CrossOver 9.0 Linux Review A finely packaged Wine

Introduction to Wine and CrossOver

One of the most commonly cited causes for the dual-boot syndrome is the lack of availability of for the Linux OS. Open source developers have been hard at work bringing Linux applications to Windows, however getting Windows applications on Linux is a far harder task. Since a large number of Windows application are not open source, Linux developers are helpless in porting them to their favorite platform.

Linux's acceptance as a viable desktop OS, is then reliant on the availability of key application for it, and companies won’t be willing to port their applications to Linux till until enough people adopt a Linux desktop. This is the reason why it is easier to find applications such as MATLAB, Pro/Engineer, and Maya for Linux, as they users of such software have a larger presence on Linux.
If you are familiar with Linux, you will most probably be aware of Wine (a recursive acronym for WINE Is Not an Emulator), the non-emulator which allows you to run Windows application on Linux. Wine is not an emulator, it instead simply adds the ability to run Windows applications -- albeit partially -- to Linux, by implementing the Windows API for Linux. CrossOver by Codeweavers is a commercial supported version of Wine that allows running of Windows application on Linux or Macintosh. Best of all, Codeweavers, the company behind CrossOver, contributes back to the Wine project.
CrossOver Linux provides many advantages over Wine, which we shall cover in this review, and they make it worthy investment. If you have ever used Wine and found it worthy of your support, one way would be to buy a license for CrossOver, which will give you a brilliant product in addition to the satisfaction of contributing to the Wine project.

CrossOver As a GUI for Wine

Over the years, Wine has improved in performance and compatibility, and while getting an application to run is still a hit and miss affair, Wine is not stable enough that one can consider doing serious work on an application if it is supported. However, for many people getting an unsupported windows application to run with Wine is a daunting task, one that may require some amount of hacking. Not somethin, a new Linux user will find very alluring.
Here CrossOver solves the problem in two ways, firstly, it run a greater number of the applications that are popular, and secondly, it makes it simpler to run application which are not supported out of the box.
Many application expect certain libraries and dlls to be present on your system, which may be reasonable expectations from a Windows system, but might be absent in Wine / CrossOver. Installing Microsoft Office 2007 using Wine, for example, requires the presence of many original Windows dlls and fonts for which you need to install a number of runtime packages and libraries. None of this is obvious, and installing this manually would require some research and patience.
CrossOver on the other hand comes with a wizard interface that guides you through installing your copy of Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Quicktime, etc, from its installation CD or file. It even ensures that any files required to run that particular Windows application are installed, and if not, it downloads and installs them for you.

The list of officially supported applications is still rather limited, and contains only some of the most requested, and popular applications, however this time around, with CrossOver 9.0 Codeweavers have taken advantage of their large community of users, who are willing to experiment and hack up "recipes" for installing unsupported applications. As more users try out applications and submit the tricks needed to make them work, the application will be able to guide users through installing a growing number of applications without needing to have any knowledge of what goes on in the background.

Bottling

Now comes a feature of Codeweavers CrossOver that even Windows doesn't have: Bottles.
Windows is a fragile mess of dll dependencies, and Wine / CrossOver is an attempt to "emulate" that mess. Since we are running application in their non-native environment, and one that they are not aware of, we have to be more accomodating.

Installing an application might result in breaking other applications, and often we may be faced with scenarios where it is necessary to run multiple versions of the same application (such as Internet Explorer) on your computer. For this CrossOver has a feature called Bottles.

A Bottle is essentially a virtual Windows environment in which applications can be installed. With CrossOver, you can create multiple bottles running different versions of Windows from Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Think of this like the compatibility mode setting available in Windows, which allows running of applications designed for older versions of Windows. You can specify which version of Windows CrossOver will mimic while running your application.

Bottles are an important feature of CrossOver

By default when you are installing applications using the CrossOver Software Installer, it will create a new bottle for every new application that is installed; however you can manually override the bottle that should be used.
What this means is, that you can have Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 all installed on the same computer, and run them at the same time! Since they will be in different bottles they will not be aware of each other’s existence. In fact, you can have multiple copies of a bottle so you could test the application under different conditions. For instance, you can have one bottle with Flash 10 installed and another with Flash 10.1 installed.

It is possible to have the same functionality in Wine, however doing so is not as simple. With Wine using "bottles" (or "prefixes" as they are known for Wine) requires constant fuddling around with the command line, and are less powerful and flexible. Although GUI tools such as Q4Wine do exist to simplify the task.

You might wonder what the benefit of this might be -- why the hell would someone want to install Internet Explorer, (especially Internet Explorer 6) on a perfectly good Linux machine. The fact is, this might not be matter of "want" but of "need". For someone who is a web developer, running Linux, it is surely annoying to need to reboot your computer, or install Windows in a Virtual Machine every time you need to test how a website works for those using Internet Explorer on Windows. Not only is it time consuming to do so, it requires that you obtain a Windows License. While Microsoft does provide copies of VMs with different version of IE installed, they are time limited versions and not exactly friendly to install in Linux.

Bottles allow you to isolate changes very well, so if anything goes wrong, you can always delete the bottle and start again, without affecting applications installed in other bottles. You can open a bottle for testing and then delete it off once you are done.

Since CrossOver can be run from the command line and allows launching Windows exes by simply clicking on then, you need to set a default bottle which will be used in such instances. CrossOver has a rich collection of command line options, so for those who prefer that route the option is there.
A brilliant functionality CrossOver provides for bottles is that they can be packaged into a convenient archive which includes all the settings and installed applications. This is especially useful if you want to package all your bottles for reinstalling after a reformat, or moving to a different computer, for distributing an installed application to others, or simply for backup. An even better option for system administrators is available in the professional version of CrossOver which allows one to create a Linux rpm / deb package of the bottle applications! This way a system administrator can customize and configure a Windows application which doesn't run out-of-the-box, and simply distribute the rpm. Such rpms will be usable even with a Standard version of CrossOver, of course, as long as you have the requisite number of licenses for the application.

Another interesting option present in the professional version of CrossOver is the ability to have "managed bottles" which means that an application can be installed once by an admin, and shared with all users on the system, thereby saving space. This managed bottle can be used and modified by any user on the system while saving only the changes in their own accounts.

Integration

There is no doubt that using something like CrossOver or Wine will not give as stable and reliable performance as running the same application on a VM, however the kind of integration that one gets from running an application natively is something that VMs are only now inching towards.
Simple actions such as handling file associations, dragging dropping, copy paste are problematic when dealing with a VM. With Wine or CrossOver, this is not an issue, since both applications are running on the same system.
That said, there are bound to be problems in integration between Windows and Linux due to the differing paradigms. Linux file managers for example usually have a MIME-based system for file associations, while Windows uses file extensions.
Even so, CrossOver integrates well with the OS. Applications installed in the system neatly create icons in the KDE / Gnome menu under "Windows Applications" and on the desktop. Installed applications can handle file associations and can can handle drag drop and copy paste.
Windows applications launch when double clicked (if they are supported obviously), msi installers however, do not. CrossOver can install from msi files using the Software Installer though.

