Wine: Bottling Windows
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Are you working on a Mac- or UNIX-based system (such as Linux), and missing all the software created for Windows? You don't have to give up your software any longer. Keep reading to learn about Wine, the emulator that is not an emulator, and learn how you can take advantage of it to run some of your favorite programs again.
When you get down to the heart of it, no matter what operating system happens to power your computer, there are some universals. Most users have a lot of the same basic wants and needs. As much as I am sure that will be seen as a controversial statement by many users who are too tied to their operating system loyalties to see clearly, it remains the truth.
The primary goal for most of, if not all of the computer users on the planet, is functionality. We want our systems to be able to do as much as possible, either to make our lives easier or to make our friends and coworkers green with envy. No matter what your motive is for wanting more functionality, there are a bevy of ways to get it, but only a few will offer you a way to add a whole host of software features quickly. The easiest way to do that is to be able to run a wider variety of software on your computer system.
As it stands in the world of software right now, the bulk has been written for the various versions of the Windows operating system. While this can be an annoyance to no end to the many users who have a deep end abiding love for their Apple or Linux-based computers, it is not a Windows-based conspiracy; at least, not anymore. It is simply a matter of the economics of the situation.
For now, at least, most of the computers in the world are still running on Windows. This means that if a software developer wants to be able to reach the largest share of the market, and have the greatest chance to make a profit on all of the time and effort that they are putting into the development of the product, then they will develop for Windows. Sadly, the laws of free market economics can be a cruel, cruel mistress, and even with the rise in popularity or both Macs and Linux, it will be a while before the situation levels off. One of the best ways to deal with this imbalance in the world of development is to find a way to run Windows-based software on the other systems.
Many people choose to do this with a Windows system emulator, but an emulator is not always your best option. They can be quite large and bulky, so many users will find them to be a less-than-attractive alternative. So if you are not in a good position to use an emulator, or if you just don’t want to invest in the costs of an emulator, then Wine is the best option for you to consider for your software needs.
At first glance Wine may seem like it is an emulator itself, but it is not. In fact, when Wine was first created it was written WINE, and it was an acronym for "WINE Is Not An Emulator." This of course begs the question; if Wine is not an emulator, then what exactly is it?
Wine is a piece of software that is designed to allow computer operating systems that are based on the X86 (or X86-64) architecture to allow non-Windows systems to run Windows-based programs. It will not make your computer think that it is running Windows, but it will allow the programs to run. While this is an important distinction for developers of all kinds, most average end users will find that it functions similarly to the way an emulator would, but without incurring any costs in order to use it.
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