Technology Mania

Thursday, October 6, 2016

How to run VirtualBox virtual machines from the command line

By Jack Wallen | October 5, 2016, 8:15 AM PST

VirtualBox virtual machines can be run without working with the GUI. See how to take advantage of the VBoxManage command to start, pause, and power down your VMs.

If you're using VirtualBox as a virtual machine (VM) server in your data center, chances are you're going to want to know how to run those VMs without having to rely on the VirtualBox GUI. This makes it much easier to run your VMs without having to be at the host machine (you can ssh into the host and then manage the VMs) or without having a number of GUI windows open to clutter your server desktops (or be readily available for prying eyes).

To make this happen, you'll use a very powerful command that comes with VirtualBox called VBoxManage; it allows you to manage a number of aspects of your VMs. I'll show how to use VBoxManage to start, stop, and pause your VMs. I assume you have VirtualBox installed, and your VMs are ready to run on the host machine.

SEE: Building the Software Defined Data Center (ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature)
Before you fire up a VM

If you go directly to the VBoxManage command and fire up a VM, you'll probably find that VM isn't reachable via network—this renders the VM worthless, especially if it is a server.

In order to get the networking of your headless VM up and running, you have to install the VirtualBox extension pack. Here's how.
Download the extension pack that matches your VirtualBox release.
Open the VirtualBox GUI.
Click File | Preferences.
Go to the Extensions section.
Click the downward-pointing arrow (Figure A).
Navigate to where you saved the Extension Pack and select the .vbox-extpack file.
Click Open.
When prompted, type your admin password for the host machine.
Click OK.

Figure A

Image: Jack Wallen
Installing the VirtualBox Extension Pack

You're ready to run your VMs, which will include the ability to

By Conner Forrest | October 5, 2016, 8:16 AM PST

AT&T recently announced that it would launch its LTE-M network in San Francisco, in hopes of boosting connectivity among Internet of Things devices.

AT&T's new LTE-M network technology trial, announced Wednesday, could enhance connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. According to a press release from the company, an LTE-M pilot will begin in San Francisco, CA in November, and roll out more broadly in 2017.

In terms of what IoT devices it is targeting, AT&T mentioned many tools commonly associated with smart cities and manufacturing. According to the release, "LTE-M technology will connect a wide variety of IoT solutions such as smart utility meters, asset monitoring, vending machines, alarm systems, fleet, heavy equipment, mHealth and wearables."

AT&T claims that LTE-M will make it cheaper connect IoT devices to the network, will improve coverage inside and underground, and could even boost battery life. According to the press release, battery life could get "up to 10 years for certain enabled IoT devices."

SEE: Big data and IoT matter to 56% of organizations (Tech Pro Research)

For those unfamiliar, LTE-M is short for LTE-MTC (machine-type communications). It is optimized for handling the transfer of data between connected machines or devices, and can be

By Jack Wallen | October 5, 2016, 9:59 AM PST

Jack Wallen walks you through the steps of creating and moving a container to illustrate how amazingly easy BestCrypt Container Encryption is.

The needs for secure document/data storage are at an all-time high. This means more and more people are turning to encryption. To many, however, the idea of using some cumbersome, complex command line tool is beyond their scope of abilities. That's why having well thought out GUI tools for the task of encryption is important.

Recently, the BestCrypt Container Encryptiontool crossed my desk and immediately looked like just the tool for the job. BestCrypt is a cross-platform (Linux, Mac, Windows) that includes features like:
Store and Access Encrypted Files
Create and Manage Multiple encrypted Containers
Mount Encrypted Drive(s) as a Subfolder
Define permissions in a Multi-user Environment
Dynamic Containers
Move Containers across platforms

Although BestCrypt isn't open source, it works splendidly on Linux. What's most impressive about BestCrypt is that all of these features are rolled into a very easy to use GUI, that any level of user could immediately get up to speed on.

Let's install BestCrypt and use it to encrypt our first Container.
Installation

Before continuing on, know that BestCrypt is not a free software. You can use

By Brandon Vigliarolo | October 5, 2016, 12:57 PM PST

Google's brand new flagship Pixel phone is trying to nudge Apple's iPhone 7 off its pedestal. Nevermind the consumer realm: Is Apple's mobile enterprise supremacy really at risk?

