From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Nov 18 13:13:04 2005 Return-Path: X-Original-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A86B916A41F for ; Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:13:04 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from bsilver@chrononomicon.com) Received: from trans-warp.net (hyperion.trans-warp.net [216.37.208.37]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 13B8843D4C for ; Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:13:01 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from bsilver@chrononomicon.com) Received: from [127.0.0.1] (unverified [65.193.73.208]) by trans-warp.net (SurgeMail 2.2g3) with ESMTP id 30603151 for multiple; Fri, 18 Nov 2005 08:12:49 -0500 In-Reply-To: <57416b300511171651g772624b5x8e02fe4ccbf14ac1@mail.gmail.com> References: <20051117195403.51795.qmail@web34613.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <57416b300511171651g772624b5x8e02fe4ccbf14ac1@mail.gmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v623) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Message-Id: <989b1bf68420331cd96c948c1700d42e@chrononomicon.com> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Bart Silverstrim Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 08:12:59 -0500 To: Peter Clutton X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.623) X-Server: High Performance Mail Server - http://surgemail.com X-Authenticated-User: bsilver@chrononomicon.com Cc: Augusto Montenegro , freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Windows Compatibility? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:13:04 -0000 On Nov 17, 2005, at 7:51 PM, Peter Clutton wrote: > On 11/18/05, Augusto Montenegro wrote: >> I am looking into changing my Windows Operating system toFreeBSD or >> Linux. >> Most of my programs run in Windows. Can I use FreeBSD as my OS to >> run my programs? > > You can, with tools such as Wine, but all is not guaranteed to run > smoothly. I have pretty much found a much much better replacement for > everything I used to use on windows, and would never go back. If you > search around, and have a willingness to learn, you will probably find > the same. What I've found it comes down to... 1) If you're looking for another platform and need an office suite, a web browser, an email client, etc...Linux or OS X are wonderful if you're willing to look around and learn your stuff. Some distro's of Linux even strip away most of the necessity of thinking, with defaults and presets that would suit most users. 2) If you're just looking for another platform and need Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express to run...stick with Windows. Grafting those applications onto another platform is an exercise in frustration and, in my opinion, foolishness. "You spent all that time installing Linux so you could run...Internet Explorer?" I fall into the former. When necessity dictates that specific applications must be run that only use the Win32 API, I usually use VirtualPC or Qemu (right now I'm using OS X with a lot of toys from Fink) to run them until I can go back to my usual platform. If Wine can run the application, more power to the project, but for everyday usage I need a web browser and office suite, not necessarily a specific application. If you primarily use a specific application that is made only for a specific platform, run that platform unless it *IS* very stable under Wine or can be used under an emulator (but why would you want to spend most of your working time in an emulator?). If you're curious about another platform, try Knoppix (or Ubuntu Live, or any of the other live ISO's out there) or set up a dual-boot configuration on your system to give it a trial run. But your first questions probably shouldn't be something like "Can I get Photoshop/IE/OE/ to run on Linux?" if you're just curious about what's available out there. You should probably be asking, "I use a lot...is there a similar application for Linux I could try?" Windows compatibility just means Wine will run Windows email viruses and crash as regularly as Windows does.