How I converted my Office to Linux

How I converted my Office to Linux by MLUG This is a recording OSGUI Tim filmed of Mick & the Melbourne Linux Users Group (MLUG) guys on the 25th Aug 2010 in North Melbourne Computer Bank Office. More info about MLUG and this Workshop Meeting Session can be found at: www.mlug.org.au Background For a long time I’ve been using Linux at home and work. I use Linux for my TV, notebook, development (work & hobbies), electronics and thin clients. I first worked with thin clients about 4 years ago, starting from scratch using FreeBSD.

Im a programmer at heart and although I do a lot of administration at work I try my best to minimize this with the use of technology be it hardware, software or scripts. What we had to start with Mixture of large noisy desktops Running Windows XP 100Mbps 24port switch 6 Staff, with requirements for 10 desktops (display screens, boardroom, casual employee and test computers) Safety net I had many safety nets as I was migrating...

Backups Switch between old HD & PXE boot Virtualisation of old system Slow step by step migration Clone drive before upgrades Technology which helped me SSDs Ruby Atom motherboards LTSP project CrossOver Linux VirtualBox OSE (Open Source Edition) How I started Installed Open Source apps under Windows XP (OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird) Centralized services for Data using Samba on a server Centralized printer server using CUPs CrossOver Linux Isolate applications which cannot be replaced by open …

Quicken can run on Macs

Screen capture courtesy of Intuit QUICKEN 2010 is shown running under CrossOver. Both CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Linux can run the latest version of Quicken with few problems.

Intuits Quicken financial software is highly regarded and widely used by the Windows crowd. Unfortunately, Intuit botched the Mac version of Quicken by taking away some of the most important features of the Windows program.

This is a serious problem for former Windows users who switched recently to the Mac. Sales to "switchers" are a significant percentage of Mac sales, and nothing is as likely to disappoint a new Mac user than finding out your favorite program just isn't the same on your new computer.
But this doesn't have to be. Anyone using a modern Mac can run the latest version of Quicken -- the Windows version, with all its bells and whistles -- by investing $40 in software that gives Macs a way to run Windows programs.

The software is called CrossOver Mac, from www.codeweavers.com. You can download a trial version at no cost. CrossOver Mac and its companion product, CrossOverLinux, are based on a long-standing project called WINE.

The WINE project is a volunteer effort that creates a Microsoft-like underpinning that runs Windows software without the need for Windows itself.
Many Mac and Linux users -- my guess would be a couple of million -- run Microsoft Outlook, the powerful mail-and-calendaring software used in offices worldwide, under WINE itself or under CrossOver. (The advantage CrossOver has over WINE is easier installation and, in many cases, better support.)
Not all Windows programs cooperate with WINE and CrossOver. Codeweavers, which runs the CrossOver project, keeps a list of popular Windows software that runs under CrossOver at www.codeweavers.com/compatibility.

Windows programs are ranked in categories of Gold Medal (programs that run just as well as they do in Windows), Silver Medal (programs that Codeweavers is working on to eliminate a few bugs) and Bronze Medal (programs with partial usability).

Quicken 2010 for Windows is considered a Silver Medal program. Codeweavers describes the status of Quicken 2010 for Windows this way:
"Silver is awarded to applications that install and run well enough to be usable. However, in our testing, we find that these applications have bugs that prevent them from running flawlessly. The most important aspect of a supported Silver application is that CodeWeavers makes a firm commitment to bring all Silver applications to the Gold level in future releases of CrossOver. Likewise, CodeWeavers will respond to and address all bugs reported in these applications."
If you're a Quicken 2010 user and recently switched to the Mac, you can install your present copy of Quicken 2010 on your new Mac after you install CrossOver Mac. You may need to contact Intuit if the software complains that it has been installed on more than one computer. Intuit will arrange for reinstallation permission.

Screen capture courtesy of Intuit QUICKEN 2010 is shown running under CrossOver. Both CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Linux can run the latest version of Quicken with few problems.

