I am setting up an old laptop for a young nephew and while the computer does have a fresh install of Windows 10 and sufficient RAM and secondary memory to support it, I would like to get him started learning computing in a Linux environment.
Ubermix looked like a promising tool. I checked it out in the virtual machine and it looks like it has a lot of nice tools and resources that would help younger children feel comfortable in a Linux environment. I would like to use it, but the only problem is that my nephew is going to need the Windows environment to run at least one piece of proprietary software that is not available for Linux, does not work in Wine and the manufacturers have no intention of releasing the source code or supporting a Linux version of their software.
My first inclination was a dual boot, which I discovered is not possible with Ubermix because of the unique way it uses three partitions to prevent children damaging the OS. That brings me to my current dilemma.
I have identified the product ID for my Windows 10 and have made a startup USB stick for Windows 10. I am trying to decide if I wipe Windows from the laptop, install Ubermix and then add Virtualbox, will I be able to install the Windows OS within the virtual environment using the old product key?
Windows would still be on the same physical machine, it would just be in within a Linux virtual environment. I didn't really want to ask this on a Microsoft forum because I suspect they will say that it is not an appropriate use of their software.
The easiest solution, of course, would be to install a lightweight version of Linux alongside the Windows install and just add the applications from Ubermix that are appealing, but I do like the Ubermix concept as well as the appeal of making Windows a virtual afterthought on the machine as opposed to a startup alternative.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks,
Reub
