As the title says I’m going to talk about some of the differences between all of the above.

This is also my first blog so I’m hoping that I don’t do it to badly. WINE is  basically a windows emulator for Linux operating systems. WINE allows you to run some applications on Linux that does not have Linux support or installers ie: Office 2007, World of Warcraft and many others. This is not a how-to but more a idea of what is going around and what its all about. WINE is the underlying technology for all the above applications. But lets face it, this was made so we could run the nice M$ games on our Linux distros. I for one love to game and I really would like to have more games written for M$ and Linux. I can’t figure out what the big deal is as most games are written in C++ and could be compiled for any OS type.

Games is a major stumbling block when it comes to people moving from M$ to Linux and most don’t have the knowledge or time to sit and try figure out how to play there favorite games on Linux. Here comes the solutions. Some are free and others not but lets take a look at them a little more.

WINE

WINE is easy to setup but hard to configure. Most of the time you need to install things like flash, msfonts and direct X to make things work. So far I found that if you don’t want to physically install something from a CD or download it, the best option is to use WINE on its own and check out WINE AppDb for some useful tips on how to run some of the applications. WINE has some add-on tools to make life a little easier like winetricks and others.

Cedega also known as WINEX

Cedega is a commercial application that will cost you around $5 a month if you want to play games on Linux but it does support some really nice games. It’s a frontend that was built on top of WINE which runs basic scripts to install the needed applications to run specific games. Now, as South Africans in a recession this is not a viable option as we already have to pay monthly subs for some games and then also just to run it on our system.

Crossover

Crossover has two versions: Crossover Linux Professional and Crossover games for Linux. And as you can guess it is WINE with some scripts and uses WINEPREFIX to run its applications. I must say if I had to pay for applications this would be  the one. Its a once-off charge of $39.95 and no monthly subs.

PlayOnLinux

This is exactly the same as all of the above its uses WINE with scripts to make installations easy. The big difference here is that its absolutely free and according to their site will remain free. But with all free things there comes a price. Their application support is not as big as WINE and they are still working out what all is needed to run what applications.

Now for my 2 cents worth on the entire subject is that if you have all the install CDs and your looking for less fuss and more play time then get either Crossover or PlayOnLinux as they are reasonable and less hard to work with. If you have all your games on a external hdd like me from Windows past then WINE with winetricks is about the best option. This is a work around for playing games on Linux and until supplies start recognizing that the Linux gaming community is growing rapidly and start selling games for all OS’s this will have to be the workaround.

Oh, the one thing that all the others do is use WINEPREFIX with different names. Crossover calls it bottles and PlayOnLinux something else. But what it basically does is install your game on its own little windows framework so that if you install something that might help one application but break another then they don’t affect each other. CodeWeavers Crossover also gives you a 30-day trial on CrossOver Games Linux if you want to check it out before you buy it.

Some useful links

http://www.winehq.org/
http://www.codeweavers.com/
http://www.playonlinux.com/en
http://www.cedega.com/

The ONE thing M$ is very good at is propaganda, more commonly know as FUD. People like belonging to things and the Windows 7 launch parties make it cool so that people want to belong. Certain sections of the media also take this so that M$ now does not even have to pay for their marketing.

If we have a Linux release party and “Two techies from the area teamed up to highlight ******* *’* key features and answer questions”, people will most likely say or at least think that is because nobody else understands Linux. Insert Linux distro of choice in the appropriate space.

To promote Linux and in this writers case, UBUNTU, we have to give it a cool factor so that general users WANT to belong to the group of Linux users. Make it a cool, fun, easy “club”  to belong to.

Full Story

Apologies to all here and at Ubuntu-ZA for not being active the last 3 weeks.

Microsoft said on Monday that it will open up the data format behind its Outlook program, CNet reports.

In a blog posting, Microsoft group manager Paul Lorimer said the company was working to publish the specifications behind Outlook’s .pst files.

The move, he said, would “allow developers to read, create, and interoperate with the data in .pst files in server and client scenarios using the programming language and platform of their choice.”

Lorimer said the documentation effort was still in its early stages. “We are engaging directly with industry experts and interested customers to gather feedback on the quality of the technical documentation to ensure that it is clear and useful.”

Full story

The Ubuntu team last night announced the release of Ubuntu 9.10, aka Karmic Koala. Streamlined bootup and Gnome 2.28 on the desktop are just some of the main features of Karmic Koala. Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud setup is now included in the installer and AppArmor boosts system security.

Desktop features

GNOME 2.28 featuring Empathy: with this latest beta release, Ubuntu now uses the Empathy instant messaging service by default, introducing the Telepathy framework.

Ubuntu Software Center: the first step in a replacement for Add/Remove Software has landed for testing and feedback.

New boot experience: multiple changes to look, feel and speed of the boot experience have been included in the Ubuntu 9.10 beta.

Server features

Cloud computing: Ubuntu 9.10 builds on cloud support in Ubuntu 9.04, with support for Eucalyptus configuration at install time and publishing of standard VM images for UEC.

AppArmor: Ubuntu 9.10 continues to raise the bar for server security, with AppArmor profiles enabled by default for ntpd and libvirt providing another layer of protection from attacks on the network or via guest virtual machines.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix features

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is optimised to run on Intel atom based netbooks. It includes a new consumer-friendly interface that allows users to quickly and easily get on-line and use their favourite applications. This interface is optimised for a retail sales environment.

It includes the same faster boot times and improved boot experience as Ubuntu desktop.

Kubuntu features

Kubuntu 9.10, built on KDE 4.3, brings users a complete, full-featured KDE4 desktop with many new applications and innovations. This is also the first release for a new Kubuntu variant, Kubuntu Netbook Edition.

Xubuntu features

Xubuntu 9.10 comes with the light-weight Xfce 4.6 desktop environment
to provide a desktop designed for productivity while conserving system resources.

Xubuntu 9.10 includes an improved multimedia experience with the Exaile media player, a more integrated power management solution with the Xfce4 power manager, and more convenience built right in with improved multimedia volume key support and more consistent desktop notifications.

Edubuntu features

Edubuntu 9.10 transitions from an add-on educational CD that depended on an existing Ubuntu installation to a full Ubuntu derivative delivered on as a DVD image. This allows prospective users and decision makers to try the educational offerings prior to installation and the flexibility to make Edubuntu a first class educational operating system.

Mythbuntu features

Mythbuntu 9.10 introduces MythTV 0.22. The entire stack has been ported to QT4 and now allows for very neat UI effects. Also 0.22 adds support for VDPAU hardware acceleration, and HD-PVR hardware support.