Virtualization: Your PC is a Universe

PCs (and, honestly I am really talking about Laptops and the newer PC replacement tablets) are so powerful that they no longer have to be thought of as singular "client" resources.  That is, with sufficient memory (let's start at 8GB RAM)  and with enough SSD speed storage (>128GB),  folk like myself typically run many virtual computers inside our computers.

If I need to run Windows, I just fire up Virtualbox. If I need to do server development, I can pick stuff like Vagrant, Docker or go directly to LXC.  I can do Android development. I can do Windows development. I can try out Haiku or some new BSD.  I can do all of this without changing the underlying OS.  The underlying OS, in fact, is starting to become irrelevant.  Give me a Windows box and I can do full Linux stuff on it without replacing the OS: Just start up a Linux VM.

The thing is, at any given moment, my laptop is a Universe of virtual computers. I can network these computers together; I can simulate resources; I can test them, probe them and manipulate them.

This is new. Yes, yes -- the tech is pretty old (e.g. virtual machines), but the realization of this tech on a portable computer is new.

If you want to see where we may be heading, check out something like Rump kernels or OSv. We are starting to leave the OS behind and look at computing in terms of "microservices" -- collaborating virtual computers that solve a particular problem.

With the resources we now have on hand, why are we talking about systemd and Dbus and other single computer entities?

The next time you approach a design, try thinking about how your laptop can be *everything*. And then let that influence your design.

I will be Cyborg.

I haven't had a lot of time to post to this blog and I am wondering if this is the end of the line for it.
Well, we will see.  But for now...

I am approaching 50 (in 1.5 years) and my eyes are shot (I'm very near sighted).  The screen is blurry (I have transitional bi-focals, so my "clear" view is pretty marginal) and isn't going to get any better.

So, if my eyes sight starts to quickly wane (my eye doctor isn't really concerned... yet), what do I do?
While I can use magnifying glasses for my circuit work (which starting to become a thing of the past for me anyway), what about my programming and computer science stuff  (i.e. my screen work)?

Duh.
I'm a programmer and technologist.  I can hack something together to supplement my poor vision.  Even if I were to go blind (that isn't currently in the cards, but who knows), there are ways to continue to do "Computer Science".
There is technology already out there, and I can always invent what I need to aid me if my eyesight worsens.

Sometimes I forget that, with software and some gadgetry, we invent whatever we need. We are indeed sorcerers and alchemists :)