The VMWare Web console client should be rewritten in Java, so that it can run on machines other than Linux and Windows systems. Like, say, Macs. Or (when they have enough CPU) cell phones. Why bother with a Web interface if it requires a silly Windows/Linux only plugin? At that point, a standalone app is no different.

When I’m on a Mac at home, and I need to access the console of a virtual system at work, I have to log into a virtual Linux box that I manage with VirtualBox and use its Web browser to access the Web console of the VMWare server at work. Silly and unnecessary, though faster than accessing my Linux box at work via VNC or SSH, even with compression, and running Firefox on the Linux box at work to manage the virtual consoles.

As it is, I’m using one virtual machine to access the console of another virtual machine—which is funny, because I need to use a Web browser on that virtual machine to access the Web service of a different virtual server run off the same host, which for security reasons is restricted to a private on-host network.

Who said virtualization makes computer work simpler?