openSUSE Club

The perceived inability to run windows applications on Linux is what keeps many individuals from trying Linux. It turns out that it is possible to run many popular Windows applications on Linux PCs using one of several software technologies. Products that will allow Windows applications to run on Linux include:

• Cedega from TransGaming Technologies Inc.
• CrossOver Office for Linux from CodeWeavers Inc.
• QEMU from Fabrice Bellard
• VMware from VMware, an EMC company
• Win4Lin from Win4Lin Inc.
• Wine from the Wine Project

Cedega

TransGaming Technologies bills themselves as “the global leader in the development of software portability products for cross-platform gaming”. Their flagship product, Cedega, allows games originally created for Windows to run on Linux, “out-of-the-box”.

Cedega runs on Linux Kernel 2.4 or higher.

Cedega is available on a subscription basis from the TransGaming web site (http://www.transgaming.com/). TransGaming also offers a 14-day trial of Cedega on their web site.

CrossOver Office

CrossOver Office from CodeWeavers allows many popular Windows applications to run on Linux. The list of applications that CrossOver Office allows to run on Linux is quite extensive and includes applications such as: Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Project and Visio, and graphics applications such as Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, and Adobe Photoshop, and much more. CrossOver Office also allows individuals to use many Windows Web browser plugins, such as QuickTime and Shockwave. CodeWeavers uses Wine technology in its CrossOver Office Products (see the Wine description later in this article).

CodeWeavers maintains an extensive list of applications that can run on Linux using CrossOver Office with a ranking of how well they run. The list can be accessed on their web site (http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name).

CrossOver Office has been tested on many Linux distributions. The complete list may be found on the CodeWeavers web site.

CrossOver Office is available in two versions, Standard and Professional. The Standard version is intended for home users and Linux enthusiasts, while Professional is more for commercial users and builds on the functionality of Standard by adding enhanced deployability features, as well as the ability to run CrossOver Office in shared mode from a single machine.

A 30-day trial of CrossOver Office is available from CodeWeavers and may be obtained from their web site (http://www.codeweavers.com/).

QEMU

QEMU is a generic open source processor emulator that was developed by Fabrice Bellard. It is available for free. QEMU allows a user to run one operating system, such as Windows, within another one, such as Linux.

QEMU is available for Free and may be downloaded from Fabrice’s web site (http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/download.html).

VMware

VMware comes from VMware, Inc., an EMC company. VMware allows users to to run multiple virtual machines on a single PC. Each virtual machine can run a different operating system. The net result is that VMWare allows a user to run multiple operating systems on a single Intel-based PC. Using VMware, a user can run a Windows virtual machine and Windows applications on a Linux PC.

VMware Workstation supports a long list of Linux distributions as the host operating system. You should check with the VMware web site for the specific releases and kernel levels supported.

A free 30-day trial of VMware Workstation may be downloaded from the VMWare web site (http://www.vmware.com/download/ws/eval.html.

VMware also provides the VMware Player for free. The VMware Player can run virtual machines created by VMware Workstation, GSX Server or ESX Server. Pre-configured VMware virtual machines may be obtained from the VMWare Virtual Machine Center (http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/vm/).

Win4Lin

Win4Lin from Win4Lin Inc. provides a Windows virtual computing environment that runs on Linux allowing Windows applications to run on Linux. Win4Lin comes in three versions that would be appropriate for the home user:

• Win4Lin Home, which is targeted for the home or small business user.
• Win4Lin 9x (Formerly Win4Lin 5), which is targeted for the home user/hobbyist, or business users who do not require Windows 2000.
• Win4Lin Pro, which is targeted at power users who require Windows 2000 or XP.

Win4Lin runs on most 2.4.x or 2.6.x Linux distributions. Win4Lin 9x and Win4Lin Home require a modified kernel to work. For most users, the Win4Lin graphical installer will select, download, and install the appropriate binary replacement kernel, making patching the kernel unnecessary. However, there are some distributions that may require users to compile a vanilla kernel from source. Such distributions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4, and Fedora Core 3 and 4. Some Linux distributions include Win4Lin support in their default kernel or make a Win4Lin enabled kernel available, including: Gentoo, Linspire, SimplyMepis, and Xandros. Win4Lin Pro does not require kernel modification.

Wine

Wine, which stands for Wine Is Not a (CPU) Emulator, is an Open Source implementation of the Windows API (application programming interface) that runs on Linux and POSIX compatible operating systems. Wine is a compatibility layer that allows Windows programs to run on Linux. Wine is still under development, and it is not yet suitable for general use, however, many individuals use Wine to run Windows applications on Linux. WineHQ maintains an Application Database (http://www.winehq.com/site/about) of individual’s success and failure reports running Windows applications with Wine. Other products mentioned in this article are based on Wine, including CodeWeavers CrossOver Office, and Cedega from TransGaming Technologies. Wine is Available for Free.

