Macworld 2010 - CrossOver Mac

Jack Phinney from CodeWeavers demonstrates CrossOver Mac, which allows Mac users to run Windows apps (such as Internet Explorer or Microsoft Outlook) without having to install Windows.

Review Codeweavers Crossover Mac 9.0

When you absolutely must run a Windows application on your Mac, you've got three options. Boot Camp will get you up and running with a proper full Windows installation, supplying all the raw power your hardware can muster and giving your programs 100% compatibility, at least in theory. This is Windows were talking about, after all.
Next comes virtualisation – using applications such as Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion – which enables you to run your Windows installation on top of OS X, sacrificing a little grunt for the convenience of running everything in one bordered desktop.

And then theres Crossover. Its basically a Mac port of Linuxs Wine, a compatibility layer for Windows apps; its so close, in fact, that it maintains Wine's terminology, employing Bottles to contain virtual system settings and instructions pertaining to your individual installed apps.
Unlike the other two options, Crossover doesnt need a full copy of Windows or the expensive licence that goes with it. It employs intricate emulators of all of Windows key functions to run apps completely independently of Microsofts operating system.
Still a way to go

 
Crossover has had its detractors over the years, and for good reason; here we are at version 9, and its only just catching up with some of the more major Windows applications on the market.
Theres a huge list of programs – 700 or so – that CodeWeavers rates as Gold, and even this designation merely signifies that the application mostly runs as expected. This number does cover many of the applications that make it most useful.

Internet Explorer is there, for instance, which makes testing web designs with the worlds most popular browser relatively straightforward. Legacy versions of Media Player are also supported, which is a cheeky way of playing WMV video.
 

Windows Media Player works well enough in Crossover.

Full Article

CXGames 9.0 A Hands on Review

Back on October of last year I did a comparison of Cedega and CXGames. As of yesterday Codeweavers launched their CXGames 9.0. If we had heard any news or updates from Cedega in the last five months this would be an updated comparison, but since Cedega has not changed I simply am going to be reviewing the newly released CXGames.

The first thing you will notice when using CXGames 9.0 if you had used past versions is that the GUI has under gone a refreshing change.

Application Installer:

Bottle Manager:One of the key things you will notice when installing a game is that there are now "profiles" built in for games. Officially supported games have a profile as well currently a handful of other games. Similar to how Cedega works people can now submit the Wine settings they use to successfully run a game to Codeweavers so others can replicate these settings with a single click from the installer. With the number of users Codeweavers has accumulated over the years I have no doubt that we will soon see profiles for the multitude of gold and silver rated unsupported applications listed in the Codeweaver's data base.

Link to Full Review

CodeWeavers Launches CrossOver Games 9.0 for Linux and Mac

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (May 12, 2010) – Despite the massive distraction of this weekend's theatrical release of Iron Man 2, CodeWeavers, Inc., a leading developer of software products that turn Mac OS X and Linux into Windows-compatible operating systems, today announces it has completed the development of CrossOver Games 9.0 for both Mac and Linux.
CrossOver Games allows Windows games to be used on Mac and Linux PCs without the need for a Windows operating system license.
Available beginning today for download at www.codeweavers.com, CrossOver Games 9.0:

• supports the new Steam UI; and,
• StarCraft 2 (beta) and StarTrek Online; and
• enables users to install games from a single screen and a single click on CodeWeavers' compatibility center.

Historically, CodeWeavers programmers complete a software upgrade with a straight 96-hour burn fueled by Red Bull, Twizzlers and vending machine pretzels. The release of CrossOver Games 9.0 marks the first time CodeWeavers launched a new version of its software amidst the release of a blockbuster summer film, which typically grinds production to a halt as CodeWeavers programmers camp outside the theater for three days to secure the best seats on opening night.

"It's corporate policy that we schedule our software releases during weak spots in the movie calendar. Early Fall. Late Winter. Like, when a Meryl Streep film comes out," said Jeremy White, CodeWeavers chief executive officer. "What can I say? I screwed up. I got confused. I forgot about Iron Man 2.
"Hence the anomaly for this week's release of CrossOver Games 9.0, which also enables gamers to download installation 'recipes' directly from the CodeWeavers online Compatibility Database, located at C4.codeweavers.com," White added. "If another CrossOver Games user figures out how to use CrossOver to install a Windows-compatible game, he can upload this installation recipe to our database. For gamers using windows, that means they can switch to Mac or Linux without much worry.
"Our programmers were enraged at the scheduling conflict, though many snuck out late Friday afternoon to catch – spoiler alert here – Iron Man take down Whiplash," White said.
To ensure programmers continued working Saturday and Sunday without break, White created a makeshift "electric whip" to emulate Mickey Rourke's character's weapon of choice.

"Essentially, it was 48 strands of 28-inch stripped coax cables sewn into the fingers of an Ace Hardware work glove," White said. "I walked around cubes in our office screaming 'full Steam ahead, minions!' in a mediocre Russian accent while swinging the whip. It worked, more or less."

"At around 9 a.m. Sunday morning while quietly writing code at my desk, White's whip snagged me just below the groin on my left leg," said Jon Parshall, chief operating officer at CodeWeavers.
"Ugh. Fourteen stitches plus the pitiful sight of a grown man writhing on the floor in his own pool of blood," White said. "Hopefully sales of CrossOver Games 9.0 will help pay his medical bills."
CrossOver Games 9.0 is download-only and can be purchased for $39.95 at www.codeweavers.com. 

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.

 

Crossover Games

I own an Imac so that means my gaming choices are limited. Since Apple has switched to Intel chips, it is possible for most games to be ported via a wrapper program that mimics a Windows environment. Yes, of course if gaming is that important to a computer user they could use the Bootcamp program and then load in Windows. And I've thought about doing that, and I may still become a bootcamper. However right now, I don't want to drop upwards of $200 for the Windows system.

On Massively, a commentator mentioned that he/she played Lord of the Rings Online via a wrapper program called Crossover Games. That idea intrigued me so I looked into the software. The Crossover suite of programs are offered by CodeWeavers. These programs mimic Windows using a wrapper based on the open source Wine project.

Crossover games is the "official" version of the Wine opensource project. It is affordable at $39.95 (the fee supports the Wine opensource programmers) and the installation is simple. What isn't simple is getting the subsequent windows games to work properly. Since this option is rather arcane no matter how easy Codeweavers has made it, you will probably need to know a little something about programming to get anything working.

To use Crossover Games, the user must create a mini-windows shell called a bottle. You can pick which flavor of windows you want this bottle to mimic (vista, winxp, 98, 2000). A bottle must be created for each game you want to play. Then you can load the games into the bottle via disc or downloads. Theoretically, it should be easy.

However I could get nothing to work with it. The LOTR instructions were easy however the program doesn't recognize the official game install file. I tried to download the free to play Uru Online. The installation progress was successful. However the site registration is no longer available so I can't log in to the program. As a lark I also tried to install Blue Mars. However there was an error that had something to do with the install aware program. I was at wit's end and wondered if I could use the software for anything. Finally I managed to see the program in action with the game Wizard 101(review later). And I can say that Crossover works very well for what it is.

This solution is very ad hoc and is in no way a substitute for Mac Bootcamp. But if you can't afford to spring for the Windows software at the moment, this program will do for the time being. I recommend it.