CodeWeavers Releases CrossOver and CrossOver Games 9.2

CodeWeavers Releases CrossOver 9.2
to Support Civilization 5 on Linux and Mac
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (October 19, 2010) Less than a month after Firaxis released its highly anticipated and acclaimed Civilization 5, CodeWeavers, Inc. today announced the release of CrossOver Games 9.2, enabling gamers to play the game on Linux and Mac operating systems.
Based in Saint Paul, Minn., CodeWeavers is a leading developer of software products that turn Mac OS X and Linux into Windows-compatible operating systems. Its CrossOver software allows Windows software to be used on Mac and Linux PCs without the need for a Windows operating system license.
“Civilization 5 is pure turn-based pleasure, and I personally couldnt wait for it to arrive,” said Jon Parshall, chief operating officer at CodeWeavers. “As soon as we opened it up, we unleashed our programming ninjas to upgrade CrossOver so Linux loyalists and Mac lovers can join in on the good times.
“Current CrossOver subscribers can hit our site for a free 9.2 upgrade. New customers? Welcome aboard!” Parshall added. “Now, if youll excuse me, King Bernie Smedley is busily leading the virtuous Smedleyites to a glorious victory over the hated Carthaginians. Its all part of our ongoing commitment to testing and quality assurance…
CrossOver Games 9.2 replaces all previous versions of CrossOver. The software is immediately available 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.

Change Log For CrossOver Games

9.2.0 CrossOver Games - October 19, 2010

• Merged with Wine release 1.2.1. This includes bug fixes for several unsupported games, as well as fixing a crash in the launcher for Street Fighter IV and a lag in Team Fortress 2.
• Fixed a bug that causes DRM problems on Ubuntu 10.10.
• Fixed patching of StarCraft II (via an updated Gecko engine).
• Fixed a problem that prevented StarCraft II from launching properly during the first run.
• Fixed the sending of text in Worms Armageddon WormNET.
• Improved behavior with built-in msvcr71. Should simplify the installation of several unsupported games, including Lord of the Rings Online.
• Fixed a double mouse-pointer bug that appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on some Linux distributions.
• Improved font rendering for Trainz 2004 and others.
• Got Tomb Raider: Chronicles working again.
• Fixed a serious rendering problem for Civilization V.

Change Log For CrossOver Linux

9.2.0 CrossOver Linux - October 19, 2010

• Merged with Wine release 1.2.1 which includes bug fixes for many applications. It also includes adjustments to cope with a change of security policy on Ubuntu 10.10.

Change Log For CrossOver Mac

9.2.0 CrossOver Mac - October 19, 2010

• Merged with Wine release 1.2.1 which includes bug fixes for many applications.

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.