Extensibility with C4 XML profiles

One of the best features added in the 9th version of CrossOver Linux has to be the new C4 (Codeweavers CrossOver Compatibility Center) profiles feature. This allows third parties to write small XML scripts which can be used to install applications which are not officially supported by Codeweavers. These XML profile files can be used to install unsupported software using the Software Installer wizard interface. These XML files can be distributed as ".c4p" files and can use used with the Software Installer.

While creating such profiles can be a daunting task for an average computer user, community created profiles for popular applications means that you may find that a growing number of applications available for installation using the wizard. In fact some of the application which are unsupported in the release of CrossOver 9.0 have c4p profiles available via the Compatibility Center. One such example is Photoshop CS3.

The profile configuration system for CrossOver is advanced enough to support application dependencies, along with pre-install and post-install actions, and detecting the application installation CD to make the installation process as smooth for the end user.

An organization using CrossOver can take advantage of this features by providing employees profiles for commonly used application which are not supported in the Software Installer. While it is much simpler to just package the application in an archive or rpm / deb installer for distributing to end users, support for profiles is present in the standard version as well, unlike support for creating rpm / deb installers, any may be used to to much the same effect.

Currently though this only an alpha feature of the software and will display a warning when you try to install any application using profiles. The profiles available right now are also limited, and don't cover many applications, they are available as examples for third parties to create their own profiles.

CrossOver support

While it is difficult to rate and review the kind of support you get with a product, considering the complex nature of the product, and the fact that it will at its best can only accomplish a limited amount of what it has set out to do. It is nonetheless possible to enumerate the options available.
Since part of what you are paying for is software support, it is important to know how much you can get. With the wide array of applications available for Windows and the multitude of versions of each, and the stream of updates which follow, it is impossible for the people at Codeweavers to provide support for all. Don't expect Codeweavers to help you install that special Kundali software that only your local CyberCafewallah sells!

If you purchase CrossOver Standard, you are eligible to receive Level 3 support, which means you will get support "for installation issues or major show stopping issues" that you encounter while running or installing a supported applications if you are using one of their "tested distributions." The support expires after 6 months, during which you will also be eligible to receive any minor (v8 to v8.1) or major (v8 to v9) upgrades. There is no way to renew support once it expires, although you can simply repurchase the software.

Users of the Professional version, are eligible for Level 2 support. It is similar to Level 3 support, however Codeweavers will entertain problems you have while using the application on an unsupported distribution. Additionally, any Level 2 problems will eventually see a fix in a future version.

Level 1 support is the support level Codeweavers gives to customers who purchase a multi-user license for over 100 people.

Other than that, Codeweavers has a huge database of applications called Codeweavers CrossOver Compatibility Center (C4). It contains details information of how well applications intall and run on CrossOver along with information about bugs, tips and tricks for running / installing the applications, screenshots, and even forums for each applications.
Here registered members can also vote for which application they would like to see running on CrossOver, so that Codeweavers know how to prioritize fixes. They also maintain ranks of application based on how well they run, or voted, or pledges etc.

Pledges are another way of measuring the priority of an application. Pledges allow registered members to, in a way, put their money where their mouth is and declare how may licenses of CrossOver they will be willing to purchase, if the application they are pledging for is supported.
Overall, Codeweavers has found an excellent way to contribute to open source development, and towards increasing Linux adoption while still managing to make money. While the 6 month support might seem a little less, in the kind of dynamic situation that Wine is, it is to be expected. A CrossOver license in the end, is not that expensive. being a mere $39.95 (around Rs. 1900) for the standard, and $69.95 (around Rs. 3200) for Professional, and will discounts available for bulk purchases.

Conclusion

CrossOver is an impressive solution for running Windows applications on Linux, although it is far from perfect. The very premise of the application -- which is to be able to run all Windows applications flawlessly -- is something which it is still far from accomplishing at present. While this may be disappointing to some, it is something that CrossOver states very clearly. They make no false or exaggerated claims of what their application can accomplish.
Whatever CrossOver does try to accomplish, is something which is in within the purview of Wine as well. While CrossOver is a superset of Wine, it is worthwhile to note what elements it adds to its counterpart and then decide whether those are worth paying for.

Over and above being simply allowing Windows applications to run, CrossOver acts as a good bridge between the differing paradigms of Windows and Linux, with support for creating Linux packages out of Windows applications, and distributing them as easily, by creating virtual bottles, and automatically installing dependencies of applications. For those coming fresh from a Windows environment, many will be unable to figure out the often confusing steps required to run Windows applications.

For anyone needing a supported version of Wine, or a simple-to-use interface for installing and managing Windows applications, CrossOver if your best bet. If you wish to support Wine development, then any money spent on Codeweavers products is sure to end up promoting the development of Wine. If there are applications you need to run on Wine which aren't supported yet, pledging and voting for them is a good way of directing the development of Wine.
If however you need to run Windows applications on Linux and are not bothered by the added complexity of the commandline tools for configuring and running Windows applications, and are comfortable with installing 3rd party application to manage your installed applications and prefixes, you might be better off with the free open source Wine. Even so, CrossOver might feel like a worthy cause for investment to some; as it is a company which makes money while promoting a good cause and contributing to open source.

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How to switch your small or home office to Linux

By Graham Morrison

With Linux and free software making a name for itself in the world of big business, many people are testing the feasibility of switching small and home office software to their open source equivalents.
Regardless of how you feel about the Linux desktop, this is one area in which Linux can have a real impact, both financially and productively, and any small or home office has the potential to be transformed by just switching one application or two to their open source equivalents.
This is traditionally the domain of Microsoft, a costly and sometimes frustrating environment where you have to constantly keep on top of updates, patches and the latest versions to stay in the loop. Free software offers an escape from this cycle, and more importantly, an alternative.
Linux and free software can offer a breath of fresh air, and you don't even have to jump feet-first into a new operating system: cross-platform open source applications enable you try the alternatives before you make the big switch.

Most users are going to find that the free versions of the software they're used to are very similar in both design and functionality, and over the course of the following pages, we list the most important and try to highlight any gotchas and considerations along the way.
It's a sign of how successful free software has become that we could have filled these pages with various alternatives for many other common tasks and applications, but we wanted to go into enough depth that prospective users will feel confident enough to make the switch, or discuss the potential with the people who make the decisions.

How we learned to stop spending and love free software
The great thing about open source software is that, no matter what platform you're using, if an application is popular enough it will have been ported to your system.
Free software stalwarts like OpenOffice.org, Firefox and Gimp all work just as well on the Windows platform as they do on Linux. This means that even if jumping to Linux seems like an intimidating prospect to begin with, you can safely swap an application or two in your regular software suite to begin with, and see how things go over a period of weeks.

As your confidence builds, you could consider replacing another application, and perhaps another, until you realise that maybe Linux isn't the leap into the unknown that it used to be.
The world of the small office seems to be dominated by products from Microsoft and Adobe, neither of which have made a serious effort to port their heavyweight products to the Linux desktop. This is where open source developers have tried their hardest to catch up, building free alternatives to most of the commercial offerings from both companies.

