[TriLUG] A true newbie

[Vestal, Roy L.]

>Only one OS can be running at a time; the OS is what interfaces the
>software with the hardware of your computer, so this makes sense. However,
>there is software available that can emulate or simulate another OS on top
>of Linux.  The best two are commercial: vmware and Win4Lin.  I personally
>use Win4Lin for a business application that I must use Windows for, and it
>works wonderfully.  I also use it to test my web pages in Windows
>browsers.  Others on this list have used vmware and have recommended it
>highly.

I use all 3, Win4Lin, VMWare, and Wine. They all work great for certain
situations. For example, I'm using Outlook 2000 via Crossover Office (a
commercial Wine implementation) to send this email. You can have linux and
live in a Windoze world!!!

Win4lin runs Windows 95/98 only, but it runs them as a Linux process so it
takes less resources.

VMWare creates a "virtual machine" on your PC and runs ALL versions of
Windows. It grabs control of X amount of RAM and Y amount of HDD space (you
set X and Y).

Wine is a Windows API implementation that allows most Windows programs to
"think" they are running in a windows environment.

<soapbox>
Just a side note, I "kinda" disagree with Jeremy on Wine. I believe it's a
"psudo" emulator. Unlike Win4Lin and VMWare, Wine doesn't require the OS to
be installed, and it's not a true emulator in the same sense as Win4Lin or
VMWare. It does emulate a windows registered environment when active, but
still allows X control of the windows and the program interaction. 
</soapbox>

The cool part about TriLUG, I can disagree with Jeremy, or anyone for that
matter, and they still will let me run the firewall! ;)