VMware Project Northstar (formerly Thinstall) Beta 2 release is now available. If you’re a little fuzzy on application virtualization, here is our description:
VMware application virtualization (powered by Thinstall) technology
lets you deploy applications without conflicts quicker then ever
before. Application virtualization extends the reach of desktop
virtualization from the operating system to the application layer and
simplifies the delivery of applications. See how application
virtualization is enabling organizations to ease their Vista migrations
while reducing application conflicts, deployment costs, and empowering
a mobile workforce.
Go to the Project Northstar Beta Portal for more information. New features in Beta 2 include:
Application Link:
allows administrators to dynamically link Thinstall packages to one
another, making it possible to create separate packages for
interdependent components (such as Java or .NET) and use them across
multiple Thinstall packages.Application Sync:
allows customers to execute updates to virtual applications through a
secure Internet connection, increasing application portability while
reducing security and patch risks to offline and out-of-network
machines.
Edwin Friesen over at thinstallguru.com is looking at this release. In this post Preview VMware Project NorthStar Beta 2 | Edwin Friesen – Application Delivery Blog he gives great step-by-step screen shots of the user interface.
Edwin just posted a little test drive of the new Application Link. Link: Project NorthStar Beta 2; Application Link | Edwin Friesen – Application Delivery Blog.
I did a lot of testing with Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5
(before SoftGrid) and figured out that linkíng virtual applications
works very well for Microsoft Office plugins but when you want to use
it for middleware applications such as Oracle, DotNet Framework or Java
it is not so terrific. In the mean time VMware-Thinstall (Project
NorthStar) is also building a powerfull solution to create an
‘Application Link’ between two virtual applications. I did some
research and tried to package a Thinstalled application which is build
on DotNet Framework 2.0. … The result is great!!
You can download the beta today. The beta portal has a beta license key, release notes, community discussion, and more.
