WINE
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| skelband Apr 08, 2014 2:04 PM EDT |
Nice article, but no mention of WINE! Yeah, yeah, it doesn't work for everything. Thing is though, I'm finding most of what I throw at the latest releases of WINE work great. Last couple of years have seen enormous improvement. A very large majority of the games that my son likes to play work great. FTL, Minecraft (which is JAVA anyway), Unreal (and variants, the Windows versions) work flawlessly. |
| vainrveenr Apr 08, 2014 3:00 PM EDT |
Quoting:Yeah, yeah, it doesn't work for everything.OTOH, there is significant concern over many of the key Windows applications that do not work or cannot easily work in Linux with or without WINE. The author even writes: Quoting:Windows apps like Outlook, Internet Explorer and MS Office do not run on Linux. So you'll need to make an inventory of the apps you need and see if they have Linux versions, or if there is an equivalent you can use. And these are just Microsoft's applications. The third party CrossOver product runs additional key Windows applications (thinking especially of Adobe Photoshop here), but it cannot run all such applications out-of-the-box. Especially worrisome are those proprietary and in-house-customized critical Windows XP apps that less knowledgable XP users may not even yet realize they have installed. Such users probably will decide to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8, if they can, to run such key apps. Many, if not most, XP users may decide to just stick it out with Windows XP for the time-being, and then just Hope and Pray that nothing bad happens to their systems anytime soon before they finally upgrade their systems. Others may soon decide that it is finally time to "Replace the Retiring Windows XP with Linux" as the author and so many others suggest. Another very real possibility (good?/bad?) is that Windows XP users will backup and then replace their entire systems with newly purchased Windows 7/8 pre-installed systems ASAP, instead of replacing solely the OS. In this particular scenario, expect to see a glut of Windows XP systems or their components (e.g., hard drives) sold at discount prices, donated away and/or simply tossed out. |
| skelband Apr 08, 2014 3:39 PM EDT |
> OTOH, there is significant concern over many of the key Windows applications that do not work or cannot easily work in Linux with or without WINE. Agreed. Anyone considering a move to Linux has to look at the open source solution as a whole. Problem is, most people's views (outside of the experiences views of the regulars here) are ignorant or at least very outdated with respect to the open source/free software realm to the extent that they do not even consider that it might be an option. At home, we're not an office. We run Windows XP/Linux dual boot. The only thing that we use the XP for is running games and my tax software: 1) Most of that games software is steam-based these days. Problem almost solved. 2) My tax software *probably* does work fine under WINE, I just haven't had the courage to try it yet. |
| notbob Apr 08, 2014 4:46 PM EDT |
Nice article, TC. But, I have one issue with it. To wit: Of course, you can do whatever you like. That's the entire point of Linux. OTOH, I keep seeing this "dual boot"or XP on a virtual layer or WINE, yada yada, which makes no sense to me. Why do ppl keep supporting Windows when it's unnecessary? My attorney uses a Mac laptop. I use Linux. I think she uses M$ Office for Apple. Not sure. I use LibreOffice. How do we pass docs back and forth? I convert all those Office documents into pdf's or she does so, first. No problem. And don't tell me about Adobe Reader allowing one to enter data on a pdf. I've run AdobeReader on both a Linux and an XP box and it jes plain sucks. Better to jes make a hard copy and fill in the blanks with a fountain pen and mail it. As long as ppl continue finding ways to support Windows and Windows applications , M$ will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. I will not accept Office .doc files. You want me to sign or fill out something, give it to me in a form I can use. I don't have Windows and I'm not about to run out and buy it jes cuz that's what you have or yer some highfaluting business org. ;) |
| skelband Apr 08, 2014 5:09 PM EDT |
@notbob Many businesses have legacy Windows apps for which there are no Linux equivalents. We're not necessarily talking about Word Processors or Web browsers here. WINE is one option, another option is total migration to a portable equivalent. You also have to appreciate that options like WINE allow gradual migration to open/free source piecemeal which for many may be a better option than jumping straight into a non-Windows world. For some this will have merits, for others less so. |
| tuxchick Apr 08, 2014 5:13 PM EDT |
*smack forehead* I can't believe I forgot WINE and CrossOver Office. They're perfect for older XP apps. |
| BFM Apr 08, 2014 5:26 PM EDT |
If Wine doesn't work, another alternative is to run XP in a VirtualBox instance. I run a Win2000 Pro instance to occasionally run some old custom applications. They work just fine and I don't have to worry about security issues. |
