I'd give serious consideration to getting VMWare running on slackware if that's what you're most comfortable with, but I know a personal project when I see one, so...
I'd probably be looking at SuSE and Ubuntu as my choices, from that list, in this particular context - certainly in terms of hassle-free operation, and also for other considerations like support of newer technologies that may be relevant and so on.
GUIfication, and other matters of default config, I wouldn't be considering very weightily, because whichever one of those distros you used would require refinement in the context you describe.
On Thursday 14 September 2006 09:25, Adam Bower wrote:
On Thu, Sep 14, 2006 at 08:53:39AM +0100, cl@isbd.net wrote:
Where can I find more definite information about this? (I'll have a hunt around the Vmware site anyway).
Just install it all and see what happens, it won't take a /huge/ amount of time, it's the only way to get a 100% answer. When you get the new machine to install Ubuntu takes perhaps an hour? then to install vmware is another hour and to install Windows is another hour to get them all to a state where you can check hardware support. Even then I think i've overestimated how long the above tasks will take (except maybe the Windows install, but even then most of those tasks aren't exactly ones that require you to be sitting at the machine for the copying files part, at least you could be doing something else).
Adam
Also, because it's VMware you could create the windows installation(s) now on your current machine and bung it on a DVD/in a dark recess of your hdd ready, which could save you a long laborious windows install come New Computer Day.
I'd also consider the very real possibility that you may want to use that beast for some meaty, previously unavailable tasks once you have the hardware available to you (I've yet to see the upgrade to a personal machine that doesn't have this effect, heh), so you may want to think carefully about paring the "main" operating system to the bone too much.
It may be a good idea to have a full bells-and-whistles-capable host operating system available, even if its normal running state is very lightweight. Still, if you use Ubuntu or SuSE, I suppose that's what apt is for.