Crossover - 2007-03-07 09:35:45 Crossover to the Linux SideYesterday, I discovered just about the best piece of Linux software that isn't freeware. I never thought I'd be saying this, but... this application really is worth every penny. I suppose it's not in the spirit of open source, but maybe the money is being well spent.Crossover LinuxCrossover Linux is a beauty of a little app from Codeweavers It allows you to run Micro$oft Windows applications in a linux environment. It supports a number of leading programs like Office and Photoshop.InstallWell... the install went well and I managed to get Office XP working a treat. Access doesn't work, but Word and Excel seem to run just fine. On my system, occasionally the cursor gets stuck, but I can alt-tab to get it back. Tested on openSUSE and Ubuntu and so far all seems great. Now I finally don't have to switch back into windows to edit documents that need changes tracked (OpenOffice still won't do it the way I like).Other programsWell... the website seems to list quit an extensive list of stuff that works. Apparently you can even run HalfLife 2 and steam.How does it work?It takes your system and creates 'bottles' which are files that contain mock windows file systems underneath in order to make sure all the necessary resources are available to the app. Then WINE provides the core. One of the biggest problems with WINE is that for most users, it's too hard to configure. Crossover solves this perfectly.What this all means?Well... for now we have much better access to windows apps for people who don't want to get dirty with the configuration. This is a boost for linux as there are still people who can't do without their Photoshop. In the long run though, it is possible that open source equivalents might slow down because of it's availability. This remains to be seen. |
