Author Topic: What Windows programs run in WINE with no hassles? (Read 678 times)

G0ddard B0lt · « **on:** November 04, 2017, 09:02:34 am »

I've found exactly one so far: Beyond Compare by Scooter Software (an incredibly useful file compare utility.) I have one of the last revisions of the version I bought, from 2008. I just ran the installer from Wine, which completed with no errors, and BC works with NO problems.

I think I got Evernote to install on Linux a few months ago but I deinstalled it because that version was complaining about too many apps on the free account.

Most Windows applications I've tried choke in the installer because the installers usually want things like IE to be relatively current (and of course Wine has no IE look-alike.) Or the installers just exit with a cryptic error message.

I'm really kind of impressed with the integration with Linux in WINE when things do work. BC can readily see the entire hard drive and compare files outside its "C drive" space under the Linux file root.

JoFrance · « **Reply #1 on:** November 04, 2017, 02:09:19 pm »

Its a losing battle trying to get anything Windows to run on a non-Windows OS. Even if you can, its just a PITA. MS made sure to keep their stuff proprietary.

pxsant · « **Reply #2 on:** November 04, 2017, 02:28:30 pm »

I run a few Windows programs on Linux.

* Notepad++
* Evernote but the paid version
* Several writing programs including PageFour, All My journals, Smart Edit

I did run Internet Explorer under Wine for a while but I found no use for it since I have no sites which require IE. All of the sites I use work fine in either Chrome or Firefox.

Anything which is difficult to run under Wine I run in a Windows VM.

Most other Windows programs I run have a Linux version, for example Writers Cafe, Jutoh, Xojo and others.

benali72 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 04, 2017, 07:43:09 pm »

To me, a pet Windows inside a VM guest makes much more sense. Even though you're running two separate operating systems, you can flip between them with just a single mouse click, and you can easily share data between them with a shared folder or removable memory stick. A much better solution, imho. I tried WINE once and gave up after the hassle of installing a single app. Also, once you install WINE, you've just enabled Windows viruses in your linux environment. Oops.

pxsant · « **Reply #4 on:** November 05, 2017, 02:59:39 am »

Quote from: benali72 on November 04, 2017, 07:43:09 pm

Also, once you install WINE, you've just enabled Windows viruses in your linux environment. Oops.

Very unlikely but if a virus infected a windows file in Wine, it would be restricted to the virtual C: drive and could not get to the Linux base system. I have never heard of a Linux system infected with a virus through wine. If there is any doubt then use PlayOnLinux which creates a virtual folder for each application.

unix · « **Reply #5 on:** November 05, 2017, 08:35:23 am »

You can run the default firewall, ipchains and don't install crazy stuff. I've never had any Unix/Linux based system get infected, ever.

I also scan the disks with various utilities to identify a virus. You can cron them.

benali72 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 06, 2017, 06:05:39 pm »

Wine Viruses -- What would be infected would be the Windows environment within Linux, just like a stand-alone Windows. (We're not talking about Linux getting infected.) If you're Windows environment is full-fledged, it should probably include a virus scanner.

unix · « **Reply #7 on:** November 06, 2017, 06:17:41 pm »

Understood. It doesn't seem then that this will extend to the Linux host environment, if that is what the question was inquiring.

G0ddard B0lt · « **Reply #8 on:** November 24, 2017, 08:41:30 pm »

Evernote is close to hassle-free. I just installed it and it installs cleanly and syncs fine. And the UI looks good in Linux.

I also found a loophole to Evernote's head tax on using multiple devices (you must buy their commercial service if you use Evernote's client software on more than 2 devices, which are workstations, phones or tablets.)

I had been using Evernote on my crashed system for years and I never got a nag from Evernote that I exceeded the allowed free account device count of 2 devices. (I have a tablet and a smartphone both with Evernote.) I never thought about this until I downloaded and ran Evernote for Windows on my new system and found that Evernote was telling me to deactivate Evernote on one of my devices.

The key to get around this monetization turns out to be to use an old version (but quite functional) of Evernote for Windows. I'd never updated Evernote's client before this so I assumed that Windows was exempt from the device count restriction. Which it was not.

The version of Evernote for Windows I'm using that does not affect the device count dates from late 2013: version 4.6.4.8136. A later one may also work.

From this site: https://evernote.en.uptodown.com/win/old

ClamAV indicates no threat detected from the downloaded installer.

I'm guessing that the older versions of Evernote don't contain code that has to do with tracking "installed devices".

pxsant · « **Reply #9 on:** November 25, 2017, 04:07:11 am »

I also use Evernote on Linux and Windows. I have never run into the count issue you mentioned so I am obviously running an older version.

I recently found an interesting alternative to Evernote called Standard Notes. Features include:

* Native versions for Windows, Linux, MAC, IOS, Android and also a Web version.
* Synchronizes all notes across all platforms.
* Encrypted with no transmission of key so notes cannot be read even by the Standard Notes engineers.
* Ability to see all notes in any order - alpha, order added etc.
* Only have to enter the key one time to see all notes - AES-256 encryption.
* There is a free version with limited features and a paid version with additional features including automated backups.

I really like this product and find it much easier to use than Evernote.

https://standardnotes.org/

G0ddard B0lt · « **Reply #10 on:** November 25, 2017, 08:10:05 am »

The restriction is that you can only sync up to two devices on a free Evernote account. Beyond that you need a paid account. It's well known by users and was implemented a year or two ago.

Evernote on Linux is quite glitchy, however. Booted my system today. Double clicked Evernote. Dont' see anything but there are Evernote processes in the task list. pkill -f Evernote. Try again. Evernote comes up. I just closed it. Again, won't run. Of course I overlooked some obvious mod or update or package. Also the fonts in Evernote on Linux all look horrid.

Linux, still shit for the real office. 97% there. Never 100%.

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