Crossover Office: Run Windows Programs on Linux
All-in-one version
(Regular [individual slides] version)
Overview
Crossover Office ("
cxoffice
") from
CodeWeavers
A Commercial (and supported!) version of
WINE
Specific set of
supported applications
Pros/cons compared to vmware, dual booting
Conclusions
What is Crossover Office?
An environment that permits native windows apps to run on Linux
Commercial version of the WINE windows emulator
Licenses reasonably priced (Educational, quantity discounts)
Demo version available
Setup Wizard
walks you through installation.
Can be done in a personal account, or as "root".
Who and Why?
CodeWeavers
: makers of windows emulation software
They sponsor significant
WINE
(Open Source) development
Value in commercial version: making environment so that
select
apps work.
They also sell:
browser plugin for netscape/mozilla (word, excel, media player...)
Server product (for widescale deployment)
What Programs can you run under Crossover?
Gold [top level support] and Silver [same with caveats] support
Gold:
Word 2000
Excel 2000
Powerpoint 2000
Silver:
Outlook and Access 2000
Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 (note: author uses 6.0 just fine)
Photoshop 7.0, Lotus Notes R5, Visio 2000, Quicken 2000
Office XP apps: word, excel, powerpoint
Many
unsupported programs. Some work perfectly, others have issues.
Pros and Cons
Pros
:
Gnome, KDE, command line:
immediate
access to
winword
,
excel
,
powerpnt
No need for a Windows OS install or license (vmware, dual boot)
Needs much less memory and disk space, performance is better
Integration with your Linux desktop "natural"
Included documentation (I haven't needed it so far)
User Support: ticket system,
very
responsive staff, mailing lists.
Despite "unsupported" status, many programs will just install and run.
Cons
:
Not a "true" windows environment (but most stuff works well)
IE Java Virtual Machine problems in IE6 (for now; may work later)
List of supported apps, while significant, is not huge
You can make things freeze up (movies in powerpoint?)
Not optimal for "power" windows users.
Conclusions
Screen shots:
Word
,
Excel
,
Powerpoint
(and
again
),
IE
.
Lower cost than alternatives
Doesn't need huge memory, has good performance, fast startup
Allows many (not all) windows apps to run on Linux
BIG
reduction in support load (no 2nd OS, no vmware hassles)
Still has a few issues
Is this a good direction for us to go?
Pat Murphy