Five Ways to Run Windows Software under Linux

The number of programs appearing in Linux versions is increasing all the time. You may find that your favorite program is already available in a Linux version; or if not, something very similar is. A prime examples are the Mozilla suite of Internet programs – Firefox for web browsing, Thunderbird for email, and the Sunbird calendar application. Not only do these run identically on both platforms, but nearly all the add-on extensions for these free programs work the same way. Google Picasa is also available for both platforms.

There are also increasing numbers of Linux programs which look and function in very similar ways to their Windows equivalents. Call it ‘cloning’, call it ‘reverse engineering’, but however you describe it, the fact is that an ordinary Excel user could happily work for a week in a Linux application like OpenOffice Calc without even noticing the difference and PowerPoint users will find the same to be true of OpenOffice Impress.

Wine (WINdows Emulator) is a free program designed to run Windows programs without Windows. (For the technically-minded, Wine is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API). It doesn’t work for all programs, but development is ongoing, with new releases each month, and new applications being catered for all the time. The most recent version of Wine can be downloaded from www.winehq.org. It may already be included in your Linux default repositories; check your Add / Remove Applications menu.

Once Wine is installed you should be able to copy executable Windows installation files on to your Linux system and run them with a double-click, or activate them directly from a CD. Wine adds a new item to the Applications menu, and when your Windows programs run they will be able to access the whole of your Linux file system in the same way Linux applications can.

A Windows game runs under Ubuntu via Wine

CrossOver is a commercial version of Wine developed and maintained by the CodeWeavers corporation. It is targeted at specific Windows programs – notably most versions of Microsoft Office – which Wine will not always run. As well as a couple of Linux versions for different distros, CrossOver is also available for the Apple Macintosh. A games version tweaked for graphics is also available.

The full version of CrossOver can be downloaded and trialled for seven days without payment. The Standard versions of each package can be registered for US $39.95 and a Pro version for enterprise installations is US $69.95. You can download CrossOver from www.codeweavers.com.

Publisher XP runs under Ubuntu - thanks to CrossOver