Last week the latest version of Ubuntu, Hardy Heron 8.04, was released. In the past, I would download an ISO file torrent and install the operating system to try out the new version.
This time, however, I visited VMware’s Virtual Appliance Marketplace. There I found a torrent file for a virtual appliance with Ubuntu 8.04 already installed and configured. I simply downloaded the file and turned it on in VMware Fusion.
This is a good example of the network effect and why VMware has a powerful market lead in the virtualization space.