Thinking that maybe Paint Shop Pro 8 is too new and includes some feature that Wine doesn't yet support, I try the CD version of Paint Shop Pro 7 -- but the results are similar. The Wine application support site offers instructions to get PSP7 running. Unfortunately, they're for a specific edition of PSP7. The workarounds to get PSP7 running under Wine basically involve installing it on a Windows machine and then copying the entire installation along with the related registry keys over to the Linux machine. When I try this, the Wine version of Regedit crashes each time I attempt to import the registry keys that PSP7 needs.
Software that does work
The Wine Web site includes a couple of lists of software that works with little or no tweaking. These applications include PuTTY, mIRC, WS-FTP LE, Acrobat Reader 5.05, WinZip, WinAmp, and SnagIt. Although I respect the work that has been done to get Wine where it is, I'm not sure that these Windows applications are all that useful under Linux, since it already has native utilities that will do the same things. It's not like running OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, where differences in functionality could confuse users. I much prefer native utilities, and I think most people would want to use Wine to run Windows applications that don't have an equivalent program on Linux.
What I learned
Would I use Wine in a production environment? The answer, unfortunately, is no. Despite my respect for the project effort, in a production environment where users are pounding away at machines and trying to meet deadlines, the house of cards that is built with Wine alone might create serious support issues for the IT department -- as well as productivity problems for users. Sure, an application might be able to run after some tweaking and creative thinking, but troubleshooting a software problem would be much more difficult due to all of the added factors involved. In addition, to get certain applications running, you need to find DLLs (on older Windows CDs or on Web sites that house them) and copy them to appropriate locations on the Wine machine.
I would rather run CrossOver Office 2 by CodeWeavers (the primary corporate backer of the open source Wine Project), which nicely supports a number of common and useful Windows programs such as Microsoft Office 2000. (It's also been reported that Paint Shop Pro 8 installs flawlessly under CrossOver Office 2.) I don't see programs such as mIRC and WS-FTP LE -- which Wine supports nicely -- being all that useful for businesses.
Wine seems to be a good starting point for users who want to make the break from Windows to Linux and who don't mind experimenting. But companies that want to run Linux desktops and still need to access several Windows applications may be better served by running CrossOver Office.
Talkback
Nice but your review is neither complete nor correct. Anything that can be run on Crossover Office can be run on Wine. Although with WINE you do need the technical insight to manually configure and enhance certain features. Comparing WINE to Crossover is akin to comparing Redhat 9 to the Linux Kernel. You can't make the comparison because one is not in competition with another. Rather, one (the linux kernel & WINE) is the respective basis for the others very existence (i.e. Redhat needs the Linux kernel and CrossOver requires the WINE API). So while I think it's cool you're keeping WINE in the public eye via this article I feel your article serves no purpose then to repeat what is already known.
That is CrossOver is an extension to WINE that allows people to more easily configure and run Windows apps on Linux. A more complete end-user package for the WINE API. However, with that being said it is kind of moronic to compare the two products. Another analogy can be made with Windows itself. Your comparison is akin to comparing Windows NT with the NT Command Console (CMD.EXE). As if one could even survive without the other.
Talking about Wine and Codeweavers to run Windows on Linux without mentioning the more popular and practical Win4Lin is like telling people that if they want to cross the river they need to build their own raft - each time they want to cross - without mentioning that there is a ferry right next door. Sure you have to have a Windows license - but what is REALLY free these days, or in other words, you get what you pay for. The Windows environment, running as a Linux process, gives you the fidelity of user experiece together with the greatest number or commercial and custom applications. And, most users, by denifition of being in transition, already have the Windows license so it is really a matter of being practical - accepting that you will need to use your Windows applications a little longer while you develop solid open source alternatives and operational experience - or being idealistic, and ultimately doomed, by insisting on cold-turkey conversions where you are sure to encounter user resistance and loss of productivity.
