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OK
1. Is there a linux program that will let me run a windows program (Sitebuilder by Intuit Websites).
And
2. Should i get the desktop or netbook version of Ubuntu? I have a problem with fullscreen games and the boot screen, this is regular on windows. It shows it right in the middle of the screen and there is ALOT of blank space. I don't have Ubuntu yet, i'm asking this becuase the netbook version said "optimized for smaller screens" and i dont wanna wipe out windows and find out that it dont work. No, i cant do the thing were i have Windows and Linux becuase the only way i can get rid of some programs is by reformatting.
(1) Wine is the program, or run Windows in a virtual machine like VirtualBox or VMware. Looking at Wine HQ, it doesn't look like SiteBuilder runs well on it, presently.. So probably a virtual machine.
(2) Dual Boot Ubuntu for starters, then you'll be able to try things out.
Last edited by mostlyharmless; 07-16-2010 at 03:12 PM.
If dual-boot is not an option, how about an install on a USB disk? You wouldn't need more than a 2GB drive to test the install, and then you could boot with the USB drive in to test linux and reboot without it to return to Windows. Some computers will easily boot from USB. To try this install from a Linux Live CD.
As for running Windows programs under Linux you may use wine (WINdows Emulator.) Once it is installed you can run Windows programs under Linux. Not all Windows programs run acceptably under Linux and you would need to test the ones you need to be sure they run. I would recommend doing this BEFORE removing Windows and installing Linux on the hard drive.
Use WINE~!! Im using it for Adobe Photoshop 7 & it works JUST like it doe son Windows. The EXACT same thing.
It's better than virtual machine cuz its actually a program on your desktop just like on Windows, except you right-click and select "Open with WINE" , it then opens like it would in Windows
"Integrates seamlessly".
but with Virtual Machine, you will actually need to start a Linux program that emulates a windows OS... that means u gotta create a virtual HD, partition blah blah blah, start up windows in linux i a little virtual box and open it within there... but Wine is like a little encoder basically
You install it and then you are able to double click on the windows program (.exe) without any other linux programs... integrates seamlessly lol
As far as I know, the difference (when talking about the screen thing) between Ubuntu and its netbook version is that the netbook version uses a different approach to the desktop; instead of the regular Gnome desktop with two panels (one at the top and one at the bottom of the screen) the "optimized for smaller screens" version uses a sort of "quick-start desktop" where you don't have the bottom panel, and instead of plain desktop you have a sort of tabbed interface with icons of programs covering the usually blank desktop area. It shouldn't affect booting visuals, games or anything like that. I agree you should try booting it as a live version first, so you could check which one suits you better. The core system is same in each case, and I'm pretty sure you can switch between those two "views" simply by removing/installing certain packages (something like ubuntu-desktop metapackage, for example).
Edit: the post #4 from bruceleejr gives the impression that a virtual machine means a lot of work for no good, and that Wine is an overall god-like answer to your Windows software problems on Linux. This is usually not the case. A virtual machine is (nowadays) rather easy to set up, I'd say at least no harder than configuring graphics, sound and drive settings in Wine, and it provides you an exact Windows operating system environment where your applications run fine, because they're running under (a virtualized) Windows. Wine, however, works with only a portion of the software -- you're lucky if you happen to need it for an application that is so well supported that you don't notice any problems -- and you really do need to check the AppDB at WineHQ (their website) to know whether or not the application in question works or not with Wine, and what problems you may encounter. Especially if there is no entry for the application you're looking for, it is not guaranteed to work at all. If both options work for you, choose the one that suits you better. Otherwise pick the one that works. Running Photoshop under Wine is not the same as running SiteBuilder, because they are different programs. Altough it may be possible to "tweak" a program to work under Wine that does not do that right from the start, I'd say it takes more effort than putting up a virtual machine with the real thing. Of course that means you need to own a (legal!) copy of Windows, but if you need Windows software that bad, you probably should own one. It's not a bad option to run Windows as a real installation (maybe dual-boot or another computer) either, that way you won't lose a thing. Best option would be to find equivalent software that runs natively on Linux, without any tricks.
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