It makes billions every year with OSS. Acquiring Sun will give Java (which IBM already has a competing implementation of), Solaris, and the other offerings direction. IBM will figure out how to play this software to profit.
Good luck on the merger guys. It sounds like a win-win situation.
Dana Gardner has a nice article explaing why the purchase makes no sense.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vC9VgYuzGQo4wL1FL-n2Rya7hthmfC1CZ3k2Jy2sjKioxoE2O6ateYylVaKjH9H8rybdZWJIjT0k7el_mWSP-71_ucAvHHOBnL5T8wdOJjuk1ZJusPgPVGMpqadK9icIULFJeTU6C2xqQOqs6Pk6sk=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vA8frc47hz_OWXl_7n8_E-WBQZclZwmFL6e62TTvvzB0UuQiVQrCJMq9VUiWXoZxyZ8VydEjXNT1AcZZBmmVBGFFz6seifvMBBY2INLRUwd5Vfir4QHCshbOWRpSLJMH8SnIVPMwauHtDDJz5VDgVU=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uFP3OmXHVTcrSKN6h7IVKLaEM7w8UzsffnjaisF734GUzJeAglY8CqaDPTF0rE2UMJLaEBWmjHhXdXTjdbuvoR53iSnf2-w-2D7ltbG1DTGm4zaiV0fwAicHaybxkltaoOspf4VVR1CSt7TPI6Qb_n=s0-d)