| notbob Apr 08, 2014 5:29 PM EDT |
I feel safe in assuming my posts, here, are not directed at enterprise businesses. If anything, enterprise businesses are doing the most to legitimize the xfer to Linux. The last big corporation I worked for in SV used HP-UX long before it tried M$. As far as I know, they never let go of that huge "legacy" Unix database that was much caressed and company wide and infinitely preferred over the M$/Oracle abortion they flirted with in one of their lesser (my) divisions. I don't know what they eventually did, as I retired long ago, but I think changing to Linux would have been trivial for them. |
| CFWhitman Apr 09, 2014 9:08 AM EDT |
@skelband You do realize that both FTL and Minecraft have Linux versions, right? I know that the Linux Minecraft client is free to download, and works with the same subscription as the PC and Mac versions (which is a different subscription than other versions). If you have FTL on Steam, I think you can just install the Linux version (though I'm not one hundred percent certain of this). I have it from a Humble Bundle, so I can download whichever version I choose. I don't know how it works otherwise. |
| rnturn Apr 09, 2014 1:49 PM EDT |
Quoting:My tax software *probably* does work fine under WINE, I just haven't had the courage to try it yet.Not ready to have the IRS do a little QA for you? Seriously... What about Windows in a virtual machine? My last gig had us using laptops running Red Hat. Any Windows needs were done via KVM. I've heard of others using Virtualbox to do the same thing. That would work in those cases where Wine doesn't, no? (Not exactly business-critical but I've never been able to get Unreal Tournament to run using Wine. A couple of games were the only thing I was using Windows for when it decided to scribble on itself back in the early '00s) Q: What has MS said they would do from this point on about authorization codes needed for a WinXP installation? |
| mrider Apr 09, 2014 2:52 PM EDT |
Quoting:Q: What has MS said they would do from this point on about authorization codes needed for a WinXP installation? I believe that they will still quietly allow activation. The problem is that XP requires activation, and the "I need activation" code swings in on some hardware changes. So it would be fairly annoying if one were to replace a hard drive and video card and have XP simply die. |
| Koriel Apr 09, 2014 5:21 PM EDT |
I can see muBlinder http://www.p2plife.com/forums/topic/320-official-mublinder-p... becoming more popular. |
| Ridcully Apr 09, 2014 5:45 PM EDT |
Indeed they are tuxchick. I'm running some critical accounting software published in 2000 and originally intended for Win98SE. It runs perfectly in Crossover/Wine. Same for my Photoshop 7 obtained in 2002........ |
| skelband Apr 09, 2014 6:08 PM EDT |
@CFWhitman: You do realize that both FTL and Minecraft have Linux versions, right? Yes I do. Minecraft is a JAVA app so is portable. Although there may be a Linux version of FTL (I've not troubled to find out to be honest) we bought it through gog.com which does not offer Linux versions of any of its software. Despite this, the Windows version (of the latest recent update at any rate) works flawlessly under Linux. WINE is so good these days, I just try it first if I happen to only have a Windows version to hand. If it works fine, then there's little reason to look further. |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 10, 2014 9:40 AM EDT |
Wizard101 runs on WINE, and that's all I need. |
| jdixon Apr 10, 2014 11:37 AM EDT |
Kindle for PC and Teamviewer are my "need Wine" applications. |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 10, 2014 1:36 PM EDT |
TeamViewer is written for Linux. I use it for my Mom. |
| jdixon Apr 10, 2014 2:49 PM EDT |
As of Teamvier 7, the Linux version was the Windows app running under Wine, Bob. Now, it's possible it's been rewritten since, but I don't think so. |
| Koriel Apr 10, 2014 4:42 PM EDT |
Nope Teamviewer 9 still uses wine as I also use it for my mom. |
| patrokov Apr 10, 2014 6:52 PM EDT |
I run quicken 2013 in wine. The only issue is that dialog boxes sometimes pop behind instead of on top. I've been using turbo tax online for years with Linux. It complains about an unsupported os but works just fine. |
| penguinist Apr 10, 2014 7:21 PM EDT |
There was a time years ago when I was wishing that QuickBooks ran under Linux. Then I discovered the multi-platform GnuCash. GnuCash has evolved into a full capability double-entry accounting system. My wife and I each run our small business finances using GnuCash, and our accountant is happy to receive our end of year data in this format. QuickBooks was happy to take in all my data, but if you want to export it back, no way! Your data now belongs to QuickBooks. It was such a liberating feeling to put our finances on an open and transparent system. We're happy as clams with GnuCash and have never looked back. |
| patrokov Apr 10, 2014 11:46 PM EDT |
Can gnucash download credit card and bank statements directly? That's the only reason I'm still using Quicken. |
