Bordeaux 1.8.0 for Linux review

Introduction

Bordeaux is a Wine GUI configuration manager that runs winelib applications. It also supports installation of third party utilities, installation of applications and games, and the ability to use custom configurations. Bordeaux is written in GTK and requires GTK 2.10 or higher to be installed on a given system. Bordeaux also uses wget and cabextract extensively and they should be installed for Bordeaux to operate correctly.

Getting Bordeuax 1.8.0

Bordeaux is a commercial product which is currently available only as a download and cost from ($20.00) to ($25.00) depending on your architecture A DVD version is planned for the 2.x release and will cost a little extra for the media.

Their is no free demo of Bordeaux available at this time, this will also change with the 2.x release but instead of a time restricted demo Bordeaux 2.x will have a free non restricted limited version that will install a couple standard applications and let the user get a feel for the application. Then if they choose they can purchase the full version and have access to all the supported applications and support.

Installing Bordeaux 1.8.0

• Their is a .sh installer for Linux, Free-BSD and Solaris
• Their is also .deb and .rpm packages for Linux
• Their is a .pbi package for PC-BSD
• Their is a .dmg package in a tar.gz for Mac

To install Bordeaux I became root and used the following command:

dpkg -i bordeaux-linux.x86.deb

Supported Platforms

Bordeaux 1.8.0 is built for Linux, BSD, Solaris and a Mac beta is currently available. The product has been tested on:

• Ubuntu 8.04 and higher, Fedora, OpenSuse, Mandrake, and Gentoo
• FreeBSD 7.1, 7.2
• PC-BSD 7.1
• Opensolaris 2008.11, 2009.06
• Mac OSX 10.5.7 and higher

Bordeuax should run on all current Linux distributions

Supported Software

Bordeaux 1.8.0 currently supports

• Microsoft Office 2007
• Microsoft Office 2003
• Microsoft Office 2000
• Microsoft Office 97
• Microsoft Office Visio 2003
• Microsoft Office Project 2003
• Adobe Photoshop 6
• Adobe Image Ready 3
• Adobe Photoshop 7
• Adobe Image Ready 7
• Adobe Photoshop CS
• Adobe Photoshop CS2
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6
• Steam and Steam based Games

Please note Office 2007 isn't supported on Solaris at this time.

Installing Software with Bordeaux

For this review I have installed three applications that I have that Bordeaux supports. IE 6 which is a free download, Adobe (PhotoShop 7) I know its a little behind the times but it's the latest version I own. And I also have Microsoft Office 2007.

To install a application in Bordeaux just go to your Applications menu then Bordeaux and select "Install Windows Applications" and Bordeaux will start up.

Once Bordeaux is running just double click on Application you want to install and their scripts will install any needed libraries for you.

The install of IE 6 is simple, I just started Bordeaux and double clicked IE 6 and the install proceeded without and problems. All I had to do was follow the install and answer a couple installation related questions.


PhotoShop 7 was just as easy as IE 6, I just double clicked PhotoShop 7 and the install started. After Bordeaux installed some needed libraries a dialog came up and ask me to browse to the install media. I then browsed to my PhotoShop 7 CD and and selected setup.exe and the install proceeded. After the install completed I had short cuts for PhotoShop 7 and Image Ready 7 in my Applications menu under Wine > Programs.

To run PhotoShop 7 all I had to do was go to Applications > Wine and click on the shortcut and PhotoShop started up and ran as expected.


Microsoft Office 2007 installation goes just like IE 6 and PhotShop 7 just double click the field in Bordeaux and the install starts and runs with any problems. The main difference in the install is when the install reaches about 75% it seems to slow down, I can see that its still working in the background and after about a 10 minute wait the install successfully completed.

Shortcuts for Office 2007 were also added under Applications > Wine > Programs Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2007 are supported and run at virtually native windows speed on my Ubuntu system. With the limited testing ive done so far the only problem ive ran into is sometimes the equation editor doesn't display fonts as expected, other then that everything has worked as expected.

The Sims 3 with PlayOnLinux

The Sims 3 runs fairly well with WINE. My test rig (E6550, 8800 GTS, 2 GB RAM) performs good on medium-high settings.

Since the installation process can be quite hard with Vanilla WINE, a PlayOnLinux script has been created by NSLW, that makes the installation very easy. I thought I just create a short guide on how to install The Sims 3 with PlayOnLinux.

First of all, you need the latest PlayOnLinux. Go to PlayOnLinux downloads and download the latest version. Install PlayOnLinux and start it from the start menu or with the command 'playonlinux'. Select 'Install' -> 'Games' -> 'The Sims 3' and follow the installation script.

The script will install some dependencies and the game and you will then be prompted to enter your graphics card Video RAM size.

Since the copy protection doesn't work with WINE, you'll have to download a NO-CD patch and replace the original files with the cracked ones. You will find the fake Windows folder in /home/USERNAME/.PlayOnLinux/wineprefix/TheSims3/drive_c/. I will of course not provide you with any information on where to get these files.

Here is a gameplay video:

CrossOver Linux 8.0.0 review

CodeWeavers has released the latest version of its CrossOver software for Mac and Linux users. If you want to try working without Windows but can't live without a must-have Windows app, CrossOver just might be the answer.

CodeWeavers CrossOver is a commercial product based on the open-source Wine project. Wine emulates key Windows software libraries, allowing Linux or Mac users to run Windows applications. And unlike virtualization tools like VMware or Parallels, Wine doesn't require users to install a licensed copy of Windows to get started.

(You will, of course, need access to the Windows software you want to run, including, if necessary, a paid-up license or activation code.)

