On Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:45:25 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> Other than audio and video data (which is inherantly large), I can't
>>> think of anything you can do with a computer that actually uses much
>>> memory. Playing games involves audio and video data, but I'm
>>> hard-pressed to think of anything else...
>> 
>> Virtualization of multiple OSes.  Lots of people use VMware for
>> testbeds and such, that takes a good amount of memory.
> 
> Surely you'd only *attempt* such a thing on an extremely high-end server
> though? (Recall that Vista is a desktop OS.)

Nope.  IT classrooms typically buy the cheapest hardware they can 
possibly purchase - usually desktop machines - and then run a virtual 
server envrionment.

For lab work, high-end hardware is typically also not used unless 
hardware duplication needs to be done for testing.  Many of the machines 
I've used in labs have been discarded desktops for users who upgraded to 
better machines.  Old Compaq Deskpro machines and the like.

I have a Compaq EVO 600 sitting here on my desk at home that's running 
VMware Server, and on my Linux laptops, I have VMware Workstation 
installed so I can have access to Windows for the one or two odd 
occasions where I absolutely must have it (and I hate having to use it at 
all).  Without the 2 GB of RAM in my laptop, I wouldn't be able to do 
that.

Jim

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