Windows on Linux App of the Year
 

When you just *have* to run windows.

I vote for Win4Lin, but the button above won't let me :(

ROFL.

Had the same problem and mailed it to a mod:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=116352

Was his reply.

Like me, you also didn't read it......

CrossOver Office.

trinity

winex.sf.net hasn't even released files! Why is it here for voting?

The "never" option would be a good vote for me :)

Wine is the best. VMware comes pretty close though

Their Sourceforge page is for CVS access only. If you want their binary files, you have to pay. Look at their official website for more information.

VMware is really the only alternative if you want access to all possible windows apps for testing, general use etc. I use it when I need to test HTML in IE or to run cakewalk products or to run photoshop or corel painter. It is so much easier to configure and use than any of the other alternatives. I think wine is a mess and X-overoffice is pretty buggy. Although you are welcome to disagree, please don't post to tell me that I can run some of these programs in wine or crossover - I know - I tried - and they ran way worse then in vm.

wine, helps me with Drewamweaver. Thats all ;-)

I know it's money, but VMware is the best thing IMO for running windows apps under linux for what I do. The flexibility and ability to run OS after OS after OS is just awesome. I've been using it since it was first released in beta and just love it.

Win4Lin does everything I need and it is reasonably priced! Not only that but Netraverse has top notch customer support.

Win4Lin has to be the best bargain of the lot, providing you don't require an NT derivative. I use it for software development and it is hard to know where to start describing its benefits. I keep 20 or so windoze installations going to switch back an forth between for different clients. I run MS SQL Server (personal version) and personal web server with no problems under Win4Lin. I installed Win98se one time and simply copied the ~/win directory to create the others. If I want to test something disruptive, I can copy ~/win and test on the copy. Applications run faster than normal when using Linux file systems instead of FAT32.

Finally, the support is super. The email list is populated with many very skilled users who love to answer questions, and several Netraverse employees answer questions HOURLY. The Netraverse folks also know Linux well and even help out when the problem is only slightly related to Win4Lin. They are a small company and que up the more obscure bug reports, but the norm is that they respond quicker than they estimate.

Win4Lin
 

Win4Lin is reasonably priced and it allows me to run most of the Windows apps I need to run. It would be nice to be able to use USB and play games that require DirectX, but for most apps, Win4Lin works best for me. The cost of VMWare was prohibitive for me and although I use WineX for games and Crossover Office for one old app that won't run on anything else, Win4Lin seems to be the best choice for running Windows apps when one has no Linux option. I also like that Netraverse fixes bugs promptly and it is easy to upgrade.

I love Win4Lin. One of the most fantastic attributes of Win4Lin is the tech support and forum. Responses to problems/questions are fast, thoughtful and above all helpful.

For me Windows is a part-time necessity:

1) I require WordPerfect for compatibility with collaborators and because "view codes" is sometimes the only way to solve tough formatting problems. Heck, I've been using it since its Satellite Software days and it makes printers sing better than any other wordprocessor I've used.

2) I can't do without TurboTax.

3) I sometimes need to "see" what IE users "see" in html files.

4) My bargain $9.95 scanner (after rebate) has no sane backend.

5) My digital camera's proprietary windows software is extremely handy for a few things.

Win4Lin allows all these and other things that pop up from time to time to be accomplished without rebooting and at near native speed. Backing up Windows or moving to another box or another linux distribution is a matter of copying two directory trees. It's a gem and the folks supporting it are incredible.