How to Run Windows on a Mac

You just bought your shiny new Mac. Youre mesmerized by the user-friendliness of its operating system and applications. After playing for a while, you want to get back to work on your Microsoft Access database and..…you find out that theres no equivalent of this useful database program on the Mac world!

Dont worry! I’m going to tell you about 3 different ways that you can run the Windows operating system on your Intel Mac so that you can run any unique programs such as Microsoft Access.

Booting into Windows: Using Apple Boot Camp

Any Intel based Mac is capable of starting up from either the Mac OS X or from the Windows OS (after doing the appropriate set-up).
You will need to first install Apple’s Boot Camp on your Mac so that this useful application creates a Windows partition on your Mac’s hard drive. Boot Camp version 3 comes with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Boot Camp 2.0 came with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Boot Camp allocates one portion of the hard drive to Mac and the other portion to Windows so that both operating systems can co-exist in your machine.

Important: Boot Camp does not come with a free license of Windows. You will need to still purchase your own license of Windows.
After a successful installation of Boot Camp, you can boot your Mac into Windows by holding the Option key down while rebooting your system. This option does not allow you to run both operating systems at the same time. If you want to have access to your Mac documents while running Windows, you must reboot back to Mac OS.
If you would prefer an option that allows you to run both operating systems simultaneously, then you would be better off with running Windows on a Virtual Machine.

Running Windows on a Virtual Machine

When you use a virtual machine on your Intel-powered Mac, you will run Windows and Mac operating systems at the same time. Furthermore, you can also run different windows of Windows XP, Windows 7 and Linux all at the same time.
Also, you will be able to move files from any operating system to the other without the need of rebooting your machine.
There are 3 recommended virtualization applications:

• Parallels Desktop
• VMware Fusion
• VirtualBox

Be aware that when you use a virtual machine, you will not be running Windows at native speeds as in Boot Camp. From my personal experience, I prefer VMware Fusion because of their user-friendly setup and intuitive controls.
If you would like to run Windows on your Mac using option 2, then you will need to first purchase a license of one of the 3 recommended virtualization applications and secure a license of your desired version of Windows (or Linux).

Running Windows Programs without the Windows OS

Last but not least, you can use CodeWeavers CrossOver to run Windows XP applications right on your Mac OS X without the need of installing the Windows OS. CrossOver is neither a virtualization application (option 2) nor a dual-boot system (option 1). CrossOver stores files by Windows applications in Mac folders and adds to them necessary code to run on Mac OS X systems.
Unlike options 1 and 2, you will skip the cost of a Windows license. This makes option 3 a very attractive option as the cost of a Windows license may be the most expensive component of your budget when trying to run Windows on your Mac.
However, the trade-off of using CodeWeavers CrossOver is that it only supports a few Windows applications such as Outlook.

Conclusion

There are 3 options to consider when looking to run Windows on your Intel-based Mac.
The 4 key questions that you need to ask yourself are:

1. Do I want run Windows and Mac simultaneously?
2. Do I want run Windows apps at native speeds?
3. Do I want to be able to run all Windows apps?
4. What is my budget?

Given these 4 questions and the information above you can decide which one is the best option for you.

MN Company Lets You Run Windows Apps on a Mac the Easy Way

They say the best blogging is about story-telling. So, let me tell you one of mine how I came to write this post. First, some background: I run a Windows-free environment, and have for a long time. I put in my time with “Windoz” many years ago, and quickly left it behind. I cant even remember what version of the Mac OS I was using when that happened, but it was several iterations ago, and I upgraded through all those OS upgrades, loving the enhancements every step of the way. There are many reasons I became an Apple fanboy, and have happily stayed that way but the biggest of them all was simply ease of use, across the whole Mac experience, and the much lower hassle factor all around. I value my time. I don’t want to be a computer geek. I just want to get stuff done. Mac fits the bill. 