Free software is full of alternatives, because developers like choice. And because the code that's used to create this software is open, once one application has invented a new kind of wheel, you often find its open source competitors catching up and providing many of the same features.
Many are also very receptive to feature requests and personal emails, which is something that would never happen with either Adobe or Microsoft. And of course, if you or your colleagues have the necessary coding skills, you can change things yourself and make a contribution to the community.
A point you'll find we make several times over the following pages is that while there may not always be total parity with the applications you're used to in the proprietary world, in the vast majority of cases this tiny shortfall won't make a difference. There are very few office users who touch these advanced features, and if you're one of the minority of users who use the full feature-set of of an application such as Microsoft Office, we've got a solution that will enable you to keep your old applications on Linux.

Running Windows apps on Linux
If you do switch your office to Linux, there are still two ways to run legitimate Windows software. The first is Wine, an application that lets you run Windows executables from your Linux desktop. It will let you run applications like Quicken and older versions of Office without difficulty, and newer versions can be made to work if you don't mind a little tinkering.
There's also a commercial Wine solution called CrossOver Office. This will run Microsoft's latest Office suite, and the money you pay for CrossOver will be rolled back into open source development. The best bit is that you won't need a licence for the operating system, only the software you use.
We're getting ahead of ouseselves a little here: while it's good to know that things will still work, you'll find that maintaining Windows compatibility becomes less of an issue as you get used to the new set of tools that Linux offers.

Windows Application Compatibility in Linux using CodeWeavers CrossOver Linux 9 & CrossOver Games

As the seemingly eternal struggle between proprietary and open source…between the expensive and the free…and between the challenging and the insanely complex… It is the struggle between Windows and Linux. It is estimated that somewhere around 90% of the computing world runs the Microsoft Windows operating system, while the other 10% is divided amongst Macintosh OS users (which is still a derivative of UNIX), Linux OS users and a handful of other vendor specific OS's (i.e. Solaris). The conclusion that can be drawn from this percentile is that Microsoft Windows is the most supported operating system currently in production—it supports a larger variety of hardware and software programs due to the fact that ±90% of these components are most likely themselves built on (and for) Microsoft Windows. Since Linux first started getting popular in the early '90's, continuous attempts at bridging the quite distant gap between the two OS's have slowly but surely started have an impact on computer users throughout the world.

One such attempt is CodeWeavers' most recent version of CrossOver Linux 9 (or, similarly, CrossOver Mac 9). This program strives to increase the number of Windows-specific applications that can be run on a Linux machine in an effort to reduce the all too heavy dependency on Windows. While CrossOver Linux has been developing for 10+ years, CrossOver Linux 9 includes such supported Windows programs as :

• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) both 2003 and 2007 versions
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2003,2007
• Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7
• Quicken versions up to 2010
• Intuit QuickBooks up to 2004
• Some versions of Adobe Photoshop

In Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols article CrossOver Linux 9: Run Windows apps without Windows, he notes that "…I'd say this new version supports about 20% more applications (at a level that most users would find usable) than the last one." Although this number might not seem very impressive, the fact is that Linux programmers are striving to "wheen" Microsoft users off their deep seeded dependency of their unstable (at best) OS—most likely due to a compatibility conflict with one certain application.

Another perk about CrossOver Linux 9 is that it is possible to install and run applications that are not specifically included in CrossOver's "Officially Supported" list. Among these that have been successfully installed and ran are the .Net Framework 3.0 as well as Visual C++ 6.0! While this is impressive, it fails in comparison to CodeWeavers' answer to handling Windows gaming support—namely support for DirectX 10—in an alternate version called CrossOver Games. Because of this compatibility with Microsoft's graphics API, Linux users can now play games such as W.O.W., Battlefield 2, Modern Warfare 4, Fallout 3 and Halo 3 a what-used-to-be impossible feat to accomplish without the use of a virtual machine (which is not the greatest for games because of the graphics inconsistencies.

Running Windows Applications on Linux

The perceived inability to run windows applications on Linux is what keeps many individuals from trying Linux. It turns out that it is possible to run many popular Windows applications on Linux PCs using one of several software technologies. Products that will allow Windows applications to run on Linux include:
Cedega from TransGaming Technologies Inc.
CrossOver Office for Linux from CodeWeavers Inc.
QEMU from Fabrice Bellard
VMware from VMware, an EMC company
Win4Lin from Win4Lin Inc.
Wine from the Wine Project

Cedega
TransGaming Technologies bills themselves as “the global leader in the development of software portability products for cross-platform gaming”. Their flagship product, Cedega, allows games originally created for Windows to run on Linux.

CrossOver Office
CrossOver Office from CodeWeavers allows many popular Windows applications to run on Linux. The list of applications that CrossOver Office allows to run on Linux is quite extensive and includes applications such as: Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Project and Visio, and graphics applications such as Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, and Adobe Photoshop, and much more. CrossOver Office also allows individuals to use many Windows Web browser plugins, such as QuickTime and Shockwave. CodeWeavers uses Wine technology in its CrossOver Office Products (see the Wine description later in this article).

CodeWeavers maintains an extensive list of applications that can run on Linux using CrossOver Office with a ranking of how well they run. The list can be accessed on their web site.
CrossOver Office has been tested on many Linux distributions. The complete list may be found on the CodeWeavers web site.

CrossOver Office is available in two versions, Standard and Professional. The Standard version is intended for home users and Linux enthusiasts, while Professional is more for commercial users and builds on the functionality of Standard by adding enhanced deployability features, as well as the ability to run CrossOver Office in shared mode from a single machine.
A 30-day trial of CrossOver Office is available from CodeWeavers and may be obtained from their web site.

QEMU
QEMU is a generic open source processor emulator that was developed by Fabrice Bellard. It is available for free. QEMU allows a user to run one operating system, such as Windows, within another one, such as Linux.
QEMU is available for Free and may be downloaded from Fabrice’s web site.

VMware
VMware comes from VMware, Inc., an EMC company. VMware allows users to to run multiple virtual machines on a single PC. Each virtual machine can run a different operating system. The net result is that VMWare allows a user to run multiple operating systems on a single Intel-based PC. Using VMware, a user can run a Windows virtual machine and Windows applications on a Linux PC.
VMware Workstation supports a long list of Linux distributions as the host operating system. You should check with the VMware web site for the specific releases and kernel levels supported.
A free 30-day trial of VMware Workstation may be downloaded from the VMWare web site.
VMware also provides the VMware Player for free. The VMware Player can run virtual machines created by VMware Workstation, GSX Server or ESX Server. Pre-configured VMware virtual machines may be obtained from the VMWare Virtual Machine Center.

Win4Lin
Win4Lin from Win4Lin Inc. provides a Windows virtual computing environment that runs on Linux allowing Windows applications to run on Linux. Win4Lin comes in three versions that would be appropriate for the home user:
Win4Lin Home, which is targeted for the home or small business user.
Win4Lin 9x (Formerly Win4Lin 5), which is targeted for the home user/hobbyist, or business users who do not require Windows 2000.
Win4Lin Pro, which is targeted at power users who require Windows 2000 or XP.
Win4Lin runs on most 2.4.x or 2.6.x Linux distributions. Win4Lin 9x and Win4Lin Home require a modified kernel to work. For most users, the Win4Lin graphical installer will select, download, and install the appropriate binary replacement kernel, making patching the kernel unnecessary. However, there are some distributions that may require users to compile a vanilla kernel from source. Such distributions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4, and Fedora Core 3 and 4. Some Linux distributions include Win4Lin support in their default kernel or make a Win4Lin enabled kernel available, including: Gentoo, Linspire, SimplyMepis, and Xandros. Win4Lin Pro does not require kernel modification.

