Virtualization

Users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate could also download a free feature called XP Mode, which was essentially a copy of Windows XP that could only be used inside of Windows Virtual PC.

In Windows 7, Microsoft provided a virtualization solution called Windows Virtual PC that allowed users to run virtualized instances of Windows XP, Vista, and 7, and even individual applications within those environments, side by side with native Windows 7 applications. And it did so without forcing users to manage the complexity of dealing with two desktops, one virtualized and one native.

Windows Virtual PC offered decent functionality but middling performance because it was based on an older form of virtualization technology purchased long ago from Connectix Corporation. So in Windows 8, Microsoft has dramatically expanded the virtualization capabilities of its desktop OS. And let’s just say that performance is no longer going to be an issue.

Thanks to the integration of its previously server‑only hypervisor technology, Hyper‑V, Windows 8 offers the same core virtualization features as does Windows Server 2012, albeit aimed at a few core scenarios. And it doesn’t stop there: Windows 8 also includes some interesting and useful virtualization integration features that really put this version over the top.