Does anyone else use VMs almost like games?

I'm happy with the distros I use, though I do have a laptop that I distro-hop with. I'm pretty content with Lubuntu on my desktop and I find that it is awesome with modern hardware. I'm pretty content with Ubuntu MATE on my laptops.

But, I use VirtualBox as though I'm a gamer. By that I mean that I have dozens of VMs and I boot them, play with them, keep them updated, learn about them, poke buttons, and break them in new and creative ways.

Some days (I'm retired), I'll spend hours doing this. Right now, for example, I'm using Solus in a VM and just installed it this morning. It required so many updates that it kept choking on them and so I had to do the updating in parts.

And this was fun. It was, too. I had a blast spending those hours poking, learning, and seeing what Solus had to offer.

I have absolutely zero intent to install it on bare metal. I don't have any professional goals with it. I just enjoy playing with all the distros.

I can't be the only one...

That is (now) the only way I play with operating systems. VirtualBox is amazing, at least for me. I am a penetration tester so my hacking tools are in a VM, other OS's I play with are in a VM, my hack targets are in a VM. Very cool technology and easy to sandbox.

Yeah, I don't have any such motivations. I suppose I could try pen testing my own stuff just to learn stuff. I really haven't any goals with it, it's just fun.

The primary reason I have various PMs is that people ask questions which sometimes are distribution specific. So it's both a tryout as well as learning experience on my part to gain some experience with a distro I'm not familiar with, and a lot of times it helps to answer their question.

Originally Posted by KGIII Yeah, I don't have any such motivations. I suppose I could try pen testing my own stuff just to learn stuff. I really haven't any goals with it, it's just fun.

It’s my job so I research to stay current.

Originally Posted by sevendogsbsd It’s my job so I research to stay current.

I got really, really lucky and was able to retire at an early age. I don't want my brain to stagnate, so I'm constantly learning new things.

Before 'live' distros, it was the way to see how a new distro looked & worked, it was easier than continually installing them on the hard drive.

Originally Posted by KGIII I got really, really lucky and was able to retire at an early age. I don't want my brain to stagnate, so I'm constantly learning new things.

Plus it's been conjectured if you keep the old noodle working diligently that it possibly can help avoid cognitive diseases. We just had someone in our company retire after a 55 year career. That would be 80 years young, but still working, and finally calling it quits due to the worldwide pandemic and contraction of various businesses.

Agree with this, although I would like to retire much earlier than that. I still have 12-13 years left. My mother suffers from mild dementia so I don't want to follow in her footsteps...

I was just under 50 when I retired. The first few years, let's just say I didn't keep myself cognitively engaged. Since then, I've been a bit wiser with regards to my retirement activities.

You are lucky - I will probably work to late 60's - 56 now. Trying to maximize social security, if there is anything left by the time I get there...

Originally Posted by sevendogsbsd You are lucky ...

Originally Posted by Me I got really, really lucky ...

The short version:

The economy crashed. I owned a company that modeled traffic. I'm a mathematician. The US govt. declared they were going to invest 'billions' in 'shovel-ready' jobs, many of which were highway projects. My business rapidly increased in value. I was offered a sum that was so absurd that I'd have to have been retarded to not sell. By pure happenstance, the economy was crashed - and the markets were really down. Lacking anything better, I invested a whole lot of money and the economy recovered - exceeding previous record highs.

I am, quite literally, a product of luck and being in the right place at the right time. The above began mid-2007 and life has been very good since then. Sure, I worked hard, but not as hard as many others.

It's also why I come and go in spurts. I'm here now, but it's rather likely that I'll be off again soon. I'd share my adventure tales, but this is not the forum for such. I'm the same "KGIII" on /. and the likes.

Well, you have had good fortune and that's good to hear! Best of luck to you wherever you may land

You too! If you work your ass off, you might get lucky. Some small investments, affordable for many people, turned out really well.

A lot of folks are doing side projects and seeking venture capitalists. That's been a good road for many. HackerNews is a good site for that sort of thing.

What rtmistler said, I also use them to help answer questions and at the same time I get to try out a different distros that otherwise I wouldn't.