Linux is famed for providing an almost unlimited supply of free and open-source software, and many Linux advocates will try to have you believe that you can simply throw out your Windows software collection and migrate to Linux.  Yet this view remains somewhat optimistic.  Whatever your view about Microsoft and the Windows product, the massive range of high quality software available for the platform is undeniable.  The thought of losing access to this is enough to prevent most people from migrating to Linux - despite the attractive claims about its low cost and wonderful stability.  The range of commercial software available for Linux is unlikely to improve significantly until the user base grows: and the user base is unlikely to grow significantly until the range of software available in the stores increases.  A vicious circle you might think.  Perhaps not for much longer...

In this article, the fourth in our series on using a Shuttle XPC and Red Hat Linux as an alternative to a beige tower and Windows, we’ll be taking a look at two commercial offerings for Linux that allow you to run Windows applications directly under Linux without needing to dual-boot.

The first of these products is from NeTraverse and is called Win4Lin.  It is designed to allow you to install and run Windows 9x as yet another X-application under Linux.  Windows sits within its own window on the Linux desktop and runs all the usual Windows software directly - at the full speed of the machine.

The second of these products is actually a pair of products from CodeWeavers called CrossOver Office and CrossOver Plugin.  These products are based on the open-source  WINE project and aim to bring native support for specific Windows office applications and browser plug-ins.  Unlike Win4Lin, this approach doesn’t require Windows to be installed, saving disk space and licensing concerns, as the applications run directly under Linux.

Both projects are extremely ambitious and it will be interesting to see how they  perform.  They have the potential to unlock the power of Linux to a massive number of computer-savvy Windows users looking for a way to migrate away from Microsoft’s increasingly intrusive vision of home computing.  But will they perform?  Read on to find out.

If you are new to Sudhian Media, then you may wish to first read Part I, Part II and PartIII of the series.  Part I addressed the installation of Linux, configuring your sound, graphics and network, email client and instant messenger.  Part II went a little further, looking at mounting a Windows disk under Linux, compiling a new kernel, playing CD’s and MP3 files and watching DVD’s and other digital movie formats.  Part III looked at backups, CD burning and document scanning.

Encyclopedias and Adobe Products

Encyclopædia Britannica

Microsoft Windows is blessed with some great multimedia encyclopædia applications, and unfortunately these tend not to have been ported for the Linux.  This is a great shame given that most of them are ultimately based on html and other web standards.  Particularly for families with children at school, and for students, this is quite a serious limitation.  I decided to try out Encyclopædia Brittanica 1999 Multimedia Edition and see if this worked (unfortunately I don't have a later version to try!).  Installing Britannica included an installation of Apple's Quicktime player, and this worked fine.  Again installation of Britannica and downloading the upgrade happened flawlessly and the application worked as expected.  More success and another screenshot for you.

Encyclopædia Britannica 1999 under Windows Me under Linux

Adobe Photoshop 6.01 under Windows Me under Linux

Unlike Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier (the video editing software) will not work under Win4Lin. Although it installs without difficulty, don't expect it to work correctly.  Adobe Premier requires direct access to your video camera or video capture card, which isn't supported under Win4Lin.  Secondly, even if you simply wish to use Premier to edit pre-captured AVI files, then you'll still hit problems, as Premier uses DirectX to output the video to the screen.  Again, DirectX is not currently supported under Win4Lin (which is why most games won't run under Win4Lin either) and so use of Premier is really a non-starter.

Adobe Acrobat

Although the free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available from Adobe in a Linux version, I am not aware of any applications to write pdf files under Linux.  It is therefore useful for many people to be able to run Adobe Acrobat under Linux.  I tested Win4Lin with Adobe Acrobat 5.05 and had no difficulty using all the features of Adobe Acrobat, including the use of its integration with Microsoft Office, allowing me to create PDF documents directly from Office documents.  In the example below I created a PDF document using the integrated Adobe Acrobat option in Microsoft Excel, and then opened the resulting PDF file to read.

Adobe Acrobat 5.05 under Windows Me under Linux

• Installation of CrossOver Office (0 of 23)
• Using Win4Lin (0 of 23)
• Windows under Linux Conclusions (0 of 23)
• IE 5.5 and Outlook under CrossOver (0 of 23)
• Win4Lin Conclusions (0 of 23)
• Win4Lin Installation (0 of 23)
• Other plugins (0 of 23)
• Word and Excel under CrossOver (0 of 23)
• Encyclopedias and Adobe Products (0 of 23)
• QuickTime and Media Player (0 of 23)
• Installing Office 2000 under CrossOver (0 of 23)
• Testing Win4Lin (0 of 23)
• CrossOver Office Conclusions (0 of 23)
• CodeWeavers CrossOver Products (0 of 23)
• Installing Microsoft Windows on Linux (0 of 23)
• CrossOver Plugin Conclusions (0 of 23)
• PowerPoint and Visio under CrossOver (0 of 23)
• RealOne, Trillian and Education (0 of 23)
• Win4Lin Description (0 of 23)
• Macromedia Authorware & Shockwave (0 of 23)
• Installing the other applications (0 of 23)
• Office XP and Money 2002 (0 of 23)
• CrossOver Plugin (0 of 23)