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Is there a service where I can rent a Windows or macOS virtual machine?
Hi, hope this is the right place for this question. I'd like to learn Autodesk Fusion 360, but all of my devices are running either Ubuntu or ChromeOS. I've tried to get F360 running on my ubuntu desktop with both Wine and Lutris but I haven't had success. There is also a web application for F360 but it is feature limited.
It seems like the only way to get this program running is to use a virtual machine, but I don't have much experience in this area. Do I need to buy a windows license and set up my own VM or is there a service where I can rent time on a preconfigured VM somewhere?
Thanks for reading, hope to hear your suggestions.
Well, both. If you just want to run it locally, which it seems like, just get VirtualBox (or an alternative), a windows ISO (can get it from Microsofts website). You will actually be able to run it for a while unlicensed, but you should probably get a key at some point.
There are also Desktop as a Service providers, but I don't see why you'd need it for your case.
thanks, i didn't realize you could download the iso before buying a license. I'll try this out and see if I can get it working
IIRC when it asks for a key in the installer, you can just press skip at the bottom. An unregistered windows watermark will be there and you can't change the desktop wallpaper (...actually you can, just have to right click on an image rather than through settings), but you'll be able to run programs normally actually.
macOS on your own hardware (hackintoshing) or running in your own virtualised environment is a recipe for recurring migraines. I know, because I ran macOS on a desktop for the better part of 2 years.
Be prepared to spend dozens hours of reading and documenting what hardware you need, what wireless cards you need to buy off eBay to get iMessage or AirDrop or Bluetooth working, then be prepared to spend even longer configuring your installation kexts, clover for your EFI bootloading, and then figuring out why your system won't sleep, or worse, will wake up 5 minutes after going to sleep. All occurring sporadically, of course.
Much easier for your own mental health and time to just rent an instance of macOS in the cloud if you really desire Apple's desktop OS.
Eehhh. If you want to use it long-term, IMO you should buy a key. You don't have a inherent human right to use Windows or something. Of course, you don't have to, but if someone makes something and they want you to pay to use it, unless there's some contextual reason why, you should do it.
Well, I don't think Microsoft has been particularly heinous recently, but regardless if you chose not to support large companies, that's fine, but IMO you should do by refusing to use their products. The only exception is, indeed, monopolistic pressure, but I don't think it really applies in this context; OP appears quite comfortable a Linux user. And he's doing something that is very much non-essential.
Everyone should be able to, say, do email or browse the web, which can be essential to life, but that is already true.
I do take issue with
That is true of all software. As a software developer, are you saying that everything I make is inherently worthless? Just because it doesn't have material cost, doesn't mean it doesn't have R&D cost. That's honestly quite disrespectful of the many people that work on all software and allow you to be browsing Tildes this Sunday.
My opinion is: you don't have a right to use Windows, or software that happens to be windows exclusive. These days you can do most typical stuff from any OS, given the prevalence of webapps. If you want to do something that requires Windows for a hobby or work, pay your respects to the entity that pays for the development of it.
Yes, given that I think it's worth it. To me, that's all that matters, my personal cost/reward line. There's a local bakery I go to, and if they could copy bread infinitely and still charged me, that would be fine. I would accept that I either buy their bread, which cost them nothing, or don't eat their bread.
At this point I'm pretty sure we have fundamental differences in opinion that can't be reconciled, so I'll just end with that I hope OP does in fact purchase a license.
Even if there was a way for me to get the bread, I would not do so. Basically, I respect the wishes of whoever created the product. If they want me to pay for it or leave, I will do so.
Of course, there are edge cases. In particular
Somethings should be generally available, and once upon a time Windows was practically the only way to use a computer. However, that's change quite a bit now. Not only mobile OS competent for the necessary parts of a computer, but ChromeOS and to some degree Linux work fine.
At this point, in most cases I'd say there are practical (and often cheaper) alternatives for consumers.
I'm not necessary completely against such a model, but it also doesn't exist, so as is you should follow the channels we have right now to compensate people for their work.
Value is both subjective and situational. You are welcome to believe that, for you, digital goods have no value. This is, however, not going to be true for all people at all times. To argue that some things have inherent, intrinsic value, while some other things are objectively worthless ... is an impossible argument to make. Nothing has any value, except what people choose to believe.
Or, to misquote Forrest Gump, "value is as value does".
If you want them to lose a dollar, don't use their OS. That's fine. If you are going to use their OS, buy it.
Obviously ethics are opinion based, but those are what I consider fair.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'm testing it out now