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VirtualBox 5.0.6-103037

VirtualBox Editor's Review

VirtualBox is an impressive, open-source, desktop virtualization software. Available for Linux, OS X and Windows, VirtualBox allows you to run a different operating system on your machine, within a virtual environment. So for example, you could have Linux running on your Windows machine.

When you get something for free, you expect it to be lacking in some way, compared to commercial products which tend to have more features or more support. VirtualBox is surprising in that it is gives far more than you would expect, and is a real contender in the virtualization arena. Some of the VirtualBox features include the ability to move VMs between host systems dynamically, branched snapshots, and 32 way virtual SMP support. 

Pro's: Feature rich app that runs on all the major operating systems. Installation is easy via a step-by-step wizard. Uses less resources than other virtualization apps. The ability to share folders between the host and guest machine. 

Con's: Steeper learning curve than other virtualization apps. Weak printer support. 

Conclusion: What started out as a small virtualization project for individual users, has developed into a competitor in the enterprise sector. It still has some issues to sort out to make it as intuitive as it´s competitors, but remains one of the most comprehensive free apps available. Enterprises may still prefer to go with a commercial solution, but VirtualBox is an excellent option for users who do not want to pay commercial fees.

What's New in Version 5.0.6-103037 of VirtualBox

- GUI: the update check now uses the HTTP system proxy settings by default
- GUI: About dialog improvements. Copyable version text, do not close dialog on mouse-clicks and focus losing, explicit close button at the bottom of dialog and disabled close button fix on OS X. (bugs #9912, #12749)
- GUI: fixed bug when re-assigning shortcuts (bug #14565)
- GUI: fixed default focus button in message-box dialogs (bug #14486)
- GUI: fixed settings dialog which is opened if the network settings need to be changed at VM startup (5.0.0 regression; bug #14601)
- GUI: fixed crash during VM start if an early error message needs to be shown, for example Linux kernel modules not present (bug #14646)
- Bridged Networking: fixed handling of guest DHCP requests without UDP checksum when bridging to a wireless interface (bug #14615)
- Audio: latency fixes (Windows hosts only; bug #4088)
- Guest Control: correctly set USERNAME and USERPROFILE environment variables (Windows guests only)
- Guest Control: several fixes
- API: properly restore NAT port forwarding rules when reverting to a snapshot
- Parallel ports: Several fixes allowing to enable two parallel ports for a VM
- VBoxManage: fixed wrong output of debugvm show command
- VBoxManage: fixed hang when specifying logging groups with debugvm log starting with h, for example hex
- Windows hosts: renamed VBoxStartup.log to VBoxHardening.log and provide this log file in the GUI log viewer
- Windows hosts: fixed a small memory leak in the Windows host interface driver (VBoxNetAdp) which caused a BSOD if the driver verifier is enabled (bug #14562)
- Windows hosts: fixed a failure to start VMs on hosts where dsound.dll is not available (bug #14574)
- Windows hosts: another fix for VERR_LDR_MISMATCH_NATIVE errors (bug #14579)
- Windows hosts: fixed host-to-guest communication with bridged networking (bugs #14326, #14457)
- Windows hosts: fixed broken data receiving from the serial device with the named pipe backend if Kaspersky AV is installed
- Linux hosts: Linux 4.3 compile fixes
- Linux hosts: installer fix for certain systems (bug #14627)
- Linux hosts / guests: native systemd support for the host/guest installer scripts. The scripts for re-compiling the kernel modules are now located at /sbin/rcvboxdrv (host) and /sbin/rcvboxadd (Guest Additions)
- Mac OS X hosts: GUI-related fixes for El Capitan
- Mac OS X hosts: fixed a problem with capturing USB devices under El Capitan
- Mac OS X hosts: allow colon character on shared folders (bug #14554)
- Linux Additions: properly set the VBoxService process ID in the PID file (bug #14571)
- Linux Additions: Guest Control fixes (bug #14573)
- Windows Additions: fixed shutting down VBoxTray when running with older VirtualBox host versions
- Windows Additions: fixed video playback with VLC and Windows Media Player when the WDDM driver is used and 3D is not used
- Windows Additions: prevent a possible VLC crash when the WDDM driver is used and 3D is enabled by implementing YV12 surfaces
 

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