Today, thanks to the amazing advances of the Apple OS over the years and other Apple software offerings, I dont have a single need to run a Windows app on my Mac. However, I realize many people do they have a work reason, perhaps, to run Outlook, one of the Windows versions of Microsoft Office, or Internet Explorer, or other apps that just dont (for some crazy reason) yet have a Mac version. Ive been running the same Mac version of MS Office now for more than a decade; it works fine. (So, I cant say I run a completely Microsoft-free environment; just a Windows-free one.) I also realize there’s another big universe of Mac users out there who want to run Windows on their machines: gamers. We’re not talking a work reason here (I don’t think!), but this is a big market. There are many more games available for the Windows platform than for Mac though that is changing somewhat, since so many game apps are continually being introduced for the Mac iOS that is, for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. (And the new “GameCenter” in Mac iOS 4.1, due next week, moves Apple even further into the games market.)

But why I am writing about running Windows on a Mac when I dont have a need myself, and I’m certainly not a gamer? Well, before I tell you about “CrossOver Mac,” here’s why: I had a personal experience recently helping my daughter. Shes also a longtime Mac user, but she needed to run a single Windows app for her business, which was required by a government agency she had to deal with. So, I told her, sure, I’d help her figure out how she could do that. I of course knew about two programs designed to do that, called “Parallels” and “VMware Fusion,” either of which we could buy (for about $80, I think). And I told her I could help her get one of those installed on her Macbook. But we really didn’t like the idea of spending even that much money to run one little Windows app, maybe once a month plus a friend, Steve Borsch, told me Windows doesn’t really run all that snappy with those programs, anyway.

But I was starting to think about buying one of those programs when another local friend, Gary Doan, said, “Wait, what about Boot Camp? That wont cost you anything.” Apple started bundling that program with OS 10.5 and now 10.6, and you just need the original install disk to fire that up. Yes, plus a bonafide version of Windows, with an install disk and we would have had to buy that. Cheapest I could find: an OEM version of 32-bit Windows 7 for $110 at our local Micro Center (closest thing we have to Fry’s here in MN). You can’t even buy Windows XP anymore, I learned, so that was not a cheaper option. That, combined with an onerous 14-page manual that Apple said you must print out and have by your side as you go through the detailed Boot Camp installation and configuration process, was making me start to think, screw this. Then I learned my daughter’s Macbook only has a half a gig of RAM, and would need at least 1G to run OS 10.6, which I wanted to upgrade her to, and preferably 2G. That would have cost me at least another $60, even if I installed the memory myself, which I really didnt want to do. I thought, wait a minute, were getting close to $200 here for something we really don’t want to do! Plus untold hours of my time screwing around to get it running.
Long story short: I found a brand-new HP Mini netbook on sale for $269 at OfficeMax (thanks to a friend’s tip), and I had a $30 off coupon! I told her Id gladly pay for half of that. I figured I was coming out way ahead, considering I wouldnt have to invest any time at all if we went with this option. Plus, she wanted a second computer anyway, just for email and web use on another floor of her house, and the HP Mini came with built-in wifi capability, so it was a pretty cheap option for that. Now, were both happy.

Which brings me to the subject of my post: theres a much simpler way to run Windows on an Intel Mac and it might just work for you. I wish Id have known about it a week or two earlier, and I could have saved even more time (and money). Its a product called CrossOver Mac, from the playfully named CodeWeavers, based in St. Paul, MN.

Running Windows Applications on Linux

The perceived inability to run windows applications on Linux is what keeps many individuals from trying Linux. It turns out that it is possible to run many popular Windows applications on Linux PCs using one of several software technologies. Products that will allow Windows applications to run on Linux include:
Cedega from TransGaming Technologies Inc. CrossOver Office for Linux from CodeWeavers Inc. QEMU from Fabrice Bellard VMware from VMware, an EMC companyWin4Lin from Win4Lin Inc. Wine from the Wine Project

Cedega
TransGaming Technologies bills themselves as “the global leader in the development of software portability products for cross-platform gaming”. Their flagship product, Cedega, allows games originally created for Windows to run on Linux, “out-of-the-box”.
Cedega runs on Linux Kernel 2.4 or higher.
Cedega is available on a subscription basis from the TransGaming web site (). TransGaming also offers a 14-day trial of Cedega on their web site.

