Not that I'm a big fan of Windows 8, but I did buy the 64-bit Pro version during Microsoft's $39.99 download offer over Christmas, if only to experiment.
I'm really quite happy with Windows 7 64-Bit Ultimate on my IBM 8-core workstation, it's quite responsive and runs anything I can throw at it, save for some Linux-only apps.
That's where I started playing with VirtualBox, so I could run the Weather Research & Forecasting Model under a Linux shell. (We flew our nuclear reconnaissance missions against similar models, including NOAA's HYSPLIT)
But hey, I can run something in a VM other than Linux, too!
So here's Windows 8 64-bit running in a virtual guest machine, with 8Gb of memory allocated, 4 cores, 256Mb of video, hosted by my Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate workstation.
It reminds me a lot of my Windows 7.8 Phone, right down to the tiles and colors. Without a touchscreen monitor, it's kind of useless. Thank goodness for Classic Shell!
Classic Shell Windows 8 in a VM under Windows 7:
Those monster Windows 8 tiles in a VM under Windows 7:
So now I'm curious about a thin client or maybe smart client on the home intranet (say for example on my reloading bench), where I can pull up my Microsoft Access reloading database or have APS on the screen being hosted on this workstation.
Not that it would be any better than my Windows 7 laptop for the task, but it is kinda neat...
