newintro plex86 plex86.kevin The goal of the plex86 project is to create an extensible open source PC virtualization software program which will allow PC and workstation users to run multiple operating systems concurrently on the same machine. Plex86 will run as much of the operating system and application software natively as possible, the rest being emulated by the PC virtualization monitor. A highly visible and often requested use, would be to allow for Windows software to be run inside of Linux or other Unix like operating systems. This gives users a migration path towards Unix, allowing them to run legacy software until native ports or alternatives are available. It also provides a transitionary step for software vendors who plan to port their product to Unix, but have not yet done so. By virtue of plex86 being an open source project right from day one, plex86 can also be an extremely useful tool for operating systems development, debugging, instrumentation and profiling. Many compile and run time options can be added, such that more control of the software being run inside the plex86 environment can be offered to an OS developer, for instance. This will provide much more flexibility and control than is offered in a commercial product where you do not have access to the source code, such as VMware. EOF
