Ok, I am a linux guy and most of you will be thinking that why I am writing this . Let me say , even though many people are agreeing with the statement Ubuntu is always better than Windows , there are a lot of people how think that Ubuntu has too few applications available for use . Ubuntu would be more secure , most faster and more stable , but is it up to par with Windows in doing things , like can we use photoshop cs 4 in linux , or can we play assassins creed 2 in Ubuntu . I am not promising you that you could , but I assure you that you can make your ubuntu linux much more better in doing things . Let me show a handful of essential applications for your linux machine which would transform your ubuntu to a real star performer , doing almost everything you can do in windows . Ok , here is it :

1. WineHQ – If you were a  windows user , you might sometimes need to carry your favourite app to ubuntu. WineHQ is good at running such windows stuff . If you need to know if your favourite app runs on linux you can check this here . To download wine, check out this link .

2. VirtualBox – Most of you might be familiar with VirtualBox , from Sun Microsystems , a nice virtualization software which is available for free . There are many commercial virtualization softwares like vmware , which is much more powerful than virtualbox . To see a list of virtualization softwares have a look at this .

3.Scribus – Scribus is an opensource desktop publishing tool available for free . Scribus offers a modern and easy to use interface .and even supports advanced and professional features like CMYK color, separations, Spot Colors, ICC color management and  PDF creation.What to say more, visit its official website .

4.Gimp – Available by default in your Ubuntu machine . If you are interested in photo-editing  gimp would be a good start .Read more about gimp and how to use gimp .

5.Blender – Blender is an opensource 3-d content creation suite available for free . Blender is as effective as other commercial software like maya , 3-d max etc , without taking you in to complex processes. Blender is definitely worth a look , you can even watch  how powerful is blender viewing the blender, gallery page .

6. Other crazy stuff like vlc player ,firefox, evolution ,pidgin , openoffice , k3b disc burner , songbird , x-chat etc are definitely worth a look . Here are a few tutorials and reviews on getting in touch with various nice free software programs , take a look at them .

7.If you are interested in making your linux an eye-candy , then opt for compiz .Compiz offers a stylish look without sacrificing too much system resources . Oh ! , I know you need to make your linux appear similar to mac os , here it is it mac4lin .

Windows is never equivalent to Linux as both are distinct operating systems . I , here present my personal opinion .

VirtualBox is an opensource  virtualization software from Sun microsystems , which allows simultaneous working of more than 1 operation system . Compared to other virtualization solutions like vmware virtualbox is a free software and available for no cost . Virtualbox offers networking and almost all functionalities vmware offers . Compared to vmware , virtualbox is a lighter software . Here is a video tutorial which introduces virtualbox and its functionalities . Virtualbox can be used to run windows in linux or linux in windows and much more .

The era of Linux operating systems and open source programs are coming closer.It is sure to make a bing bang in the history of computers.Considering case of virtualization opensource programs are far ahead .It is mainly because of its price and its open source codes.It is usually free of hard licensing considered to others.Here is a list of some well known Virtualization softwares available from the linux world.

1. OpenVZ is an operating system-level virtualization technology based on the Linux kernel and operating system.It can take care of more than one os at a tim e like other virtualization technologies.
2. 
3. VirtualBox is an x86 virtualization environment , made by  Sun Microsystems as part of its Sun xVM virtualization platform. A lot of  host operating systems like Linux, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp, Windows XP or Vista, and Solaris, are supported in this. Supported guest operating systems include FreeBSD, Linux, OpenBSD, OS/2 Warp,linux Kernal 2.4/2.6, Windows and Solaris.It is great for home use and for testing programs which may other wise interfere with the os.
4. 
5. Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is a Linux kernel virtualization infrastructure. KVM currently supports native virtualization using Intel VT or AMD-V. A wide variety of guest operating systems work with KVM, including many flavours of Linux, BSD, Solaris, and Windows etc. KVM is included with Debian, OpenSuse and other Linux distributions.
6. Xen is a virtual machine monitor for 32 / 64 bit Intel / AMD (IA 64) and PowerPC 970 architectures. systems to be executed on the same . XEN is included with most popular Linux distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, Fedora and many others.It is very pleasant in its appeaance and easy to work with.It supports running several machines at the same time.
7. 
8. Linux-VServer is a VPN  implementation done by adding operating system-level virtualization  to the Linux kernel making it an integral part of the operating system.
9. 
   User Mode Linux (UML) was the first virtualization technology that was available  for the Linux Operating system.It has less performance and stability compared with others . Coming version support for x86 virtualization to UML may reduce this disadvantages.
10. VMWare is one of the leaders of virtualization technologies.It has extended to linux platforms .It is known for its advanced features.But a hefty price tag always follows.
11. 

Storage Virtualization

Data storage server virtualization is simply a set of data storage technologies that can create an abstraction layer between logical storage and physical storage of a computer.It has the advantage that it reduces the complexity of data storage these days.It helps to create an interface between applications and original storage.It will reduce cost of data storage.It will reduce the manual interaction of data center professionals and thus reducing the expenditure.It also provides open standards so that data centers will not be dependent on a specific hardware vendor.Data replication, SANs and other storage implementations can also be made independent of vendors.
Virtualization Today
* IBM : IBM has introduced a SAN controller that do all the difficult SAN management functions that should be performed. The entire IBM data server virtualization solution is called ‘Total Storage’,which really has a promizing future.
* EMC: EMC , the largest leader focussed in the data storage space offers a data storage server virtualization solution known as ‘Information Lifecycle Management’.It rocks Windows Platforms with VMWare a really well equiped and robust virtualization environment.
* VMware: VMware,a subsidiary of EMC, is rthe emerging leader in virtualization market by innovation into almost true storage virtualization products. The VMWare Workstation product,is a great innovation in the data storage space,which might change the world we live.
* HP: HP has introduced some data storage server virtualization solutions based on an ‘Enterprise Network Storage Architecture’,which offer superior performance and stability with reduced costs.

General Layout of a VIrtual Storage