Yeah, Wine is noble and open-source and everyone's favorite pet project - but it is hopelessly flawed - the complexity matrix is too daunting. If you want to do the Linux community a service and further Linux on the desktop, you will encourage readers to make the transition in the most pain-free and productive manner possible - by using Win4Lin as a bridge for legacy Windows applications.
I knew from the first line that this was going to be no more then pissing and moaning that windows apps won't run under linux.
Well guess what brain-boy... THEY'RE WINDOWS APPS.
They weren't designed to run under linux. The fact that you even have the oppurtunity to _attempt_ to run them is a priviledge you should be thankful to the Wine developers for. Quit your bitchin'.
err... CrossOver Ofiifce IS Wine. It's just a commercial version with a easy front end.
Rather incomplete. It is true that just downloading and installing from the Wine project is not an undaunting project; however, there is a free version of Codeweavers Wine (no, it's not the tweaked commercial version that runs Office so well), that does run numerous Windows programs reasonably. Tweaking that installation is much easier than the base Wine installation in the article. I've run several heavy-duty commercial apps with that.
What's with all this running Windows apps under Linux stuff? I was looking forward to finding out what kind of wine would complement a session of BZFlag on my Mandrake Linux box.
Umm, crossover office uses wine. All codeweavers crossover applications are just nicely packaged wine.
The real benefit of wine (and even better, wineX) is games. Neither VMware nor Win4Lin have Direct3D support. WineX rocks for games, Pretty much any game that anyone really wants to play runs at or near full speed under wineX and it's all for a very very low monthly subscription fee. If you want commercial apps for a specific reason you shouldn't be messing around with emulators and compatibility, you should be using the real thing. Games on the other hand...
I got to page two of the article then gave up.
I have recently looked at Linux as an alternative to Windows for myself and clients.
Great it runs faster and there is lots of good quality software available at little or no cost.
Big But - To install software I want to simply double click on an icon, pretend to read the licence agreement then wait for the "finished" button to apear.
Until Linux is truely ready for the lazy user like me (and most of the world) I guese I will be stuck with Windows and the excelent freeware applications that I use.
The Wine developers seem to agree with the review;
see http://www.winehq.org/hypermail/wine-devel/2003/10/0236.html
"Think this is a fair summary of the current state of things. We really
need to fix InstallShield problems before we go to 0.9, so that people
can just install the apps that work."
CrossOver is a good way to run a few apps very cleanly. It fixes the problems in Wine
just well enough that the apps it supports run
well. The fixes in CrossOver usually find their
way into the main version of Wine if they're
suitable for general use. Everybody wins with
this arrangement. Hats off to Codeweavers for
finding a workable business model for
driving Wine development!
I generally don't know why people get so aggressive about this review: Well, for most- it's true, the end-user, not usually wanting or having advanced knowledge of linux (hence author) will not want to extensively configure, add, remove lines, use commandline etc. etc.
There was time I was cursing wine, because my windoze apps didn't work. Now I don't, but I'm more geek, than newbie...
Don't blame the author for recommending CrossOver, for my friends I would do so, since I know they're used to Windoze click'n'run attitude...
Rambo
although i understand the problems the author had, he should have looked a little more into wine.
I'm using wine in a production environment, as i'm progammer under navision native database.
I experienced no problems so far, although some applications refuse to work with wine (such as Groupwise). Nevertheless i can recommend wine for linux-users, if they really need to use windows applications in linux. But i'm sure if a linux user is looking for a program similar to what he's used in windows he will find. Keep in mind that openoffice is a substitute for microsoft office, even i know that microsoft office is running in wine.
Of course not! Abondon such stupid projects and use the energy to create working drivers and programs under Linux in stead. How far will will these "Winers" go? Untill we got blue screens under Linux? What's the idea of running Windows programs under Linux while these works best under Windows anyway? Linux can (or should be able to) make one forget Windows all together. If not, we're betting on the wrong horse.
Just my few worthless cents.