virtualbox.org

using a mac as host - running windows as guest.
does seamless mode allow me to spread windows 7 app across multiple spaces on mac?
id like to have an app on each screen.

Why not simply try it? It should take all of 30 seconds, provided you installed the GAs already. Then you could be the one giving useful info back to the community.

I did try it. I didn't see the point of it. Seemed like it just let me see windows but without a desktop picture. Wouldn't let me separate windows apps in to different spaces. Was wondering if I was missing something.

Bingo. Seamless mode is like normal mode with a transparent desktop background. It gives the illusion of separate virtual windows, which some people like. The illusion works better if there's only one guest window.

not that im complaining as you cant complain about things that are free...
but that does seem kind of lame.

now let me drag between spaces - that would be awesome.

motech wrote:that does seem kind of lame.

If you know how a better illusion can be created when you have two PCs and two independant window managers (indeed, two wholly independant graphics driver stacks), then I'm sure the devs would be all ears. Note that a declaration of "me wantee" adds nothing of value to the proposal.

I don't know how. I'm not a developer. But I do know parallels does have the ability to do that. I believe VMware does as well.

Nonsense - I take it you are relying on hearsay and have never actually used those other platforms, or you are just BSing here.

The only way applications can own independant windows on your host is if the host is managing those windows. Also the host maintains a mapping between each process and the window(s) it owns. With a VM the guest OS is managing its own windows, which the host OS knows nothing about, nor does the host know anything about guest processes. To the host, a VM looks like one process, with one window (leaving aside multiple simulated monitors). A single VM will never look like several independant host processes.

Maybe we are not talking about the same thing..

Let me supply more information.
I have used parallels and VMware fusion many times.
I used parallels straight through for about two years and recently switched to virtual box as I feel like it uses less resources on my machine and is less bloated. I also like that it's free

Parallels actually has a mode called cohesion mode (I think that's what it's called I forget) that allows to let windows apps act like a Mac app in the sense that they can be minimized in to the dock, and also can be moved around the screen freely. They can also be separated in to their own spaces.

Mac has something called spaces,now part of mission control? That allows you to have different windows and apps in difference virtual screens.

Prallels allows you to take one windows app and put it on one Mac space, and take a different windows app and put it on another Mac space. That lets me easily swipe between windows apps with a three finger swipe.

I agree with motech's comments: I really want to like and use VirtualBox and don't want to complain about something that is free, but...compared to what else is available (VMWare is free for private use, reasonable cost for corporate use), the Seamless mode is kind of lame from a usability standpoint. VMware somehow integrates the windows managers between the two OSes. Each process in the guest OS (Ubuntu in my use) that has a task bar entry has its own task bar entry in the host OS (Windows 7 in my case) when using "Unity" (apparently not related to the Ubuntu "Unity") mode. This is likely a deal breaker for me - using multiple monitors and applications across them is key to my productivity.

kcstrom wrote:This is likely a deal breaker for me...

What deal are you referring to? Is that the one where you continue to not pay for the product provided the devs put in a lot of additional work? A very attractive deal for them I'm sure.

Off-topic trolling message deleted. This discussion seems to have served it's purpose - locking it.