Wine
Wine, which stands for Wine Is Not a (CPU) Emulator, is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API (application programming interface) that runs on Linux and POSIX compatible operating systems. Wine is a compatibility layer that allows Windows programs to run on Linux. Wine is still under development, and it is not yet suitable for general use, however, many individuals use Wine to run Windows applications on Linux. WineHQ maintains an Application Database of individual’s success and failure reports running Windows applications with Wine. Other products mentioned in this article are based on Wine, including CodeWeavers CrossOver Office, and Cedega from TransGaming Technologies.

CodeWeavers boosts Mac-Windows compatibility

CodeWeavers released Version 9.0 of CrossOver, the software that lets Windows applications run on Mac OS X without requiring a copy of Windows.

The update features a new user interface, a new easier application installer and an online installation database with what the company calls “recipes” or C4 Profiles. Users will be able to contribute to this recipe store, which over time should boost the number of applications supported by CrossOver.
On MacWindows, John Rizzo said CrossOver 9.0 improves support for a number of Windows applications.

It improves in running Internet Explorer, particularly Internet Explorer 7. The company said that improvements to Microsoft Office for Windows were “major,” adding support for Excel Macros, which are not current supported in Office 2008 for Mac. Word for Windows clipart now works, and Outlook is more stable. CrossOver 9 also adds limited support for Quicken 2010.
CrossOver ranks its compatibility like the Olympics. The company says that Gold runs on an everyday basis with good results, and only minor bugs; Silver runs well enough to be usable but in its testing, it finds that these applications have bugs that prevent them from running “flawlessly;” and Bronze applications that “install and run, and that can accomplish some portion of their fundamental mission.”

However, Bronze applications generally have enough bugs that we recommend that our customers use them with caution. Save early/save often, and don’t be surprised if there are some bumps along the way.

In its Compatibility Center, the company lists 670 Gold applications.
CrossOver requires an Intel-based Mac. The Standard version of the product costs $39.95; the Pro version costs $69.95.

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Developed by CodeWeavers

Developed by CodeWeavers, CrossOver Games is a commercial, game-optimized version of the Wine project, whose goal is to allow non-Windows systems to run Windows software without installing the OS. CrossOver Games is not an emulator, and it needs to run on an Intel Mac; it won’t work on a PowerPC-based machine.

Like any gaming environment, it benefits from more horsepower; we tested it on a MacBook Pro maxed out with 4GB of RAM. While looking through CodeWeavers’ list of supported games, Valve’s titles stood out as ones that Mac gamers have been yearning for. Our tests focused on Portal and Half-Life 2.
Installing CrossOver Games was easy, but game installation was fraught with more difficulty than we would’ve liked. We had our install disc ready, and everything seemed to be going well, but after the installation completed, we couldn’t find the installed games in CrossOver’s menu. We had to quit and relaunch CrossOver Games for the titles to appear.

But once we launched Steam, Valve’s gaming client, it immediately started downloading updates to the installed games, and generally behaved as it should have. The only other significant glitch was that it took some work to figure out how to run games in windowed, rather than full-screen, mode. It turns out that for most of Valve’s games, you have to set the in-game preference and then quit and relaunch CrossOver Games to make the change take effect.

The strongest game by far is the hidden picture and item mixing game with Miracle Max. Each stage is a two-fold affair. You must first find all the ingredients he requests from various rooms around his shop. Most hidden item games suffer from using grainy, blurry rooms filled with equally grainy items to obscure them.

This game features a well-drawn and crisply animated room, that just happen to be very cluttered. It works very well overall. The mixing portion involves taking potion ingredients to combine and form a potion that matches the one in the book in front of you. It starts out simple and then quickly layers on all types of mixing things to consider and becomes a pretty engaging little game.

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Install Windows Applications in Linux (Ubuntu Debian Fedora Madriva Gentoo) with Crossover 9.0

CodeWeavers latest version of CrossOver for Linux and Mac has been released. . CrossOver 9.0 (codenamed Snow Mallard) is a commercial software that helps installing Windows applications via Wine easily for Linux users. It is a well tested software. But it is not a free software. CrossOver costs $39.95 for the standard version, or $69.95 for the pro version. But it is worth for your money.

The new CrossOver Linux 9 UI

CrossOver 9 has a very good user interface. It help you to install your windows applications in a few clicks. CrossOver also downloads and installs any needed frameworks, fonts, and plugins. It has a feature "Community Supported Applications" , this will help you to install unsupported windows applications with the help of a growing community support.

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MicroOLAP Database Designer for PostgreSQL with enhanced WineHQ support released

MicroOLAP Database Designer for PostgreSQL is an easy CASE tool with intuitive graphical interface allowing you to build a clear and effective database structure visually, see the complete picture (diagram) representing all the tables, references between them, views, stored procedures and other objects. Then you can easily generate a physical database on a server, modify it according to any changes you made to the diagram using fast ALTER statements.

Full changelog:

[!] WineHQ support enhanced
[+] DEFERRABLE clause now proccessed for FOREIGN KEY by SQL Reverse Engineering
[*] SQL Reverse Engineering: function now created if specified in CREATE TRIGGER and "Create nonexistent references object" checked
[-] "After changing interface language Object Tree View not refreshed immediatly" bug fixed
[-] "Cannot add object through Object Tree View popup menu after interface lanuage changed" bug fixed
[-] "Cannot delete all tablespaces from model" bug fixed
[-] "Cannot save Begin and End Scripts using Database Editor" bug fixed
[-] "Command 'wine PgMDD.exe' fails in the shell" bug fixed
[-] "Modify Database duplicates FOREIGN KEYs sometimes" bug fixed
[-] "Width for stored routines calculated wrong sometimes" bug fixed

You're welcome to download the latest release from our website at:

http://microolap.com/products/database/postgresql-designer/download/

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions or report bugs with our
Support Ticketing system.

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

Virtualization on the Mac

Since Apple moved the Mac to the Intel Platform we as Mac users can now run just about any software we want. From software for OS X, Unix Programs, even Windows Programs. Let’s see a Windows computer do that quickly and easily. However with these new options comes a number of choices for how to run Windows software on the Mac. We have a range a prices and easy of use.

Yes I know we actually could run Windows on the Mac in the Power PC days using an emulator but emulators were much slower than their real hardware counter parts. For those who remember way back at one point Apple even made a DOS card that could be installed in some 68k Macs and was a PC on card and you could run a Mac program to execute programs on your PC on card but I digress.

Today our leading pay options for Virtualization on the Mac is Parallels and VMWare Fusion. The leading free options are Sun’s Virtual Box and Apple’s Boot Camp. You can also run Windows applications without installing Windows at all by using WINE or CrossOver. We will look at each of these options in turn.

