Have you considered using virtual machine software for practical reasons or for the freedom to emulate more operating systems within one computer? Or are you just curious about what virtualization is?
What is a virtual machine?
The virtual machine is an emulated computer system that relies on hypervisors or virtual machine monitors. Its virtual software takes care of the parts of the computer like the CPU, RAM, and other components so that the virtual machine runs properly. Once its operating system is installed and ran, it will think that it’s running on a real system but in fact, it can be compared to an app running on the computer.
Some of the practical reasons why it is popular to developers and IT people are:
- Can try new Operating Systems (OS) in one computer
- Can develop software for other platforms
- Can avoid security risks such as malware and viruses
- Can run incompatible software
- Can easily install software
These, among many others, are the reasons why developers and IT people use virtual machine software. Many of this software come with a price, but some come for free. Here are some virtual machine applications that come for free in 2020:
Best Free Virtual Machine Software in 2020
VirtualBox (Mac & Windows)
At the top of the best free virtual machine software is VirtualBox from Oracle. It runs in both Mac and Windows which makes it very versatile. Its powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization are perfect for enterprises as well as home use.
Oracle VirtualBox is very portable and can run on a large number of 64-bit host operating systems (Windows host, Mac OS X hosts, Linux hosts, and Oracle Solaris hosts). One of its portability checks is its capacity to import and export virtual machines because it has an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) and supports cloud services such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
Another, its Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Additions can be installed inside of the supported guest system. It improves the performance, communication, and integration with the host system such as its 3D graphics, video resolution, and enable seamless mode.
VirtualBox has also great hardware support such as USB device support, full ACPI support, multiscreen resolutions, built-in iSCSI support, guest multiprocessing (SMP), and PXE Network boot.
Good thing, VirtualBox provides a tutorial on the Oracle website for users who want to learn more about this virtualization product. Tutorials and how-to guides are always updated and available for free.
To date, VirtualBox has 100,000 registered users who are benefiting from its main features such as:
- Open source and free
- Great hardware support
- Seamless mode
- VirtualBox drag and drop
- Works with Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris
- Multiscreen resolution
VMware Fusion (Mac)
If you want to run Windows on Mac, VMware Fusion lets you do this. VMware Fusion is created by VMWare which started in 1998. It is a simple yet powerful virtual machine software enough for IT professionals and developers to use.
Aside from running Windows, it also lets users choose from hundreds of supported operating systems such as Linux. Users can build and test OS and Mac apps in a sandbox. One of its main key features is its capability to support RAM and CPU allocation so your guest OS will not take an excessive amount of the RAM or CPU. Like VirtualBox, it also allows users to share files by dragging and dropping. Moreover, users can encrypt and write passwords in their work to make sure only authorized users can interact with the data and project.
Parallels Software (Mac)
Parallel Software is probably the best and the easiest virtual machine software for beginners. This software allows the running of Windows into Mac without rebooting. For beginners, it already can detect what a user needs to get started.
Within a minute, all the needed utilities and applications to run on Windows are downloaded by this software. Applications such as Adobe Photoshop, AutoDesk Revit, and Visual Studio can run effortlessly without slowing down the Mac. It also can run applications in Coherence Mode or Seamless Mode. If you need more space, its Save Disk Space feature optimizes Mac’s space for more storage.
Moreover, one-click users can access and launch Windows applications right from the Mac Dock. If users subscribe, they can have the Remote Access feature and the Parallels Toolbox which helps clean drive, take screenshots, download videos, and more.
Conclusion
Virtual machine software grows every year as they give more solutions for IT professionals and developers who want to work on the same machine they have. There is virtual machine software that is easy to use, very basic, and ready-to-start for beginners. While there is also virtual machine software that is more advanced and has more features than the basics. Regardless, you can choose and utilize these free virtual machine applications in creating and developing your application.
Max started The Responsive Agency in 2014 to help business owners to navigate the fast-paced world of digital marketing. With a focus on solutions that offer high-performance growth, clients have seen dramatic increases in turnover and profit.