WINE! WOW!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Kiowa Linux has quickly become my favorite version of Linux. I guess it's because of all the extra features Matt and Co. have added to this terrific Linux operating system. One really nice surprise has been their version of Wine.

Wine is a Linux program that allows you to install and run certain Windows programs without having to run Windows.(WINE is recursive acronym and stands for, "Wine Is Not an Emulator.")

Because Wine is Open Source, anyone can obtain it, rework it, improve etc., and offer it to the public.

Codeweavers is a company that obtained Wine and reworked it into a commercial version they call Crossover Linux. It has a nice interface and does a good job of getting select Windows programs to run in a Linux environment. But it costs about $40.00.

On the other hand, Kiowa Linux offers Wine in it's repository. Kiowa's Wine also has a really nice easy to use interface. Kiowa's version of Wine is free.



To install a Windows program in Kiowa's Wine you simply open the File Manager (it reminded me of Windows 3.11) and from there select the location of the program you want to install.






Next,you select the location of the program you wish to install. In the example at left, Ive selected Drive "g" which is the CD-ROM drive. I'm then selecting the "setup.exe" file to start installing the program. (In this case, it's a graphics program I like called PhotoImpact 8.) The installation routine starts and the program installs just as if you were running Windows.



Lastly, Wine creates it's own menu entry for all the Windows programs you've installed. Here in this example at right,you can see the menu entry for PhotoImpact 8. Simply navigate to this, click, and PI8 launches and runs!



I run both Crossover and Kiowa's Wine. While Crossover is good, it has never been able to install and run PhotoImpact 8.

Kiowa's Wine installed on the first try! And it runs just as it does in Windows! It's no wonder I'm a big Kiowa Linux fan!

Get Kiowa Linux!! Kiowa's version of Wine and a lot of other outstanding features in this distro will make your move from Windows to Linux a real pleasure!

Got a question about cartooning with Linux, or Linux in general? Email me at: georgetoon@gmail.com. If I use your question on my blog, I'll send you an original, signed George comic strip!

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