New on LowEndTalk? Please Register and read our Community Rules.
All new Registrations are manually reviewed and approved, so a short delay after registration may occur before your account becomes active.
All new Registrations are manually reviewed and approved, so a short delay after registration may occur before your account becomes active.
This guy uses Azure as a personal computer.
I don't know how practical it really is.
Thanked by 1raindog308
Comments
Windows 365 is a real thing.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-365
Is it practical though? A lot depends on the speed of your internet. You also "share" your SSD with M$
The experience of using a remote VM isn't pleasant due to latency.
I think it is expensive in the long run. I am using a MacBook m1 as my main machine, and I need to admit that something I cannot avoid windows task. What I do is remote connect to my gaming desktop.
You'll own nothing and you'll be happy.
Francisco
Most VMs are headless. I'd like to see someone running the Witcher 3 on this
I'm running Witcher 3 on a VM supplied by @lentro, so this is definitely doable on Azure. It'll probably cost you quite a bit though.
Seriously? Are you running it under Windows, or linux +wine? What type of GPU?
I'm running it on Windows and streaming through Parsec - it's an EPYC 2nd Gen + 1070 box
At my workplace, we have Azure VM as development machines
32GB 4 vCPU
HDMI dummy plugs
Most cloud providers don't include dummy plugs. You have to spoof a monitor, I haven't ever been able to get one working super well.
Amazon offers similar solutions.
And cloud gaming has been a thing for a while.
I've used cloud desktops, but I definitely didn't do it on a metered network service, though. I've worked in environments where the entire campus was a LAN desktop...was pretty cool, actually. They used SunRay machines and as you moved from cube to cube or kiosk to kiosk, you swiped your badge and wah-lah, there was your desktop exactly as you'd left it on the previous machine. Of course, you could do the same thing with RDP but the card swipe was neat. This was 1999ish.
Cloud PCs reminds me of the old "network computer" idea that Oracle pushed around the turn of the millennium. But that was LAN and this is WAN.
My primary computer is a VM.. On a local host, not Azure.. Off-site, over a VPN, the latency is noticeable, but it could be the host it is running on.. It is not current by any means.
Been this way for a long time.. I've moved it to a few different hosts.
Windows 7 needed Ultimate for dynamic memory though.. That took a couple months for me to figure out.. haha
From zen of python:
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated
Vm in the cloud is unnecessary complication for average Joe.
P.S. Considering fact that VM resources can be oversold... comparing new and more powerfull PC to VM is a joke or lack of knowledge in given field.
P.P.S. I've just bought a laptop, ryzen 4700u, 16 gigs ram, windows and 1tb SSD for ~$650. If I would choose azure I would spend same or more money in 2 years timespan and I would end with nothing in my handel after these 2 years instead of nice Acer laptop that will probably last for another 2-3 years.
You can get a working, second hand, computar, for less than 100$.
Including warranty, if you are insane, then put your shit in the clouds.
Of course it was, but today's WAN is like 2000's LAN. Many people have Gbit connections, they are ubiquitous even in poor countries like Romania, I am living practically in the woods in bear land and still have one for 10 USD a month, albeit the fiber needed to be passed near and attached to 3 chimneys until it reached my house. I am running Desktop VMs in Bucharest, Oradea, Texas, LA, Seoul, Pune etc with acceptable lag. Games without a GPU? Of course not, but I can run gems like EarthSiege II or HOMM III.
You can run desktops in your own houses on old laptops. It has most of the benefits, like accessible from anywhere, even WoL.
So, to try it out on one of my VPSs, all I need to do is install a desktop linux os?
True, simplicity. More important is privacy. When the feds come with a search warrant, it's too easy for them to access your data files saved on Azure.
Make them at least work for it by not saving your data to the cloud.
Always store your laptops at your non-primary residence when possible so you have the ability to ditch them.
Remember that the feds use every opportunity to misconstrue any picture as something worse to create leverage so NEVER store any picture on your computer that can be misconstrued.
Any other advice on keeping laptop data safe?
Well, this is similar to what I get from my customer.
Instead of them giving me a notebook, they gave me a Virtual Desktop (Amazon WorkSpaces)
I mean even though I don't really need another notebook (I already have 2) but considering the latency between myself and where the Virtual Desktop is located/hosted, I'd definitely prefer a physical machine with VPN access
LoL, I have some 17 (albeit only some 6 are always on) and I could always find a use for one more :P
I've used a VM/remote machine for non-personal computing for 10 years. Back in the day, it was just through RDP and for basic things like web browsing, code, etc. RDP is more than acceptable, especially since RDP 8.
Unless it is provided by an employer, this is never on Azure though - usually on some hardware I own or rent.
I have done a bit of graphical intensive stuff over Parsec and it works really well.
sponsored by Microsoft?
I just tried OVH virtual desktop when they offer such service. It was similar service - you can work on remote Windows PC just in your browser. Cost was about 20€ per month. If you need PC just for office work and surf the Internet - that is best choice...
So you seriously do this? Right now you have all your laptops at a second house and when you want to use them, you drive over to that secondary location, do whatever you need to do, and then drive back home?
And how exactly does that "ditching" work? These intelligence agencies with their Sauron-like abilities to decrypt all communications and penetrate into every piece of information ever created are somehow going to overlook the fact that you are also paying rent at a second address? They couldn't possibly serve a search warrant there, too? Or is that "safe house" registered with a fake name provided by other members of the underground?
I was travelling this week to another country and instead of having my heavy laptop with me, this time I was connecting with my tablet or phone to a remote desktop with Win10 installed in a VM (Virtualbox) that i have in one kimsufi dedicated server. This solution is cheaper than OVH or Amazon.
I haven't tried Windows 365, but I have tried their game streaming service to stream games "from the cloud" to my Galaxy Tab S7+ and it worked pretty well. I have ~20-30ms ping to their server though, which is only 1-2 frames at 60fps (~16.67ms per frame).
If they're using the same data centers (which I imagine they are, as the game streaming is also via Azure), I don't think I'd have any issue with latency. I'm near San Francisco and one of their US west coast data centers is in California somewhere - Microsoft aren't specific about the city but I'd guess either Fremont, San Jose, or perhaps Los Angeles but I feel that the ping is slightly too low for it to be LA.
Of course, it's worse if you're much further from their data centers.
I've always found this irritating.
What is a latency which is ok and at which point do you think it isn't acceptable to work. No gameing
Can anyone tell me what is required to try this on my OVH dedi? Just a windows 10 license and install it as a desktop? What else is required?
4 vCPU 16 GB RAM 256 GB Storage = $79.00 user/month
For 12 months that's about $950, plus you need an actual PC to be able to access it. It's so much cheaper to just buy a $800 Ryzen Laptop. Or run a separate OS for business/work on the laptop you already own if you're already happy with it.
Unless you need the PC to be turned on 24/7 running something, I can't think why anyone would choose to daily drive an overpriced VM with latency that will most likely feel slower and less responsive than a $600 laptop with an SSD.