CrossOver 8.0 adds support for several applications, including Quicken 2009, Internet Explorer 7, and Adobe Photoshop CS2. According to Codeweavers, it also offers improved support for Microsoft Office 2003/2007, Outlook 2000, and Adobe FrameMaker, among others titles.
Why pay for CrossOver 8.0 instead of using Wine free of charge? One word: support. The CrossOver Standard and Pro versions (which sell for $39.95 and $69.95) include six and 12 months of paid support, respectively. The Pro version offers some other benefits, including multi-seat deployment tools and physical software media.

Bear in mind that CrossOver, like Wine, allows users to install and run -- or try to run -- almost any Windows software. CodeWeavers maintains a substantial database of Windows applications that lists their current level of functionality under CrossOver. The company limits its formal technical support, however, to a shorter list of about 130 Windows apps, including business productivity tools, graphics software, Web design and development apps, and even Windows system software such as DirectX (a required component for users who run Windows games).

So, is CrossOver an effective business software tool? The answer is yes -- sometimes. And when it does work, it can save users quite a bit or money.

Let me elaborate a bit on that answer. CodeWeavers, and the Wind developer community in general, have tackled an enormous project here. The approach they have chosen to run Windows software is complex and fiendishly difficult. As a result, some software titles -- including those on the CodeWeavers formal support list -- run better than others.

My own experience, for example, suggests that Microsoft Office runs very well on Linux systems. Adobe Photoshop CS2 also runs smoothly for me on Ubuntu Linux, although users running newer versions of Photoshop may be out of luck.

Internet Explorer, in my opinion, is less reliable running under CrossOver. (But then again, how many non-developers will even care about running IE on Linux or Mac systems?)
Other reviewers tend to see the same inconsistencies. And I can't comment on some key applications, such as Quicken, since I don't own a copy and have never tried it on CrossOver Linux.
Besides raising the support bar with each new CrossOver release, CodeWeavers offers another way to work around these issues: A very liberal software trial policy. Anyone can download a fully-functional version of CrossOver 8.0 and use it for 30 days. That's more than enough time to try out the Windows applications you want to run and check for any hidden glitches or performance issues.
As a result, I think CrossOver is a valuable tool for some -- but not all -- business users. Those most likely to benefit from CrossOver have particular requirements:

-- A company wants to move some of its users to Linux or Mac systems, but those users rely heavily on one or two key Windows apps.
-- Users either cannot or will not use alternative software that runs natively on a Mac or Linux system.
-- Performance and/or licensing issues make virtualization tools an unattractive option.
-- A company is prepared to trade off the time required to test CrossOver under real-world conditions in return for the prospect of saving quite a bit more in future Windows licensing fees.
Conversely, companies running Windows apps with a reputation for spotty CrossOver support, or those looking to move a substantial number of users relying on multiple Windows apps, are less likely to get satisfactory results.

CrossOver obviously isn't a silver bullet for companies that want to give up Windows without giving up key Windows apps. It is, however, one option in a range of solutions that include running virtualization tools, moving to a mixture of Windows and Linux desktop systems, adopting dual-boot setups, and seeking out Linux-based alternatives to existing Windows software.

CrossOver Mac 8.0.0 review

Before we go any further, we'd like to make something perfectly clear. We really like the idea behind CodeWeavers CrossOver Mac Professional, which is the ability to run Windows applications on a Mac without having to install Windows itself.

Instead of using a Boot Camp partition or a virtual machine in Fusion or Parallels Desktop, CrossOver utilises the WINE compatibility layer so you can install Windows apps to your Mac's hard drive and run them within OS X as if they were native Mac apps.

Compatibility issues
It's a great idea, in theory at least, but unforutnately it doesn't work particularly well in practice. In fact, we would go as far as saying that CrossOver is one of the most frustrating experiences we've had on a Mac. The main problem with the program is compatibility – or rather the lack thereof.
To be fair, CodeWeavers is up-front about this on the CrossOver website, providing compatibility lists (albeit ones lacking a real 'standard', seemingly relying on user submissions for an application's status), but it's nonetheless disheartening when you boot CrossOver for the first time and see the tiny list of supported applications, most of which are out of date (for example, CrossOver supports Internet Explorer 6, but not 7 or 8).

POT LUCK: Installation is incredibly straightforward for fully supported apps, but hit-and-miss for everything else.

There is some good news, though. For those few applications which are supported, CrossOver isn't half bad. We installed Office 2003, and the process was painless – CrossOver recognised the installer, downloaded some fonts, and once the suite was launched it generally worked fine, even printing to our Mac's printer.

There were bugs here and there, such as Word complaining when we tried to download online templates, but for general use we didn't find any major deal-breakers.
Additionally, instances of Windows apps behaved in Exposé, and the Mac's file system was accessible from dialog boxes. Also, CrossOver didn't tax our test Mac, co-existing nicely with other open applications.

Elsewhere, though, CrossOver is the install equivalent of Russian roulette. During testing, we tried a slew of applications (and a handful of games in CrossOver Games, which is free with CrossOver Mac Professional). Many of these apps refused to install, some toyed with us before locking up halfway, and others seemingly installed fine but then refused to boot, or launched but were largely unusable, such as Paint Shop Pro.

Ultimately, CrossOver Mac Professional is a product with stiff competition, and it really only has two weapons: a low price and its 'Mac only' stance. But even the latter of those things is misleading. Although you're never mired in Windows, CrossOver's install process can still be complex, and when things go wrong, you're left flailing.

More importantly, the app is often less Mac-friendly than its rivals. For example, you can't redefine modifier shortcuts, nor can you drag-and-drop content between Mac and Windows apps.

Putty for Mac

$15.00