Installing Windows Programs In Ubuntu
Installing Windows programs in Ubuntu (i.e. Office, Windows Media Player, Windows based games, etc)
Ubuntu does not offer native support for Windows based applications out of the box, however, it takes only a few, minor, modifications for your new Ubuntu install to play your favorite Windows based games or applications. Please note...not ALL programs OR games will work on Ubuntu, and some may work but only partially.
***Games that require Gameguard (some MMORPG's use this) will NOT run on Ubuntu. As of the date of this post there is no bypass or modification that will work for Gameguard games, and you would be foolish to try***
Now, let's get down to business! There are two applications you can use to run windows programs. The most widely used Windows "emulator" is WINE, however, Crossover Linux is very popular as well, and both programs will satisfy most of your Windows application needs on Ubuntu.
Wine Homepage:
www.winehq.org/
Database of Applications Supported by Wine:
http://appdb.winehq.org/
Crossover Linux HomePage
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/
Crossover Linux Applications Database:
http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/toplists
My favorite out of these two is Crossover as I find it MUCH easier to use. It's much quicker, has content available at the click of a button, and requires relatively no effort to use. The drawback to Crossover is that it is not free.
Wine is free, supported by the Ubuntu community, and easy to use as well. You can download wine by simply clicking
applications > Add/Remove
then search for "Wine".
Ok, so whether you decided to purchase Crossover Linux or download WINE for free, you are set to run your favorite Windows applications.
I simply love the Foobar music player, so let's try to download and install that program on Ubuntu and I'll take some screenshots to show you the progress.
1. Ok, lets try to install foobar using Crossover Linux...
***This is one of those moments where you will get really mad! Crossover doesn't want to install this program, odd, right? Well let's try it in Wine***
2. Installing it using wine (just right click the .exe file and click "open with Wine"
3. Ok cool, looks like it's working!!
4. Notice how wine has created a "C" drive on your Ubuntu disk...all your "Wine Installed" programs will be installed into this section!
5. Here we have the fully installed application ready for use!