Rob Pirozzi is a freelance writer who provides timely, quality professional writing of all types. He is also the publisher of the web site Low-Cost-Computing.com which provides information on low-cost computers and low-cost or free software for the average home or small business computer user.

Tags: Cedega, CodeWeavers, CrossOver Office, QEMU, TransGaming, VMware, Win4Lin, Windows on Linux, WineCedega, CodeWeavers, CrossOver Office, QEMU, TransGaming, VMware, Win4Lin, Windows on Linux, Wine

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Microsoft Dynamics GP, also often referred as Microsoft Great Plains or Great Plains Dynamics may be considered as very good ERP platform, ready for custom logic and integrations with legacy systems. eConnect is one of the tools of choice to be deployed in the case of creating and moving objects to Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Master Records. Accounts, Customers, Vendors, Employees are typical master records. eConnect can create, update and remove these records. eConnect methods first try to validate business logic, so eConnect should be preferred over direct SQL scripting (trying to add or change records directly in Microsoft Dynamics SQL tables)

Transactions. eConnect also allows you to create or modify so-called work transactions. However eConnect doesn’t typically go beyond work transactions, so-called open or historical transactions should be created through Microsoft Dynamics GP posting, moving to history, voiding, etc. routines and this requires MS Dynamics GP operation intervention

Beyond eConnect. There are multiple options for you to deploy Microsoft Dexterity to automate such processes as posting. Imagine, you are moving daily eCommerce sales from your third party e-Commerce system to Great Plains and want them to be posted automatically. In this case you can deploy eConnect to bring work Sales Invoices and Payments and then you deploy Microsoft Dexterity Posting server to trigger posting all the way to the General Ledger

Please do not hesitate to call or email us: USA/Canada: 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918 help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com http://www.ronix-systems.de http://www.enterlogix.com.br ) - Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Oracle Financials, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Hospitality, Banking & Finance, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally.
We are serving USA Nationwide: CA, IL, NY, FL, AZ, CO, TX, WI, WA, MI, MA, MO, LA, NM, MN

Tags: eConnect, Microsoft Dexterity, Microsoft Dynamics GPeConnect, Microsoft Dexterity, Microsoft Dynamics GP

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As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over 25 million downloads direct from the makers website, and goodness knows how many through other sources, Microsoft announces that it will be releasing IE 7 ahead of schedule. Originally scheduled for release with Microsoft’s new Longhorn operating system in 2006, it seems that Microsoft are reacting to the run away success that Firefox has had over the last few months. But is Microsoft’s announcement just a response to Firefox’s success, or is it truly a commitment by the software giant to improve the browsing experience of the masses?

I’m going to make no secret about it; I am a Firefox user first and foremost. Ever since I first looked at Firefox and saw the features such as power tabbing, proper support for Internet standards and the integrated search bar, I’ve been in love with this browser. To me Internet Explorer has not a patch on the competition, and without a major update soon will surely fall behind. When Microsoft announced their plans to bring forward Internet Explorer 7 I was very interested in what they had to offer. Competition is the life-blood of progress, and if Microsoft were to seriously invest in their browser it would be of great advantage to Internet users as a whole. Unfortunately, I was disappointed at what emerged. It seems that all Microsoft are doing is making some nebulous claims as to ‘increasing the security’ of their browser. No mention of tabbing, increased standards support or any of the other features of Firefox which IE are sorely lacking. To me it seems that all Microsoft’s latest release aims to do is distract people in an attempt to out-hype Firefox.

I sincerely hope that I can be proved wrong and, for once, Microsoft can deliver on their promises. Early reports do, however, indicate that their new browser will only work with Windows XP, leaving many users out in the cold still. Even if Microsoft does get it’s act together there is one thing they’ll never have - cross-platform compatibility. While Firefox will run under Mac OS X, Linux, even old BeOS systems, as well as Windows, IE is limited to Windows only. So for now Firefox is far and away the best choice of browser for the web, and looks like it may stay this way for some time to come.

Do you not want to believe what I am saying? Well, even the almighty Google agrees with me. Just try searching for ‘best browser’, or even ‘browser’ in Google, and just see what comes up. Even MSN seems to agree. If you haven’t yet tried Firefox and would like to give it a go, it can be downloaded here. If you would like to know more about why you should consider changing your browser I can also recommend you go visit This Page: Why you should dump Internet Explorer.

Daniel Robson runs http://www.shock-therapy.org where he hands out his freeware, as well as hosting Freeware for Symbian UIQ series 7.0 phones such as the Sony Ericsson PX00 series.

Tags: browser, Daniel, Firefox, internet, Microsoft, Mozilla, Robson, Shock, Therapybrowser, Daniel, Firefox, internet, Microsoft, Mozilla, Robson, Shock, Therapy

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