14 DAY TRIAL // VirtualBox is a virtualization application that can be used by both enterprises and end users. Its developer, Oracle, has announced that a new version is now out and available for download.
VirtualBox has proven to be a great tool for the Linux users and it provides compatibility with a large number of operating systems. It also features a very friendly interface and an easy to use wizard that lets users set up virtual machines in no time.
Usually, each new version of the application comes with a large number of changes and various improvements for most of the platforms. VirtualBox has binaries for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X, so it's easy to imagine just how many modifications have to be made from one version to another.
The application also has several stable branches. All of them are maintained, but only the latest one, in this case 4.3.x, gets new features. All the others are just updated so that they work properly. Getting the most advanced release is not a must, but if some new operating system doesn't start with one of the old versions, it might be the time to upgrade.
Fixes and more fixes
Not all of the new releases will have new features, some of them might just be maintenance related. This is true for VirtualBox 4.3.18, but it's still an interesting build. It has quite a few changes for other platforms, but Linux hasn't been ignored.,
For example, restoring the A20 state from a saved state is now working as it should, some problems with the GUI of the full-screen mode mini-toolbar have been fixed, the full-screen option should now work correctly with Unity, the developers have added a legacy full-screen mode for Unity (Ubuntu), and it's no longer possible to experience date corruption with big VHD images.
Also, a rare issue that occurred when during the Bios startup has been corrected, some bugs with the ACPI timer have been fixed, a number of other bugs have been repaired, and the VirtualBox session no longer crashes with GNOME Shell and Fedora 21.
Where to find the new version
Some repositories might be quick to integrate this latest release, but it's very likely that it will take a while. On Ubuntu, for example, it's impossible to anticipate when it will arrive. Fortunately, the VirtualBox developers provide binaries for the biggest Linux distros.
More details about this release can be found in the official announcement. You can also check our review of VirtualBox and you can also download VirtualBox 4.3.18 from Softpedia.