Wine is not an Emulator! If you are remotely interested in Linux as an OS you probably have some things holding you back from switching.

Namely that piece of software that you love so much. Be it Microsoft Office or World of War Craft, every one it seems, has that one app they can’t live without. Ah, but we have Linux alternatives some might cry, but alas not everyone wants to use a new piece of software. They want their widget to be exactly like they remember it and that toolbar has to be in just the right spot. Enter Wine. Wine is an abstraction layer (pretty name for “it makes Windows programs think they are installing in Windows”.)

While far from being a true blue install of Windows it has some amazing benefits. Aside from the amazing activity level of the developers (I have seen a new version every 2 or 3 weeks). Its simplicity and brilliance are amazing. Imagine being in Linux and popping in your Office XP CD, up pops the installer, you type in your name, your product id code, and boom it starts installing. When the installer finishes you click on your K or Gnome menu click Wine and there is Office. And it looks and runs just as well (for the most part) as it would in Windows. This amazing product has come a long ways since it’s early development and has recently added support for DirectX 9.0c and is actively working towards .NETt integration. To download go to http://www.winehq.org. Enjoy your Wine!