Normally, PC Rebellion only reviews software that’s suitable for the average computer user. But here is a topic worth keeping tabs on. It’s a very ambitious project that just may allow you keep your favorite Windows apps around as you make the switch to Linux. The open source project is called WINE, which stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator.

When installed on a Linux computer, WINE acts as a program loader that provides a Windows-close-enough environment to allow a program developed for the Windows OS to operate correctly under Linux. WINE can run hundreds of Windows apps, including dozens of high end games, but usually with a bit of coaxing. This is one of those topics for the Linux savvy crowd. So read on at your own risk.

Back in 1993, Bob Amstadt and Eric Youngdale lead an enthusiastic but small group of Linux programmers to devise a method to allow Linux users to run Windows 3.1 programs. Not long after, Alexandre Julliard took the reigns of the WINE project as Win32 apps were targeted by the WINE programmers.

In spite of Microsoft’s bulwark of resistance, the WINE development community continues to analyse how Windows behaves at the lowest levels and provides an environment that replicates even Windows low level bugs in order to allow Windows programs to work on a Linux computer. For the MOST Linux-savvy users, you can copy Windows DLLs to a Linux computer to allow WINE to provide complete support for Windows applications.

WINE is available for all versions of Linux, including our favorite distro, Unbuntu. Go to this web page for instruction on how to configure WINE to work with Unbuntu.

A list of Windows apps that work under WINE can be found here.

More information regarding WINE can be found here.

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