CodeWeavers CrossOver Android Preview to be released today

FINALLY!!!! We have arrived at the cusp of Androidism. It’s taken us two years, nine months, two weeks, and a day to get to this point in the process. At by this time tomorrow, CodeWeavers will release the Tech Preview of CrossOver Android to the select users who signed up for initial access. Over the past two years, nine months, two weeks and a day, the product has changed and changed and changed again all in the hopes of somehow being useful on Android devices.

Think about this…When this development started, there were few, if any, Intel based phones. When this development started, there were no Intel based tablets. There was no X86 Android project. There were no Intel based laptops or clamshells. Our development team essentially built a solution for a problem that could not be solved or fixed. At best, they were building a hypothetical solution to prove that it could be possible to run Windows based applications on an Intel Android device. It’s like Henry Ford building a car for a population that didn’t have roads; or Thomas Edison creating a light bulb for a population that didn’t have electricity. And yet, here we are…

Allow me to clearly state that like the first Model T’s and the very first light bulbs, CrossOver Android is far from perfect. It will run a very limited number of Windows applications (some because they just aren’t supported yet on Android and some because Android doesn’t / won’t support them at this time). The former implies that our support isn’t good enough, yet. The latter implies that Android does not have some key components, like OpenGL, to run some Windows applications. AND there is a point to make that some devices just doesn’t have the RAM, disk space, or processing power necessary to run a Windows application. And some devices, like phones, just don’t have the physical screen necessary to make running a Windows application all that appealing. Needless to say, your ‘mileage’ as to how useful CrossOver Android will be come tomorrow will vary.

So what do you NEED to know to make the CrossOver Android Tech Preview as useful as possible for you at this time?

First, you need to confirm that you have an Intel based device. The CrossOver Android Tech Preview will not run on an ARM device. It will not run on an ARM device. It will not run on an ARM device. Understand, I’d give an eye tooth for CrossOver Android to run on an ARM device because, let’s face it, that’ roughly 90% of the market today. Unfortunately, our tech just isn’t built that way. We hope to have ARM Android support sometime next year, but it's far off on our technology roadmap.

Second, you need to know where to find CrossOver Android. The .apk will be available on the Google Play Store. You will need to have provided us your Gmail address (the same one you use for the Google Play Store) to be added to the Technology Preview. We will then e-mail you a link tomorrow so that can ‘opt in’ to our Beta. We think that it's best for us to present CrossOver Android in the Google Play Store and most convenient for our end users.

Next, you need to know how to best install it on your Chromebook. We have an awesome tutorial on exactly what you need to do to get this to work on a Chromebook. Get the CrossOver Android on Chromebook Tutorial Here. Note that on a Chromebook that process takes approximately an hour to complete (this includes the time required to put your Chromebook in Developer Mode). On an Intel Android device, the process is much quicker.

Additionally, you can find out more about CrossOver Android on our CrossOver Android Webpage.

Finally, you need to have an open mind. The first Model T didn’t race down the highway at 100 MPH. The first light bulb didn’t last for 2000 hours before burning out. CrossOver Android is a Tech Preview. It does some very cool things. It does run Steam. It does run Office 2010. It does run Wizard101. It does not run EVERY WINDOWS APPLICATION KNOWN TO MAN.

So be patient with us. We ARE committed to making the software better and better and better with each passing release. And maybe someday, CrossOver Android will race down a highway at 100 MPH. Who knows??? When we first started development, we didn’t even have a target device in mind (and look at where we are today!!!). When we move from Tech Preview to possibly an Alpha and then straight to a Beta and then to Release Candidate and then to version 1.0, who knows what we’ll be capable of doing? Heck this Androidism thing might just be the start of a technology revolution. We may all be on the front lines of the NEXT BIG THING. (I should probably trademark Androidism now while I have the chance).

Run Microsoft Windows Applications and Games on Mac, Linux or ChromeOS save up to 20% off  CodeWeavers CrossOver+ today.

Interview CodeWeavers President Discusses Porting Windows Apps to Chromebooks

After becoming the first company to show Windows apps running on a Chromebook, CodeWeavers' James Ramey tells WinBuzzer how CrossOver for Android will work. He also talks about the need for Windows apps across platforms and the hardware restrictions of Chromebooks.

 Last week I had the chance to sit down with James Ramey, President of CodeWeavers. The company’s CrossOver technology has been porting Windows applications to Linux and Mac for nearly two decades. Recently the company became the first to bridge Windows apps to a Chromebook, using CrossOver for Android.

