A virtual machine isn’t very helpful without an operating system to install on it. And for that, you might have to get a little creative.

Qubes OS defines itself modestly as "a reasonably secure operating system." It might actually be one of the safest operating systems, often used by pros who are most concerned with computer security.

Installing the beta in a virtual machine allows developers to test their software in a secure environment on production machines, without endangering their day-to-day work.

Give your new virtual machine a name (I just called it “Mac OS X”) and set the operating system to “Mac OS X Server (64-bit)“. Click Next and choose how much RAM to give your virtual machine.

Windows Virtual PC (Windows, Free) Compared to the other any-OS-under-the-sun virtual machine applications in this week’s Hive Five, Windows Virtual PC is a tame offering. Windows Virtual PC ...