CrossOver Office
CrossOver Office from CodeWeavers allows many popular Windows applications to run on Linux. The list of applications that CrossOver Office allows to run on Linux is quite extensive and includes applications such as: Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Project and Visio, and graphics applications such as Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, and Adobe Photoshop, and much more. CrossOver Office also allows individuals to use many Windows Web browser plugins, such as QuickTime and Shockwave. CodeWeavers uses Wine technology in its CrossOver Office Products (see the Wine description later in this article).

CodeWeavers maintains an extensive list of applications that can run on Linux using CrossOver Office with a ranking of how well they run. The list can be accessed on their web site ().
CrossOver Office has been tested on many Linux distributions. The complete list may be found on the CodeWeavers web site.

CrossOver Office is available in two versions, Standard and Professional. The Standard version is intended for home users and Linux enthusiasts, while Professional is more for commercial users and builds on the functionality of Standard by adding enhanced deployability features, as well as the ability to run CrossOver Office in shared mode from a single machine.
A 30-day trial of CrossOver Office is available from CodeWeavers and may be obtained from their web site ().

Full Article

Running Recettear on an Intel Mac

Lolieconomics on the Mac.

So, you have a Mac, but you want to play this game called Recettear. However, you do not want to reboot into Windows or use virtualization software. Crossover/Crossover Games can pretty much do the trick, but you need to reconfigure some settings before you can play the game.

Obtain the game

It won’t do much if you don’t have the game. Purchase a Copy from Impulse or GamerGate. Do not buy from Steam since the game will require you to run Steam and might not work properly within Crossover/Crossover Games. The copies from Impulse and GamerGate are DRM free.
Note that the Impuse client is buggy, so you need to download in Windows.

Obtain a copy of Crossover/Crossover Games

Crossover is a native emulation layer that allows one to install and run windows programs natively without installing Windows or using virtualization software. Any version will work with Recettear. Once Crossover is installed, run it and go to Configure > Install Software. After its installed, install the full version of Recettear. If you download using Windows, copy the Recettear game files to the c_drive folder in your Crossover Bottle. This can be accessed by going to Configure > Manage Bottles, Select the DirectX Bottle > Advanced > Open C: Drive in Finder.

Configure the Bottle

If you ran the program for the first time, you noticed that there is no sound. To fix this, we need to override some DLL files. To do this, go to Configure > Manage Bottles. Select the DirectX Bottle and go to Control Panel Tab. Then launch “Wine Config”
Go to the Libraries tab and add the following:
dmband dmcompos dmime dmloader dmscript dmstyle dmsynth dmusic dmusic32 dswave streamci dsound

Apply these settings and exit out Wine Config. Then, relaunch Wine Config and go to the library tab. Verify if these libraries are in the list. If not, readd them and try again until they are finally on the list.
Lastly, go to the Audio tab. Ignore the alert message about missing registry entries. Then, set the Hardware Acceleration to Emulation and then press OK.
Close the Manage Bottles window.

Run the Game

Finally, go to Programs > Run Command. Then, locate the program file called “recettear.exe” in the folder where you put the game files in the bottle. Click Save Commands to Program Menu so you can access it later. After you saved the command, press “Run” to run the game. Then, you have successfully installed Recettear on your Mac.
 

Since I have the game up and running, I will start covering it tomorrow. Remember, support the indie developers and buy a copy… don’t pirate!
(Same instructions should work for Crossover under Linux)

 

Crossover Bordeaux Cedega VS Vanilla Wine

A question I have fielded more then a couple times in the Wine section of the Ubuntu Forums is

What is the difference between commercial Wine products and vanilla Wine?

There are three main commercial Wine products: Bordeaux, Cedega, and Crossover. There are a few distinct differences between the commercial Wine products and the FOSS Wine.

Support:
One of the largest benefits to using a paid for Wine product is that not only are you paying for software, you are also paying for support of said software. What this means is that if an application that is suppose to function, doesn't work properly - You will have a real live person to help you debug the issue. While support for Cedega is somewhat lacking, Bordeaux and Crossover have fantastic support staff.

