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Sometimes you will need to use a Windows application that hasn't been ported to Unix. While you can buy an additional Windows machine just for that program, there are a few Unix solutions that will allow you access to the Windows environment from the comfort of X. While none of the solutions offered below have the performance of Windows running natively on dedicated hardware, each is worth mentioning.
What's the next best thing to having another machine run Windows? Having a virtual machine running Windows. VMWare, Inc., has produced software called vmware for Intel Linux that creates a virtual i386-class machine on which Windows can be installed. All your hardware is virtualized, so the virtual machine created is a somewhat slower clone of the host. Still, the performance is adequate for Office applications and development. vmware creates a private network on your machine so that, with Samba (Section 47.2), you can get to your Unix filesystem from your virtual Windows machine. You can get an evaluation copy at http://www.vmware.com.
If a virtual machine is overkill for your needs, you might want to look into the open source project called wine . A recursive acronym for Wine Is Not an Emulator, the wine project also runs only on Intel machines, and it tries to emulate the Windows API for Windows-native applications. This project has been under development for a long time and isn't quite ready for mission-critical applications yet. However, many Windows projects can mostly function under wine, including some video games, such as Blizzard's StarCraft. You will find more information about wine at http://www.winehq.com.
-- JJ
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| 47.7. Sharing Desktops with VNC |  | 47.9. Citrix: Making Windows Multiuser |
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