There was a huge discussion on Slashdot whether it will be possible to install Linux into Virtual PC 2004 now that Microsoft took over the product (the assumption was that it won't, as a part of Microsoft's evil plan to take over the world). Microsoft confirmed that they do not support installing Linux, but did not do anything to prevent it (virtual machine does not care what you run on it).

Well, as they say, the proof is in the pudding - I have successfully installed Mandrake 9.2 into Virtual PC 2004 on two quite different machines (one AthlonXP, one dual Xeon) without even a hitch. So, no need for alarm - at least for now.

And for those arguing that the mere fact that Linux is not on the list of types of OS shown during the install will prevent less computer savvy users from even trying, I ask this - how many beginners you know that are using this kind of software?

Impressions on the Virtual PC itself - it works well, albeit slow, and it does one really impressive thing - without any additional configuration, my virtual OSes can go to the Internet through the host computer, even though I'm on USB ADSL modem (no Ethernet card). Configuring this with VMWare almost never worked without investing serious effort and network configuration knowledge.