OT: New Virus?

[Jack Simth]

Xrati said:
I haven't had any experience with Linux. I suppose I should start looking into it. It has a bad rep with being able to run Windows programs. Maybe someone more familiar with it can explain that? As far as MacOS, I guess it's back to Apple. The last one I had was an Apple IIGS. It was one of the best computers I've ever had. Apple shot themselves in the foot when they stopped the II line! Oh Well, so few choices left...

Linux has difficulties running Windows programs because Windows programs are made with the (necessary) assumption that Windows will be present. Any program much beyond a simple "hello world" (and even most of those.....) make calls to Operating System routines (mostly for dealing with shared recources - memory, disk calls, the monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers... all the hardware, really). Windows Operating System routines are different from Linux Operating System routines. In order to run a Windows program (which assumes the presence of Windows Operating System routines to call) on Linux, you must first convince Linux to pretend to have all of the Windows Operating System routines that the program uses.

Enter Wine (Sourceforge project for Wine). Wine is an attempt to do just that - convince Linux to fake the Windos OS routines, not by emulating them, but by either replicating them entirely (and independantly) or making wrappers for Linux OS routines that do the same stuff.

Wine is still in Alpha, unfortunately.