In a recent MacTech Magazine article they compared the performance of VMWare to Parallels. Parallels won in nearly every performance benchmark. Now in order to use VMWare, Parallels, or Sun Virtual Box you have to own a copy of Windows to install. These applications provide a virtual computer to load an OS and your applications into. Parallels and VMWare both have good technical support and the ability to import other virtual machines into them. Today there are a variety of free and for purchase virtual machines you can get on the Internet and install into your Virtualization software. If you want to setup a Web Server on a virtual machine just download one with Linux and Apache pre-setup boot it and you are ready to go. It is great for testing products without impacting the machine you use on a daily basis.

Sun’s Virtual Box has come a long way and is close to being real competition for VMWare and Parallels. It started off as a very basic Virtual Machine lacking even support for external USB hard drives. Now it is a solid performer runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux as much better driver support in version 3 and while still not on par performance wise with VMWare and Parallels it is a fine choice for someone who doesn’t use a Virtual Machine on a regular basis or just wants to run some applications where performance isn’t a huge concern.

WINE and it’s commercial counterpart CrossOver have been around since before Apple went to Intel. Originally WINE which stands for (Wine Is Not an Emulator) was developed for Unix and Linux users to run Windows based apps on their machines without Windows being installed. WINE is a freeware application that is developed and supported by the community. This option is not for the technical novice or the faint at heart. It can be tough to configure and not all applications are supported. There is a commercial version of the software put out by CodeWeavers called CrossOver that is a company supported version of WINE. I didn’t have a lot of luck with it myself when I tired it out in 2007 but it may have progressed since then. I will look at it in a future blog post.

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Bordeaux ported to StormOS

We are pleased to announce that Bordeaux now runs on StormOS and Nexenta systems, over the past couple weeks the StormOS team has successfully completed the first initial port. And work can now be focused on the UI changes that are coming in our next release.

In the coming weeks we will be working together to rewrite the Bordeaux UI so its more user friendly and allows the user to configure and manage both supported and unsupported Cellars in a more intuitive manner.

The new UI will be included in the upcoming Bordeaux 2.2 release for Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, PC-BSD, OpenSolaris, StormOS, and Nexenta systems.

StormOS post about the Bordeaux port :

As part of our new license agreement with The Bordeaux Technology group Bordeaux has been ported to StormOS. The full version will be included with the next StormOS release for no charge and packages will be added to the StormOS APT repository.

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CrossOver Linux 9 review

One of the most common reasons given for remaining wedded to Microsoft Windows is the absence of a key Windows program on alternative operating systems. But that needn't be the case when you can run Windows programs without the Windows OS.


Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 (codenamed Snow Mallard) and its Mac brother, CrossOver Mac 9, let you run many popular Windows applications on Linux or Mac OS X.
Supported Windows applications include Microsoft Office (from Office 97 to Office 2007), Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Outlook 2002 to 2007, all current versions of Quicken up to 2010 and QuickBooks up to 2004, along with some versions of Photoshop and Photoshop CS.
Based on our experience with CrossOver, which goes back more than a decade, we'd say this new version supports about 20% more applications (at a level that most users would find usable) than the last one.

Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 is based on the open-source Wine project, an implementation of the Windows API on top of the family of Unix/Linux operating system. Wine is a mature project involving almost 17 years of work to get Windows applications to run on Unix and Linux systems.
Actually, you don't need Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 to run Windows applications on Linux. You can do it with Wine alone, if you know exactly what you're doing.

What Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 brings to the table is automated installation of Windows applications, and technical support. And in this latest version, the CrossOver interface has been improved so it's easier than ever to install and manage Windows applications.

Installing CrossOver

To see how well Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 does its job, we tested it on two systems. The first was a Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800MHz front-side bus.
The machine had 4GB of RAM, a 500GB SATA drive and an integrated Intel GMA 3100 graphics chipset. It was running the Debian-based MEPIS 8 desktop Linux distribution.
We also tried Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 on an older Gateway 503GR with a 3GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 2GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon 250 graphics card and 300GB SATA drive. This machine was running Ubuntu 9.10.
Both systems had more than enough horsepower to run multiple Windows and Linux applications simultaneously. In fact, CodeWeavers claims that any 32-bit system that runs at 200MHz can run CrossOver.
(The program will run on a 64-bit system, but only if it has the 32-bit compatibility library installed. So even the 64-bit version is really a 32-bit application platform.)
Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 also requires that your Linux include Glibc 2.3.x or greater and X11R6 3.3 or greater. XFree86 4 with XRender and FreeType support is recommended.
In short, Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 will run on any modern Linux distro on almost any IBM-based PC.
There are several ways to install Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9. CodeWeavers recommends that you use its installation shell script, but if you'd rather use your Linux OS's installation program, CrossOver also comes in RPM versions for Red Hat, Fedora and openSUSE; and DEB editions for Debian and the Ubuntu family. They both work just fine.
The one problem we found is that there's no upgrade path if you already have an earlier version of CrossOver Linux installed. We had to manually uninstall our older edition of CrossOver before we could put in the new program. Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 includes an uninstall option, so that wasn't a problem, but the instructions don't tell you that you'll need to zap your old version before installing the new one.

Putting CrossOver to the test

Once installed, Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9 has a new GUI that works equally well with both KDE and GNOME. (There's a known bug that prevents CrossOver menus from appearing on KDE 4.4, the most recent version. Hopefully, that will be addressed soon.)
Installing Windows applications is a snap. From the CrossOver interface, you can easily choose which Windows applications you want to install from a supplied list of supported applications. You can also install applications that are not officially supported; for example, our favourite HTML editor, NoteTab, also runs well on Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9, even though it's not on the list of supported applications.
In this latest version of Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9, you also have the option of installing useful Windows components apart from the actual applications. For example, we were able to install the most common Windows fonts, such as Arial and Times Roman, as well as the .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual C++ 6.0 redistributable libraries.
For the most part, the Windows applications we installed ran without trouble. We could work with Word 2003 documents, Excel 2003 spreadsheets, IE 7 and complex Quicken 2009 financial statements quite comfortably. It wasn't perfect, though, as some of the icons appeared blotchy. It was never enough to make a program unusable, but it was enough to make them unattractive.
In addition, we would also occasionally need to force a screen refresh when one Windows application's window covered up another. When we'd brought focus to the lower application, the part of it that had been covered wouldn't render properly. After running a command with the new foreground application, however, Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9's screen refreshed and it reappeared as it should.

Two versions of CrossOver Linux

You can download a free 30-day trial version of Codeweavers CrossOver Linux 9. The program costs $39.95. Also available is CrossOver Linux Professional for $69.95, which can be used for multiple users, and additionally comes with CrossOver Games.
CrossOver Games includes support for Microsoft's graphics APIs for games, DirectX, up to version 9. With this, many Windows games will run well on Linux. We had no problem blasting monsters in World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. CrossOver Games is also available separately.

System requirements

installed); tested on: Ubuntu 8.04/9.10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 and 5; openSUSE 10.2, 11.x; Fedora Core 11 and 12 Debian Stable; Mint 7; CentOS 5.3; 100MB of free drive space; python >= 2.4; gtk2 >= 2.10; python-gtk2 >= 2.10

ANGLE wined3d in reverse

By Dan Kegel to the wine-devel mailing list.

