windows software under ubuntu

[Peter N Spotts]

On Sat, 2007-09-22 at 08:09 -0400, Knowsgrace at aol.com wrote:
> I am considering installing ubuntu on my pc.   Can Windows software
> run under ubuntu?   Where do I find the documentation?
>  
> Regards,
>  
> Alan
> 

Check out Wine -- roughly, a Windows stand-in that runs on Linux. I use
Wine to run a couple of programs that were written for Windows. See
www.winehq.com . The site has a fairly substantial list of Windows
programs that work with Wine. But unless you're looking to run niche
software, you also are likely to find Linux-based programs that perform
the same, or very similar functions to the Windows programs you'd lose
by shifting to Linux. For example, MSOffice => OpenOffice.org. So while
having Wine (which is distributed with Ubuntu) can be useful, you may
not need it. 

With best regards,

Pete

-- 
Peter N. Spotts | Science reporter
The Christian Science Monitor
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