You can now boot a physical PC into a virtual Windows 11 machine - but Microsoft isn’t making it easy
Get ready for another ongoing Windows 11 subscription
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Microsofthas rolled out a new feature that it calls Windows 365 Boot, designed to enable physical PCs to boot intovirtual machinesrather than from their local drive.
Theannouncementdetails howWindows 1122H2 “lets you choose to log directly into your Windows 365 Cloud PC as the primary Windows experience on the device.”
The localWindows 11login page still plays an important role in authenticating and protecting your device, but beyond this it’s possible to have your machine loadWindows 365 Cloud PCautomatically.
Windows VM on a Windows 11 PC
Beneficiaries from this latest addition are likely to be those working from shared devices, possibly in desk-sharing setups like those ofGoogleCloud, where signing into the physical device with your own credentials will unlock your own virtual machine.
These are the best workstations around today>Lots of businesses still just aren’t ready for Windows 11>You can finally run Windows 11 on Apple Macs now…kind of
There are four key requirements for anybody wanting to try out the new virtual machine software that’s likely to present significant saving opportunities for hardware spend:
The requirement for a subscription to be able to access a virtual machine unlocks longer-term revenue security for the company in a period where Big Tech is clearly pushing for subscription-based models, and it seems that the free inclusion of VM capabilities within the latest version of Windows 11 should do enough to tempt some users over to cloud computing.
That being said, while Windows 11 adoption is showing promising signs of growth, it still only makes up 23.1% of all Windows installs, far behindWindows 10in first place accounting for 71.4% (viaStatcounter).
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With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!
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