Were happy to announce a new open source project called Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine, or ANGLE for short. The goal of ANGLE is to layer WebGLs subset of the OpenGL ES 2.0 API over DirectX 9.0c API calls. We're open-sourcing ANGLE under the BSD license as an early work-in-progress, but when complete, it will enable browsers like Google Chrome to run WebGL content on Windows computers without having to rely on OpenGL drivers.

Current browser implementations of WebGL need to be able to issue graphics commands to desktop OpenGL to render content. This requirement isn't a problem on computers running OS X or Linux, where OpenGL is the primary 3D API and therefore enjoys solid support. On Windows, however, most graphics-intensive apps use Microsoft Direct3D APIs instead of OpenGL, so OpenGL drivers are not always available. Unfortunately, this situation means that even if they have powerful graphics hardware, many Windows machines can't render WebGL content because they don't have the necessary OpenGL drivers installed. ANGLE will allow Windows users to run WebGL content without having to find and install new drivers for their system.

Because ANGLE aims to implement most of the OpenGL ES 2.0 API, the project may also be useful for developers who are working on applications for mobile and embedded devices. ANGLE should make it simpler to prototype these applications on Windows, and also gives developers new options for deploying production versions of their code to the desktop.

We hope that other WebGL implementors and others in the graphics community will join us to make ANGLE successful! For more info on ANGLE and to access the code repository, visit the new project on Google Code or join our discussion group."

So, it'd be interesting to see if it runs on Wine. I love stacking them blocks as high as I can :-)

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One more reason to use Linux operating system

There’s no doubt that Windows is the most widely used operating system in the world, with Mac OS X taking the second step on the podium. But, what about Linux OS? The Linux operating system is not that popular but many people still use it, maybe just out of curiosity or because of the simple interface it has. Whatever may be the reason, Linux is not going to vanish from the operating system market that easily. This thing is for sure, as-long-as there are software packages like CrossOver Linux that offer to extend your Linux OS’s functionality virtually out of its domain. CrossOver Linux allows you to run popular Windows OS application, plug-ins and games; just like they would run in Windows OS.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R on Mac with CrossOver Games

I look at what it takes to get the Mac to run S.T.A.L.K.E.R., with CodeWeavers CrossOver Games. S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an open-world, first-person shooter from 2007.

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Star Trek Online on Mac

Part two of my exploration of Star Trek Online where I look at a different method of running it using a build of CrossOver Games made specifically for STO.

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Installing Games into CrossOver Games

I like to play Windows based games on my Linux based Quad Core computer. To do this I use Codeweaver’s CrossOver Games. In general, it meets all my gaming needs. So far I have been able to install and play the following games:

• Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars using the instructions located at Codeweaver’s C&C3: Tiberium Wars compatibility page. It is important to use the ‘Default Install’ as an Advance Install will fail. Also, you will want to install inside an Unsupported Bottle, I use one named CNC3.
• Rise of Nations requires additional instructions. First you need to use the Codeweaver’s installation tool to install Steam to get the necessary version of DirectX, then follow the instructions on the Codeweaver’s Rise of Nations Compatibility page.
• Rise of Nations: Throne and Patriots should just install. All updates work as well.
• Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath installs fine but you need to follow the instructions for the Tiberium War’s compatibility page to get a running copy. Just substitute Kane’s Wrath for Tiberium Wars in most cases.
• Escape the Museum is just fun and installs fine with no issues what so ever.

What is interesting about installing these games makes me think of a Games Virtual Desktop using JeOS and CrossOver Games. Granted, the video performance would be incredibly bad, but the idea is interesting.

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Windows on Linux

Switching to Linux is easy if you know how to run Windows applications on it.
For many users considering switching to Linux the biggest hurdle is a question of whether they can find a suitable replacement for their favourite Windows applications. While sites like LinuxAppFinder list hundreds of open source application alternatives it's not always as straight forward as that. Many users are bound, for one or other reason, to using a particular application, be it because there is no way to convert existing data or because company policy demands they use a particular application. Fortunately there are a number of ways to run a good deal of Windows applications on Linux.

Wine
Wine stands for "Wine is Not an Emulator" and is one of the most common methods of running Windows applications on Linux. Wine is available in most popular Linux distributions and as its name says, it is not actually a Windows emulator but is able to run Windows applications. Unlike virtualisation software Wine doesn't require that an existing copy of Windows is running to be able to run applications. Wine is basically a loader than executes a binary and a library that executes Windows API calls in a way that Unix and Linux can understand. Wine is very capable today and can run a wide range of Windows applications including Office, Photoshop and just about all current games. The Wine site maintains an extensive database of applications that can be run on Linux with instructions of how to set them up.

Cedega
Although Wine runs many popular Windows-based games, if you're serious about gaming then it's worth looking at Cedega, otherwise known as Transgaming. Cedega is a commercial version of Wine (originally called WineX) with a strong focus on gaming. It is a subscription service and provides a frontend to Wine with additional scripts to get games up and running quickly. Originally Cedega offered one of the best ways to run games on Linux but of late Wine has made such progress that Cedega's value is diminishing.
Nevertheless, for certain specific situations Cedaga could be the answer.

Crossover
Formerly known as CrossOver Office, CrossOver is a collection of four commercial applications that allow Windows applications to run on Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris. The four are CrossOver Mac, CrossOver Linux, CrossOver Games Mac, and CrossOver Games Linux. The Linux standard version costs $39.00 and the professional version $69.00, which is not too hefty a price tag for something that can run applications such as Microsoft Office, Project, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Quicken as well as many other applications. The CrossOver Mac, Linux and Games editions are designed for desktop use while the CrossOver Server edition allows Windows applications to run in thin client environments.

CrossOver Linux 9 Run Windows apps without Windows

A new version expands the number of Windows applications you can run on Linux.

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for ComputerWorld :

Some Linux users insist that anything you can do on Windows, you can do better on Linux. While there's some truth to that, many of us have Windows applications that make completely leaving Windows close to impossible. That's where CodeWeavers' latest version of CrossOver Linux comes in.
CrossOver Linux 9 (code-named Snow Mallard) and its Mac brother, CrossOver Mac 9, let you run many popular Windows applications on Linux or Mac OS X. Supported Windows applications include Microsoft Office (from Office 97 to Office 2007), Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Outlook 2002 to 2007, all current versions of Quicken up to 2010 and QuickBooks up to 2004, and some versions of Photoshop and Photoshop CS. Based on my experience with CrossOver, which goes back more than a decade, I'd say this new version supports about 20% more applications (at a level that most users would find usable) than the last one.
CrossOver is based on the open-source project Wine, an implementation of the Windows API on top of the Unix/Linux operating system family. Wine is a mature project involving almost 17 years of work to get Windows applications to run on Unix and Linux systems.
Actually, you don't need CrossOver Linux to run Windows applications on Linux. You can do it with Wine alone -- if you know exactly what you're doing. What CrossOver brings to the table is automated installation of Windows applications, and technical support. And in this latest version, the CrossOver interface has been improved so it's easier than ever to install and manage Windows applications.

Installing CrossOver

To see how well CrossOver Linux 9 does its job, I tested it on two systems. The first was a Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. The machine had 4GB of RAM, a 500GB SATA drive and an integrated Intel 3100 GMA chip set. It was running the Debian-based MEPIS 8 desktop Linux distribution.