| penguinist Apr 10, 2014 11:58 PM EDT |
Yes, I do that routinely with all my bank accounts and credit cards. GnuCash supports a variety of import formats, but I like CSV format best. It's simple, is human readable, and is the common denominator with all the banks and card companies that I work with. Another nice advantage with GnuCash is that it works fine "out-of-the-box" for single user stuff like Quicken replacement, but it can be grown into a multi-user accounting system with database for small/medium business use. |
| alc Apr 11, 2014 5:51 AM EDT |
Penguinist, what format does GnuCash give your accountant? |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 11, 2014 8:17 AM EDT |
Thanks, JD, I didn't realize that. |
| skelband Apr 11, 2014 11:23 AM EDT |
> Can gnucash download credit card and bank statements directly? That's the only reason I'm still using Quicken. I tried GnuCash some years ago when it was in its infancy. It was pretty poor and difficult to use at the time. Even then though it did import of transactions using the common formats that people use and it worked fairly well. What didn't work very well at the time was the auto-mapping facilities for accounts based on description pattern matching. I'll have to give it a try again. |
| penguinist Apr 11, 2014 12:01 PM EDT |
alc wrote:what format does GnuCash give your accountant? Well, each year I make up a DVD for my accountant that contains GnuCash installations for each of the three most popular platforms, Linux, Mac, and Windows. I'm pretty sure he chooses the Windows installation, but that's his choice. Also on the DVD is a copy of my GnuCash project file. Just for good measure, I produce for him a set of reports that I export to pdf format for him. So in this way, he can quickly look at the categorized summary reports while having access to additional reports or the full detail, by opening my GnuCash project file, if he chooses to drill down. By organizing a chart of accounts into income and expense categories that correspond to the key tax categories, I'm essentially giving him a report with the numbers already pre-generated and ready to drop into the right tax form. |
| alc Apr 11, 2014 2:35 PM EDT |
Thanks Penguinist. I was wondering how they could read your files. I'll have to take a look at GnuCash again. Just have to check how it does importing QB files. Edit Just took a look. Q: How do I import my data from Quickbooks(TM)? A: At this time there is no way to import from Quickbooks, and there are no plans to add that functionality. The Quickbooks QBW data format is a proprietary, non-documented file format. So until someone documents the file format or donates a QBW file parser your best bet for importing your QB data into GnuCash would be to output your data in a CSV format and either import the CSV data directly or convert the CSV to QIF and use the QIF importer. |
| penguinist Apr 11, 2014 5:01 PM EDT |
alc wrote:no way to import from Quickbooks Like I mentioned, Quickbooks owns your data. This was one of my key frustrations with QuickBooks. That package is more than happy for you to put your data into it, but then your data will be locked away tight and don't ask to get it back. What I did was to wait until the end of the calendar year, closed the books in QB and started fresh in GnuCash. It was a great feeling becoming unleashed from the chains of QB. GnuCash stores all your data in open published formats that can always be accessed and exported, yes even if you want to move back to QB. |
| BernardSwiss Apr 11, 2014 6:21 PM EDT |
My impression has generally been that the "killer feature" of QuickBooks, at least in the mind of many users, has actually been the "hand-holding" book-keeping help and financial advice it gives users. And that lack of the same has been a drawback to GnuCash. Am I out of date? |
| penguinist Apr 11, 2014 8:00 PM EDT |
BernardSwiss wrote:book-keeping help and financial advice No offense Bernard, but I don't like to take financial advice from _people_ and I'm certainly not going to start following the advice of a program, especially a proprietary and closed one. Seriously, having used both QB and GC, I don't recall using or relying on any "hand-holding" with either. If you are going to set up books for a small business, you really do need to understand something about chart of accounts and ledgers. If you don't, that's ok, you just have your accountant or assistant set it up for you. If you are just doing simple personal finances, or a very basic small business like retailing, then there are numerous default configurations in GC to get started with. After you get it set up, then it basically comes down to plugging in and/or importing the numbers. Not too much magic there. |
| patrokov Apr 12, 2014 11:07 PM EDT |
I'm not talking about downloading a file from a bank and then importing it. I'm talking about entering my bank information in to the prigram, and having it download the transactions directly. That's the killer feature for me because I'm lazy when it comes to repetitive tasks. |
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