Yesterday's Pixel phone announcement by Google has people all over the tech industry talking. Is it an iPhone killer? Will it finally help Google earn a spot in the enterprise? For some it might seem like a competitor, but there are serious limitations that will prevent it from really making a dent in Apple's armor.

To understand why the Pixel isn't the new enterprise golden child we only need to consider what the businesses truly want in a mobile device. Unfortunately for Google it's not all great cameras, bright blues, and headphone jacks.
What the enterprise wants

To be fair, there are some features of the Google Pixel that will make it a good choice for businesses—but those perks aren't enough to take the spotlight off what it lacks. Enterprises need four things in a mobile device: security, ecosystem partners, integration capabilities, and support.
It's all about security

Mobile devices are ubiquitous, and that means they're being used for work. While an increase in mobile use in the workplacecreates a security risk it can be mitigated by making good hardware and security choices.

"Apple is favored by enterprises because of the tight ecosystem control that Apple exerts, over the

By Erik Eckel | October 5, 2016, 1:40 PM PST

Running Windows on a Mac is no longer daunting, though choosing between Boot Camp or a VM still requires careful consideration. Here are tips for selecting the best method.

Running Windows on a Mac was once a process fraught with tribulation, though now it's a common operation that should be painless. With continued Mac performance gains, Boot Camp improvements, and two capable virtual machine (VM) technologies in VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop for Mac, Apple professionals have multiple options to reliably power Windows installations on Macs. The only trick is knowing which option—Boot Camp or a VM—works best for your intended Windows purposes. Here are recommendations for common scenarios.

SEE: Gallery: 10 screen sharing programs for Windows and Mac that make collaboration and support easy
Single proprietary Windows app

Likely the most common Windows-on-a-Mac need, many Apple professionals also require Windows due to the need to run one critical proprietary, often industry-specific, Windows application. Despite cloud-computing and web-based trends, some applications continue only providing full functionality when run within a dedicated Windows environment.

I possess such first-hand experience; an industry-specific professional services automation application powers my business' daily operations. While possessing mobile and web-based options, the program only provides full functionality—such as

By Cory Bohon | October 5, 2016, 8:18 PM PST

The iOS Calendar app can help keep you organized and on task. See how to customize Calendar to take full advantage of its powerful features.

Apple has iterated the iOS Calendar app since its introduction in iPhone OS 1.0. In iOS 10, the Calendar app is at its most powerful and useful.

There are lots of customization options to tweak the calendar exactly to your liking, whether you want to change the default calendar, the start day of the week, or which calendars are displayed. Here's how to customize the calendar to improve your workflow and make your calendar events easier to read.

Depending on where you live and your calendar preferences, you may want the

By Greg Shultz | October 6, 2016, 1:00 AM PST

The Shell command offers a handy way to view your Applications folder. Here's how it works--and why you might find the trick useful.

In recent articles, I've shown various techniques for making the best of the Windows 10 start menu:
How to customize the Windows 10 Anniversary Update Start menu using the "Pare It Down" technique
How to customize the Windows 10 Start menu with numbered shortcuts

While many readers are using Windows 10 Start menu as is, and others are settling for third-party solutions, a lot of users tell me they like trying alternative ideas. So I keep on the lookout for new tricks—and I recently found another one.

I discovered a way to view the Applications folder in File Explorer by using the Shell command. This special folder includes traditional Desktop Applications as well as Universal Windows Apps. Being able to view all your applications in File Explorer can come in handy in certain circumstances. Let's take a look.
Running the Shell command

To view All Apps in File Explorer, you'll use a Shell command shortcut. Hidden underneath the Windows architecture is a host of special shortcuts known as Shell commands. To use a Shell command, all you need to do is press [Windows]+R to access the Run dialog box. Then, type the word Shell followed by a colon (:) and the Shell folder name, as in:

Shell:foldername

Notice that there are no spaces between the word Shell and the colon and the folder name—it is essentially one word.
SEE: How to tweak the Windows 10 Action Center to make it less annoying
Accessing the Applications folder

Now that you have a general idea of how the Shell command works, you can use it to view the Applications folder in Windows 10. To do so, press [Windows]+R, type shell:AppsFolder in the Open text box (Figure A), and press Enter.
Figure A