VirtualBox is a new, freeware virtualization software for Windows and Linux computers that supports Windows XP and Linux distros as the target OS. Support for Mac OS X and 64-bit operating systems is currently in the works.
There are two versions of the software, an open source version which can be used for free and a closed source version which provides additional features such as:
Virtual USB Controllers
Remote Desktop Protocol
USB over RDP
Shared folders
The closed source version is free but only for personal use, not for commercial/business purpose.
Common features of the software include:
Modularity: You can control a virtual machine rom several interfaces at once: for example, you can start a virtual machine in a typical virtual machine GUI and then control that machine from the command line, or possibly remotely.
Virtual machine descriptions in XML: The configuration settings of virtual machines are stored in the common XML format and are independent of the local machines. Virtual machine definitions can therefore easily be ported/used on other computers.
Guest Additions for Windows and Linux: VirtualBox provides addon software (similiar to what Virtual PC and VMWare provide) that can be installed inside Windows and Linux virtual machines to improve performance of the virtual machine. Among the features provided by these Guest Additions are mouse pointer integration and arbitrary screen solutions (e.g. by resizing the guest window).
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