Boxes

Boxes

Boxes is an open-source virtualization platform that allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single machine. It is designed to be simple, lightweight, and easy to set up.
Boxes image
virtualization opensource operating-systems

Boxes: Open-Source Virtualization Platform

Boxes is an open-source virtualization platform that allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single machine. It is designed to be simple, lightweight, and easy to set up.

What is Boxes?

Boxes is an open-source and free virtualization application for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It allows users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single machine. Boxes creates virtual machines that act like real computers, on which users can install operating systems like Windows, Linux, etc.

Some key features of Boxes include:

  • User-friendly interface - Easy to install and set up virtual machines, even for beginners.
  • Portability - Virtual machines created on one device can be easily imported and exported to another.
  • 3D acceleration support - Allows graphical applications to run smoothly in virtual machines.
  • Extensibility - Supports extension packs to add more functionality.
  • Snapshots - Users can take snapshots of virtual machine states to revert back to later.
  • Drag and drop support - Makes transferring files between host and virtual machines easy.

As an open-source platform, Boxes is completely free to use. It consumes fewer resources than alternatives like VMware and VirtualBox. The intuitive interface makes Boxes a good virtualization solution for home users, developers, small businesses, etc. It strikes a good balance between performance and usability.

Boxes Features

Features

  1. Runs multiple operating systems in isolated environments
  2. Supports many popular operating systems like Windows, Linux, Android
  3. Easy to install and set up virtual machines
  4. Open source and free to use
  5. Lightweight resource usage
  6. Live migration of virtual machines between hosts
  7. 3D acceleration support
  8. Snapshotting for easy restores
  9. Shared folders for host-guest file transfers

Pricing

  • Open Source
  • Free

Pros

Free and open source

Simple and easy to use

Good performance

Supports many operating systems

Lightweight on system resources

Active development and community support

Cons

Limited features compared to paid options

No commercial support

Less stable than mature virtualization platforms

Lacks advanced management features


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