VMWare releases open source client under GPL

[40hz]

I suppose we were all waiting for this weren't we?

From the folks over at Tectonic.co.za:

Battered by a crash in its stock price, the replacement of its CEO last year and an aggressive virtualisation market, VMWare has done the only thing it could do: release an open source virtualisation client.

Link to full article: http://www.tectonic.co.za/?p=3994

[Ehtyar]

Hardly a comparable alternative to VirtualBox or even VirtualPC.

Ehtyar.

[mouser]

I don't get it -- how does this relate to Vmware Workstation, their non-open source desktop program?

[Ehtyar]

The impression I got was that users would need to purchase access to VMWare View, then they can use the open source "client" to access the remotely managed machine from anywhere.

Ehtyar.

[nite_monkey]

VMware View Open Client lets you connect from a Linux desktop to remote Windows desktops managed by VMware View. It is available under the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 (LGPL v 2.1).

I got that from the google code page where you download the client. You do have to buy the vmware view, and you have to run linux, because this client isn't for windows

[40hz]

You do have to buy the vmware view, and you have to run linux, because this client isn't for windows

OK. I'm with Mouser. Now I don't get it either.

[mwb1100]

I'm not sure, but from my brief reading of the press release and the VMware View page, it seems that VMware View is a product that lets a company easily deploy virtual desktop machines to a server farm running in a central data center.

The client is something like a Citrix ICA client, an RDP client or a VNC client that lets you connect to one of the virtual desktops.  This GPL client is for the Linux platform.

That's what it seems like to me.

[Ehtyar]

VMware View Open Client lets you connect from a Linux desktop to remote Windows desktops managed by VMware View. It is available under the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 (LGPL v 2.1).

I got that from the google code page where you download the client. You do have to buy the vmware view, and you have to run linux, because this client isn't for windows

That was my understanding also.

This product does not seem to be in competition with VirtualBox or VirtualPC in even a round-about way. I smell media hype...and some warping of the definition of "open source".

Ehtyar.