Microsoft Plans to Get All Xen with Linux

By Geoff Duncan Published July 18, 2006

After all these years, Microsoft may be showing the first signs of accepting a world in which it co-exists with Linux, rather than treies to browbeat it out of existence: the Redmond software giant and virtualization developer XenSource have announced a collaborative agreement to provide intereroperability between the next version of Windows Server, codenamed Longhorn, and Xen-enabled versions of the Linux operating system. The result would be servers which use virtualization to run Windows and Linux applications side-by side more efficiently and cost-effectively: an appealing prospect for mixed-platform enterprises and computing environments.

The announcement is seen as a challenge to virtualization developer VMWare, which currently leads the market for runing multiple operating systems on the Windows platform. Virtualization is becoming a key technology for testing and deploying new software solutions, maintaining standard security and application configurations, and providing support for legacy software even when the hardware required to run that software is no longer practical to maintain.

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Microsoft says it expects to conduct a public trial of Windows Server virtualization in Longhorn by the end of 2006, and release a commercial version of the solution within 180 days of Longhorn’s release

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

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Microsoft Word free trial: Get a month of service for free

A person using MS Word.

It may not feel like it, but Microsoft Word is probably one of the most popular word processors out there, along with Google Docs, and pretty much everybody has likely used it at some point, regardless if you prefer Microsoft Office to Google Docs. Of course, if you want to get your hands on it these days, you're going to have to buy it as part of Microsoft Office, as opposed to getting it as a standalone product like you used to. While you do have to pay for the subscription, you can get Microsoft Word for a month using the free trial before it reverts to a paid subscription. Also, be sure to check out some of these useful Microsoft Words tricks and even how to run Microsoft Office on the Quest 3.
Is there a Microsoft Word free trial?

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