Installing Windows applications in the new CrossOver is as easy as pick and click.

I also tried CrossOver 9 on an older Gateway 503GR with a 3-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, 2GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon 250 graphics card and a 300GB SATA drive. It was running Ubuntu 9.10.
Both systems had more than enough horsepower to run multiple Windows and Linux applications simultaneously. In fact, CodeWeavers claims that any 32-bit system that runs at 200 MHz can run CrossOver. (The program will run on a 64-bit system, but only if it has the 32-bit compatibility library installed. So even the 64-bit version is really a 32-bit application platform.)
CrossOver also requires that your Linux include Glibc 2.3.x or greater and X11R6 3.3 or greater. XFree86 4 with XRender and FreeType support is recommended. In short, CrossOver will run on any modern Linux distro on almost any PC.

There are several ways to install CrossOver. CodeWeavers recommends that you use its installation shell script, but if you'd rather use your Linux desktop's installation program, CrossOver also comes in RPM versions for Red Hat, Fedora and openSUSE, and DEB editions for Debian and the Ubuntu family. They both work just fine.

The one problem I found is that there's no upgrade path if you already have an earlier version of CrossOver Linux installed. I had to manually uninstall my older edition of CrossOver before I could put in the new program. CrossOver includes an uninstall option, so that wasn't a problem, but the instructions don't tell you that you'll need to zap your old version before installing the new one.

Putting CrossOver to the test

Once installed, CrossOver 9 has a new GUI that works equally well with both KDE and GNOME. (There's a known bug that prevents CrossOver menus from appearing on KDE 4.4, the most recent version. Hopefully, that will be addressed soon.)

Installing Windows applications is a snap. From the CrossOver interface, you can easily choose which Windows applications you want to install from a supplied list of supported applications. You can also install applications that are not "officially" supported -- for example, my favorite HTML editor, NoteTab, also runs well on CrossOver 9, even though it's not on the list of supported applications.

In this latest version of CrossOver, you also have the option of installing useful Windows components apart from the actual applications. For example, I was able to install the most common Windows fonts, such as Arial and Times Roman, as well as the .Net Framework 3.0 and Visual C++ 6.0 redistributable libraries.

For the most part, the Windows applications I installed ran without trouble. I work with Word 2003 documents, Excel 2003 spreadsheets, IE 7 and complex Quicken 2009 financial statements quite comfortably. It wasn't perfect, though -- some of the icons appeared blotchy. It was never enough to make a program unusable, but it was enough to make them unattractive.
In addition, I would also occasionally need to force a screen refresh when one Windows application's window covered up another. When I'd reveal the "lower" application, the part of it that had been covered by the other Windows application wouldn't render properly. After running a command with the new foreground application, however, the program's screen reappeared as it should.

Two versions

You can download a free 30-day trial version of CrossOver Linux; if you like it, it costs $39.95. You can also get CrossOver Linux Professional ($69.95), which can be used for multiple users and comes with CrossOver Games.

CrossOver Games includes support for DirectX, Microsoft's graphics APIs for games. With this, many Windows games will run well on Linux -- I had no problem blasting monsters in World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. CrossOver Games is also available separately for $39.95

Full Article

How to run windows games or programs on mac or linux without bootcamp

Hello everybody today we look at how to run windows games and programs on a mac using software called CrossOver Games, created by CodeWeavers.

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Microsoft Office 2007 on OpenSolaris

Today I thought I would show everyone just how easy it is to install and use Microsoft Office 2007 on OpenSolaris 2009.06 and 2010.03 with Bordeaux for Solaris. I have installed Office 2007 on both 2009.06 and 2010.03 build 134 the screenshots below are from 2009.06 running in Virtual Box.

The first thing you will need to do is make sure you have all the needed software dependencies resolved on OpenSolaris. Here is the list of needed packages from the Bordeaux OpenSolaris 2.0.2 readme.

Bordeaux bundles Wine 1.1.36 and uses many third party libraries that can
be found in the OpenSolaris repository and the Contrib repository.

Information on how to add the Contrib repository can be found here :

http://wikis.sun.com/display/OpenSolarisInfo/How+To+Add+IPS+Repositories

Wine also uses the packages listed below depending on the software in use.

SUNWlcms = Little Color Management System
SUNWsmba = samba - A Windows SMB/CIFS fileserver for UNIX
SUNWsane-backend = SANE library and backends
SUNWxsane = Graphical scanning frontend for the SANE scanner interface.
SUNWlldap = LDAP Libraries
SUNWopenssl = OpenSSL Commands

The next thing you will need to do is purchase a copy of Bordeaux if you haven't already done so. After you install Bordeaux you can start the UI two different ways.

1) Thought the Applications Menu shortcut
2) Via the command line, open your terminal and enter :

$ /opt/bordeaux/bin/bordeaux-setup

After the bordeaux UI starts all you have to do is double click Office 2007 and the install will begin, its that simple... But If you run the UI through your terminal you can then see everything that's taking place in the background.

Once the install begins it will install some needed third party dependencies and it also installs all of the Microsoft Core Fonts for you. After this has completed a run dialog will appear and ask you for the location of the Office Installer, simply browse to where the setup.exe is located and select it, and then Office will start it's install.

Microsoft Office 2007 key verification.

Microsoft Office 2007 EULA.

Choose your Installation settings.

Microsoft Office 2007 install completed on OpenSolaris.

Microsoft Office 2007 Application Menu's

After the install has completed you have three ways to exec and run a program

1) Through the Applications shortcut menu
2) Open your terminal and enter $ bin/winword07 , excel07 or powerpnt07
3) Open your terminal and set the current working wineprefix :

$ export WINEPREFIX="$HOME/.bordeaux/office2007"

then change directory to the location of the executable, example :

$ cd /export/home/tom/.bordeaux/office2007/drive_c/Program\ Files/Microsoft\ Office/Office12

and then start the program (MS Word) like this :

$ /opt/bordeaux/bin/wine winword.exe

Option three is good for Microsoft Publisher and OneNote as we don't provide shortcuts in the user bin directory at this time. Also with option two and three you can see whats going on while the application is running.

Microsoft Word 2007 on OpenSolaris.

Microsoft Excel 2007 on OpenSolaris.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 on OpenSolaris.

Microsoft OneNote 2007 on OpenSolaris.

Microsoft Publisher 2007 on OpenSolaris.

Microsoft Outlook will run, but at this time it's not usable. I also tried to run Groove and Access but they both crashed on execution.

If you don't want to spend $25.00 for Bordeaux you also have the option to download the Wine source code and compile Wine with it's needed dependencies. Once this is done you will need to install all the needed windows redistributable dependencies and then install Office for free. The old saying goes time is money, and for only $25.00 Bordeaux will save you many hours of work. But then again if you like to tinker compiling Wine on your own might be the way to go.

B.T.W Bordeaux also runs on Linux, FreeBSD, PC-BSD and Mac OSX... And is being ported to StormOS and Nexenta at this time.

