Emulation software developer Connectix is to ship a version of its Mac-based Virtual PC application with Red Hat Linux as the emulator's bundled x86 operating systems. Connectix actually said it was planning to offer Virtual PC, now at version 3.0, with Linux back at the start of January, at MacWorld Expo. At that time, it hadn't decided which distribution it would provide. Connectix already offers Virtual PC with Windows 98 and 95, and DOS, and has a Win2k release in the works. Since Virtual PC emulates the x86 architecture and support hardware, not the whole system, users have been free to install whatever x86 OS they've fancied on top of it, and Linux has proved a popular choice. Of course, while there's no PowerPC version of Windows, using Virtual PC to support legacy Windows apps on a Mac or software that is only available on Windows and not under the MacOS, makes some sense, but when a version Red Hat Linux is already available for the Mac in the form of LinuxPPC, this week upgraded to LinuxPPC 2000, there's seems little point in emulating the OS. After all, it's not as if there are bucketloads of Linux apps out there that don't have MacOS equivalents. Still, for those who want to try out the open source OS, Virtual PC does at least allow you to do so without repartitioning your hard drive, and switch between the two without rebooting. The Linux bundle will ship next month, Connectix said. ® Related Story PlayStation-on-Mac developer Connectix gets sales ban lifted