I've been experimenting with virtual machines (VMs) recently and am convinced that this is the way forward for computing in general. System or hardware virtual machines are essentially instances of an operating system which share an underlying physical computer platform. The layer separating the virtual machine from the physical machine is the virtual machine monitor (VMM). Put bluntly, I'm running one 'computer' on top of another.

"But why," you ask?

It's simple, really. Our computing needs rapidly expand past the ability of just one operating system to provide. If you own a Mac, you may want to run some software that is only available for Windows. If you run Windows, you might want to run something a little more secure when you do your online banking. If you run Linux then there may be times you want to load a game that just will never run without real DirectX.

Granted, if you stick to just basics, there is absolutely no need to extend your computing beyond the abilities of any one of those operating systems. Mac, Windows, and Linux all provide excellent web, email, music, image manipulation, and office suite programs. If that is all you need to do, stick with the system you've got and look no further. But if you want more, it is easily within your grasp.

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