Hello everybody today we look at how to run windows games and programs on a mac using software called CrossOver Games, created by CodeWeavers.
Putty for Mac
$15.00
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
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.
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.
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 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.
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 CommandsThe 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.
Putty for Mac
$15.00
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.
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.
Putty for Mac
$15.00
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.
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.
Putty for Mac
$15.00
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