Hey.....this makes sense!

The VmWare decision to buy Thinstall makes sense. VmWare has been semi-public about their recognition that hypervisor technology is not going to be a long term solution for desktop applications and their VDI. They see the Trigence technology as clouding the virtualization landscape. This is due to our ability to support server applications. Even more so problematic for VmWare is the ability to define a network identity for server applications (IP address, hostname, MAC, system ID) in what Trigence calls a capsule. A highly self-contained server application in a virtual environment, particularly with a discrete network identity, looks too much like what VmWare calls an application payload. The fact that both approaches offer similar value propositions is too much. I've had this conversation with one of the VmWare CTOs.

That said, the Thinstall product does seem to be a solid solution for the Windows desktop, however, the Trigence offering differs in several critical ways:

1) Support of server applications on not only Windows but also Linux & Unix

2) Shared virtual environments; the ability for applications in one virtualized environment to correctly access the persistent state in another virtual environment (shared capsules solving what Softgrid calls the context problem)

3) Far more comprehensive encapsulation; mechanisms for placing an application in a virtual environment allow you to encapsulate applications on existing servers, new applications and learned applications. Thinstall offers one mechanism based on multiple snapshots of a system, starting with a "clean" system.

Now, call me naive, but I'm surprised at the level of apparent intimidation caused by an extension of virtualization technology. VmWare and other vendors of hypervisor technology, but VmWare in particular, have the opportunity to extend their capability by allowing encapsulated applications to execute directly on their hypervisor; ESX server. This provides significant flexibility and places VmWare in a very different place in the market. They would have the opportunity of providing a platform that hosts applications with and without an existing commercial OS.

Interesting dynamics.