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Fallen Earth MMO comes to the Mac

At this week’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, Icarus Studios announced the Mac beta release of Fallen Earth, a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game. The new Mac beta release – available now – requires an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Fallen Earth combines First Person Shooter (FPS) and Role Playing Game (RPG) elements in a post-apocalyptic world. Features include classless advancement, a real-time crafting system, a faction system that enables you to ally or rally against six different factions, and a world comprising 70 unique towns with more than 5,500 missions.
To make Fallen Earth Mac-compatible, Icarus is leveraging Wine, an open source translation layer technology that originally was developed to enable Linux operating systems to run software made for the Windows platform. Wine is also leveraged by Codeweavers for its CrossOver Mac software.

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Crossover Mac Review (Mac OS X)

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of CodeWeavers’ flagship product Crossover Mac this week. The software is designed to allow applications from other platforms, primarily Windows, to run seamlessly on Mac OS X without the need for emulators or dual booting the computer which requires a restart and wasted hard disk space.

To say that the software achieves this is an understatement to say the least. During the testing of the program, I found all aspects of it to be pretty much flawless.
The first element of the program that needed testing, was naturally the installation and setup. As with the majority of OS X software, installation was simply a process of drag and drop into the applications folder. Registering the software was a breeze too. I simply had to register on the CodeWeavers website and then register the software using the same details.

So once your all set up and registered, you may wonder where the application has gone. All that is immediately visible is the icon placed in the selected folder, or on the dock whilst open. This is due to the discreet nature of the software. It pretty much stays out of your way, not even running until called upon. However, when you enter any optical medium such as a CD or DVD containing installation files meant for Windows, the application springs into life and loads the files in an extremely similar manner to the auto-boot process on Windows.

There is an almost endless list of software that is compatible with this software. The majority of regularly used programs will most likely be compatible with Crossover Mac. This includes anything from Microsoft Office to Call of Duty. For my initial tests of the software I decided to install Microsoft Office as I decided it would be a useful addition to my Mac as I haven’t developed a great taste for Open Office and haven’t yet bought a copy of iWork since recently purchasing an Apple Mac Mini.
The first stage of installation was fairly lengthy. This was completely due to the fact that it was the first install I had carried out and therefore the system needed to install required fonts and such. After the first installation, any further software I attempted to install was carried off without a hitch. To be honest, this isn’t a major problem anyway. Proceeding with the installation, I was confronted with the usual interface I had found with Windows. The installation process from this point onwards was as quick as any Windows installation.


The trend of native speeds continued throughout use of the application after testing. The program boots with the natural Windows interface. It is not altered to fit the Mac themes which could be taken in either a positive or negative way. Positive due to the fact that many applications wouldn’t be suited to the alterations and may become muddled or difficult to navigate. Negative due to my opinion that the general Mac interface is more attractive than the Windows equivalent.

Running and using the program was as simple as ever, for the most part as fast as running on Windows. I was extremely impressed with the cleanliness of the switch over considering the application was never intended to be used on this OS. In my opinion, the Mac version of Microsoft Office was never up to scratch, so to use the full Windows version was a pleasant change.
After successfully installing and running Microsoft Office 2007, I moved on to install Call of Duty 2. I dare not try the latest version of the games, not because they are incompatible, but because I have the basic Mac Mini so running the games may not be smooth enough to carry out a fair test of the Crossover Mac software. Suffice it to say, the installation and running of the game was nigh on perfect and I was able to run the game on high settings without any noticeable lag. For the gamers amongst us who do have a Mac, this software also supports platforms such as Steam.

Overall I have found many a use for this excellent software and is a real alternative to running Parallels Desktop 5 that means you don’t need to boot to a separate operating system. I also have an old Linux machine and am tempted to use the Linux alternative of this software to run the same programs. The software comes in various packages. One for general software such as Office, and one for games. However, the Crossover Mac Pro option possesses both, but carries an extra cost.

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Steam Client and Source Games Porting to OSX

So the devil called me this afternoon and said they where having a snowstorm in hell.

In other news Valve announced that their revolutionary "content delivery service" known as "Steam" is being ported to OSX and will be available as early as April 2010. No really its true, straight from the horse's mouth. In addition the actual client and "Steam-works" being brought to Apple's operating system Valve also plans to port all of the Source Engine games, these include:

• Half Life 2 Series
• Counter Strike: Source
• Team Fortress 2
• Left 4 Dead Series
• Day of Defeat: Source

All I have to say is: Microsoft has to quaking in their boots. For some time Microsoft's Windows operating system has been the standard for gaming on the PC. With Valve making the push into OSX this means more than just trouble for Microsoft's operating system. It also means their famed DirectX API that is Windows only may be in jeopardy. I say this because as stated in Valve's official announcement in order to port their engine/games to OSX they will be reimplementing them in OpenGL. After the porting of these past released source games Valve plans to treat OSX as a "first tier" operating system. Meaning that all future releases of source games will occur simultaneously for OSX, Windows, and Xbox 360.

Not a fan of Valve's flag-ship gaming engine? Not a problem, take a peak at these other titles already for sale on Steam that have a native OSX client:

• Aliens versus Predator (original)
• Altitude
• And Yet It Moves
• Ankh: Battle of the Gods
• Ankh: Heart of Osiris
• Aquaria
• BioShock
• Braid
• Brainpipe
• Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
• Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
• Call of Duty
• Call of Duty: United Offensive
• Call of Duty 2
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Championship Manager 2007
• Championship Manager 2008
• Championship Manager 2010
• Civilization IV
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
• Civilization IV: Colonization
• Civilization IV: Warlords
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
• Darwinia
• DEFCON
• Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
• Deus Ex
• Doom
• Doom 3
• Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
• Doom II: Hell on Earth
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Elven Legacy
• Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
• Eschalon: Book I
• Europa Universalis III
• Europa Universalis: Rome
• FlatOut 2
• Final Doom
• Football Manager 2009
• Football Manager 2010
• Football Manager Live
• Freedom Force
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• Harvest: Massive Encounter
• Hearts of Iron II
• Hearts of Iron III
• Heretic
• Heroes of Might and Magic V
• Hexen
• Hexen II
• Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Jade Empire
• LEGO Batman: The Videogame
• LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
• LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
• LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
• Loom
• Luxor
• Luxor 2
• Luxor 3
• Machinarium
• Multiwinia
• Osmos
• Peggle
• Peggle Nights
• Penguins Arena
• Penumbra: Black Plague
• Penumbra: Overture
• Penumbra: Requiem
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Prey
• Prince of Persia (2008)
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
• Quake
• Quake II
• Quake III Arena
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein
• Rome: Total War
• Samorost 2
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• Sid Meier’s Pirates
• SiN
• Spore
• Star Wars: Force Unleashed
• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
• Star Wars: Dark Forces
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Tales of Monkey Island
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
• The Dig
• The Graveyard
• The Path
• TOCA Race Driver 3
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary
• Torchlight
• Unreal
• Unreal Tournament
• Unreal Tournament 2004
• Uplink
• Virtual Families
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• World of Goo
• X²: The Threat
• X³: Reunion
• X³: Terran Conflict

Phew! Who was it that said you couldn't game on a non-Windows operating system? Well truth be told thanks to wonderful software like CXGames some of us have been enjoying source games on the operating system of our choice for some time now. (Food for thought and maybe a future topic: What do you think this announcement is going to do to Codeweaver's bottom line?)

Putty for Mac

$15.00