During a wide-ranging discussion, Ramey talked about how CrossOver for Android overcomes the hardware restrictions on Chromebooks. He also had plenty to say about how Google’s computing platform has plenty of room to grow.

Nevertheless, Ramey believes that there will always be a need for Windows applications, but is unsure on Microsoft’s plans with cross-platform openness.

You’ve been porting Windows applications to Linux for nearly two decades and Mac since 2006. What were the differences or challenges in porting to Chromebook’s compared to those other platforms?

“Chromebooks are a more sandboxed environment than either the Linux or Mac platforms, so there are more restrictions in regards to applications like CodeWeavers (CrossOver). Not restrictions from the standpoint of just not wanting Windows applications, but restrictions in how applications run in general. A lot of times our applications link back to data and information. We run things on the fly, and sometimes that isn’t conducive in the Chromium environment.

There are some challenges there in how the applications run. Additionally there are other limitations. We are dealing with Open GL ES over Open GL, so there are different libraries to transfer for as opposed to platforms such as Linux or Mac.

From a hardware standpoint there are other challenges. Chromebooks in the past have not had the processor, RAM, and hard drive space you would hope to have in a PC. There are some challenges working with hardware constraints, not necessarily for our technology, but regarding the support of Windows technology.

Microsoft Windows based applications have this expectation to have almost unlimited RAM, of vast hard drives, and incredible processing power. If all those conditions aren’t met then you have some instability, you have some performance degradation that you work through. That’s where we have to compensate and find ways to make things run better with restricted resources.”

Run Microsoft Windows Applications and Games on Mac, Linux or ChromeOS save up to 20% off  CodeWeavers CrossOver+ today.

CodeWeavers CrossOver for Android and Chromebooks beta to soon be released

James Ramey the president of CodeWeavers posted on his personal Facebook account earlier that a beta version of CrossOver Android could be released as soon as Monday August 1st 2016. CodeWeavers has been working on their Android and now Chromebook version of CrossOver for over a year now. The long wait is about over folks, if you ever dreamed of running Microsoft Windows Games or productivity application on your Android device it will soon be possible.

James also posted earlier in the week on his blog about CrossOver running on Android.

Sometimes, you find yourself staring at something you could never have imagined being possible based on its humble beginnings. The Wright Brothers pilot the airplane for 12 seconds; then, Neil Armstrong lands on the moon. The first microcomputer kit is made available in 1975; then, 120 million computers are sold in the world so far THIS YEAR! The Patterson–Gimlin video captures Big Foot on film in 1967; then, Big Foot stars in a series of beef jerky commercials. No one could ever have predicted that these initial events would lead into much bigger and better things. …

In 1996, CodeWeavers was started with the single goal of making Windows based applications run on Linux computers. It was the simple, honest, and noble goal of our founder, Jeremy White. In 1996, the technology pundits were convinced that Linux was set to take over the world. The only outstanding obstacle for the Linux platform was running Microsoft Office software. Hence, CrossOver was born (maybe more or less hatched). In 1996, there were no smart phones, no tablets, no Android, no Google, no Pokémon Go. There was no indication that computers would be more mobile, more connected, or more compact. And yet, here we are today.

So where is ‘here’, you ask? TODAY, Google released Android for Intel based ChromeBooks. AND CrossOver for Android installed and ran on a Google ChromeBook. More importantly, we were able to install the Steam Client into CrossOver for Android and run LIMBO and other games. MORE IMPORTANTLY, we have DirectX 9 support, keyboard support, mouse support, and sound support TODAY!!! PEOPLE, we are staring at a Leprechaun riding on the back of a Unicorn while taking a picture of a UFO. We are running CrossOver through Android on a ChromeBook running a Windows based game launched from the Steam client. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE…EVER!!!

There will be more testing. There will inevitably be some cleanup work to do. There will be . BUT… CrossOver for Android is working and real and supporting the Steam Client and able to launch games and is actually playable. From our most humble beginnings, I don’t think anyone, Jeremy White included, ever dreamed that CrossOver would be able to run on ChromeBooks. And yet, here we are with people flying planes, people landing on the moon, and Big Foot. I’d say that’s pretty rare company for a small software developer from Minnesota.

Run Microsoft Windows Applications and Games on Mac, Linux or ChromeOS save up to 20% off  CodeWeavers CrossOver+ today.