GUI/Automated Installer:
All three of the commercial Wine applications provide a GUI/automated installer for installing applications. This makes it much easier for new users (and faster for experienced users) to configure applications properly under Wine. Time is money as they say.

CodeWeavers open invitation to Wine-Doors and other closed projects users

A couple weeks back I noticed the Wine-Doors project was down and on their front page they have a message "Very very broken and I don't have time to fix it" So what should users who have been using Wine-Doors, or any of the other closed projects do in the future to configure and run their favorite Windows Applications and Games on Linux or Mac?

One option is to use Vanilla Wine from winehq and configure and set everything up yourself. This takes some knowledge of how Wine works and some time to test each small change to see if its helping or hurting your Application or Games. You will also need to be familiar with running regedit and editing the user and system registry in Wine.

Another option that is allot easier for end users and business is to move to CodeWeavers CrossOver for Linux and Mac. Wine-Reviews and CodeWeavers would like at this time to invite all of the past Wine-Doors users to try CrossOver Pro or Games and receive a instant 25% discount off any purchase. To receive the 20% discount just enter "ComeToTheLight" as your special dealcode when you purchase CrossOver.

Update 01/27/2023 : The ComeToTheLight dealcode has expired, you can now use "TOM23" as your dealcode and save 20% off CrossOver for Mac and Linux.

This invitation is also for anyone who has used Wine Tools, Xwine, WineBot, Transgaming Cedega or any other Wine Configuration Tool in the past.

When you become a CrossOver customer you become a member of a large community of Wine users who share the same interest. CodeWeavers have setup user forums for every application and game in their compatibility center, this way you can have discussions about the application thats most relevant to you. You can Vote for your favorite application and also make a monetary Pledge for any application in the compatibility center. You can also become a Advocate for your favorite applications and games and help test the status with each new CrossOver release. Advocates also have the ability to download and test nightly builds of CrossOver for Linux, Mac, FreeBSD, and Solaris.

You can also sign up to become a beta tester of upcoming releases and be one of the first people to test and use any of the new features in a upcoming CrossOver release.

CodeWeavers C4P technology allows over 300 Windows applications to be installed on your Mac or Linux PC with a single click of your mouse. If you have CrossOver installed, and the Windows installer for your software, you can simply click the  button in the Compatibility Database, and CrossOver will automatically install your application for you!

You can also write and submit your own C4P script for any application that you use. This will allow other people who use the same application to easily install and run the application with a single click. With more people voting and pledging and using a application the more likely the application will be supported in future releases.

So to sum everything up, we here and Wine-Reviews and CodeWeavers want to invite you to become a member of the CrossOver comminity where you can interact with people who have the same interest and needs as you do. As a CodeWeavers customer you can join in any of the forums, vote on applications and games, make a pledge for your favorite application or game. And you can become a Advocate as well as a Beta tester of future releases. CrossOver is built around a community of people with the same interest and needs, and your invited to join this exciting community.

I should also mention that CodeWeavers has support that exceeds industry standards. Level 1 Support inquires are followed upon with in twenty four hours, and in many cases within only a couple hours during regular business hours. So if you should encounter any problems their dedicated and professional support crew is ready to help you resolve the issue in a timely manner.

Once again, to take advantage of the 20% discount just enter "ComeToTheLight" at the store and your on your way to becoming part of the broader Wine and CrossOver Community.

Update 01/27/2023 : The ComeToTheLight dealcode has expired, you can now use "TOM23" as your dealcode and save 20% off CrossOver for Mac and Linux.

About CodeWeavers
Founded in 1996 as a general software consultancy, CodeWeavers focuses on the development of Wine – the core technology found in all of its CrossOver products. The company's goal is to bring expanded market opportunities for Windows software developers by making it easier, faster and more painless to port Windows software to Linux. CodeWeavers is recognized as a leader in open-source Windows porting technology, and maintains development offices in Minnesota, the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the world. The company is privately held. For more information about CodeWeavers, log on to www.codeweavers.com.