Microsoft Makes Old Software Run On Vista With MED-V Beta

Microsoft is betting on Vista as a long running platform as it pushes the beta version of its desktop virtualisation software, designed to run legacy Windows apps on Vista, out of its virtual doors in Redmond.

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) will allow users to use Windows XP and Windows 2000 applications on Windows Vista without having to undergo extensive testing and configuration.

The software which is available for free at Microsoft will create a low-profile virtual machine in their own environments and runs as a background service. You will need to register to download it.

MED-V needs on Windows Vista SP1 and it is not known whether it is compatible with Windows 7. There are further questions as to what impact it will have on app performance in general especially when it comes to games.

Some commentators have said that the application is similar to Citrix XenApp, VMWare's own Thin App or Apple Mac's OSX Blue Box. MED-V is part of Microsoft Desktop Optimisation Pack and works only with Virtual PC as a hosted hypervisor which means that it will should in theory be slow.

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