| Linux platform for Windows apps gets better |
Dec. 27, 2004
CodeWeavers has released an update to its software platform that enables many Windows programs to run on Linux systems. Version 4.1 of CrossOver Office is "one of [the] best releases in a while" and includes "some pretty dramatic" improvements for iTunes on Linux, particularly when run on systems with the 2.6 Linux kernel, according to CEO Jeremy White.
"We feel pretty good about this release; we think we've gotten a lot of little niggling bugs out, and our testing has come up cleaner on this release than on any we've done in recent memory," White wrote, in a statement released last week.
Codeweavers claims CrossOver Office enables the use of over 35 popular Windows applications on Linux, including Microsoft Office, Visio, and Internet Explorer, Intuit Quicken, Macromedia Dreamweaver and Flash, Adobe Photoshop, eFax, iPIX, QuickTime, Lotus Notes 6.51, Microsoft Outlook XP, Real Player, Windows Media Player, and other popular Windows-based applications. The platform is currently bundled with desktop Linux distributions from Lycoris, SuSE, and Xandros. Standard and professional editions of the product are available with support from US $40.
Tipping point coming in 2005
"You'll be happy to know that we're already hard at work on 5.0, with Office 2003 support," White added. The company is also in the process of a "major Window management overhaul [that will address] the nasty painting issues we've had through the years, so that will be exciting to bring you next year."
CrossOver Office is based on technology from the open source Wine project, which emulates Windows functions on Linux (although Wine stands for "Wine is not an emulator").
"I'm hopeful that next year is the year that Wine really hits [its] 'tipping' point, with most things starting to 'just work,'" according to White.
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
