Hyper-V This

I adore Hyper-V as a product but I do not use it on my desktop. I tried to use server OS mostly because of Hyper-V but it was just too painful. Then I tried to use Virtual PC but new version got stripped of it’s support for anything that is not Microsoft OS. At the end I use VirtualBox for most of my personal needs and I use Hyper-V Server whenever I have a need for more permanent and robust solution. Well, this is about to change. It looks like Windows 8 is going to have Hyper-V built right in.

Compared with Windows Server line it got one feature that was annoyingly missing - support for WiFi adapters. Finally there is possibility to connect your laptop’s wireless card to virtual machine and to have traffic go through it. That feature was missing for a long time because of some issues with how wireless adapters work and it is good to see that it will be available (hopefully Microsoft will not back out of this) with all naughty stuff sorted in background.

Another Hyper-V “feature” that annoyed me is inability of hibernating machine with Hyper-V installed. There is no mention of any changes here, but I do hope that this issue is also sorted out. I simply cannot imagine desktop/laptop virtualization without this.

All in all seems like Microsoft is putting all it’s virtual eggs in one virtual basket and that there will be finally consolidated virtualization architecture on both server and desktop products. Virtual PC 2007 SP1 be gone, you were inadequate solution anyhow.

Original announcement is available as part of Microsoft’s Building Windows 8 blog.

Long live Ctrl+Alt+Left.

Reasoning

Most of reading that I do is on Amazon Kindle and there I have noticed disturbing trend. Quite a large number of books have Kindle version priced higher than paperback.

I just cannot figure why any cost involved would be any higher for an e-book when compared to a physical book that needs both printing and physical distribution.

Call me old fashioned but I will not buy Kindle book that costs more than physical copy out of principle.

Sometime Analysis Is Required

Chrome browser is usually pretty decent piece of software and I cannot recall any real trouble with it. Before this one.

I decided to install some Chrome Applications bug installation kept failing in worst possible manner - nothing happened. It would just go from “Add to Chrome” to “Installing…” and then back to “Add to Chrome”. I was silently ignored. And that happened for all applications that I attempted to install. Applications that were previously installed kept working but there was no new applications for me.

After some time I found culprit. For some reason known only to Google, application install would fail if it could not reach Google Analytics. On my system access to Analytics was broken on purpose. As soon as I allowed DNS to resolve it’s IP address, applications managed to get installed once again.

Professional C++ (Second Edition)

Mr. Marc Grégoire has finally :) finished his book “Professional C++, Second Edition”. It is hefty 1000+ pages and it is full of crazy C++ stuff that will make any C# programmer scream like a little baby.

However if you are pervert interested in ADVANCED C++ you will enjoy it. It is already available for ordering at Wiley’s and I can assure you it will be worth reading.

VHD Attach 2.10 and a Little Bit More

VHD Attach 2.10 (final) is among us. This version brings read-only attaching as one big feature and a LOT of bug fixing as a side dish.

I would definitely recommend update to all who had issues with stability but beta enthusiasts might skip it altogether since first beta of 3.00 makes it’s debut.

This version brings improvements in setup area (you get to choose your context menu items during installation) and you can create virtual disk without trip to dreadful Computer Management.

Whether you decide upon stable version or go adventurous with beta I hope that you will enjoy it. :)