VirtualBox and the USB flash drive -

[Bill Oliver]

On Thu, 1 Aug 2013, Reindl Harald wrote:

>
>
> Am 01.08.2013 21:35, schrieb Bill Oliver:
>> On Thu, 1 Aug 2013, Reindl Harald wrote:
>>> Am 01.08.2013 21:02, schrieb Bill Oliver:
>>>> One more note.  As I've mentioned before, I do a full wipe and installation periodically on my machines.  This can
>>>> be a hassle if one is left re-installing other virtual OSs as well.  I have found that, with VirtualBox, I can
>>>> simply back up the ./.VirtualBox directory and the "VirtualBox VMs" directory, and then copy them back into my home
>>>> directory after the reinstall of Linux
>>>
>>> is virtualbox still so poor that you can't have simply all files
>>> related to a VM inside a single directory and need to manage
>>> virtual disks and iso-images that weird way as a few years ago?
>>>
>>> [snip]
>>
>> I don't understand your complaint -- that there's a config directory *and* a disk directory?  I don't find that an
>> overwhelming burden.
>> The command "cp -R" doesn't seem to be too onerous a way to transfer stuff from machine to machine
>
> if you ever work with more than 20 virtual machines on serveral hosts
> for testing, development as well as for production you will understand
>
>

Sorry, that's a pretty bullshit answer.  Apps should work for the people who use them.  You are right -- it may  be that there are all sorts of systems that work better for people who run ten thousand machines on a thousand servers.  I don't care.  What I care about is what suits *my* needs.  And Virtualbox works great for me.  It usually installs with minimal hassle (current discussion notwithstanding), and it does what I want it to do.  I don't care about what's the most elegant.  I don't care about what's the most sophisticated solution.  I don't care about showing how technologically savvy a system administrator I am.  What I care about is solving a problem and moving on to more important things as quickly as I can.  VirtualBox does that for me:

1) Download app.  check
2) Click on icon.  check
3) Put in OS disk. check
4) Click on icon.  check
5) Drink a beer. check
6) Watch a bearded guy dance with a raccoon on YouTube.  check.
7) Move on to next problem.  check.

Your response is a little like responding to a post by me saying that I pruned the trees in my garden, threw the limbs in  my little Ford Ranger and hauled the trash to the dump by arguing that a Mack Terrapro can haul 23,000 lbs of rotting garbage, has a much sturdier transmission, an indestructable drivetrain and twin trumpet horns.  Well, yeah.  Whatever. And if I ever have the need to haul 23,000 lbs of garbage on a regular basis, and want to see my dog have seizures every time I honk the horn, I'll look into one.  Until then, I'm going to throw my stuff in the back of my Ranger and tool on down to the landfill happy as I can be.


billo