Can linux run today's games and applications?
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 at
07:25
example:
steam
source mods and valve games
fallout 3
iTunes
Tagged with: fallout 3 • games • itunes • steam
Filed under: Linux Applications
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Wine is not a magical solution for all your Windows needs.
If you really need Windows programs, you’re really better off with Windows installed inside a virtual computer environment like VirtualBox, or dual installing Linux and Windows on the same computer.
Since I don’t do Windows programs, I have no need for either Wine or virtual computing stuff.
WINE will run most of those just fine. I run Steam and it works 100% and most Source games seem to work.
Steam and Valve are mostly developed on Unix and Linux systems however they are not teleasing them for Linux users. ITunes is a similar situation, however I am told there are workarounds. Source mods — of course, and since ID games traditionally used GNU tools in developing their games most of them (through about 2008 are available with Linux ports and there have been knockoffs using their engines.
You can run Windows programs on Linux using Wine.
This website tracks how well applications work using Wine:
http://appdb.winehq.org/
It looks like Steam and source games work pretty well but iTunes has major issues.
Officially, no. The games are, unforutnately, only compiled to run on Windows. They use Microsoft’s proprietary technologies to run.
Unofficially, there is an open source project called Wine that reimplements Microsoft’s proprietary technologies so that you can run Windows programs. It can’t run everything, but the Source engine works nearly perfectly on it. I haven’t tried iTunes in a while. But you don’t actually need iTunes. Rhythmbox, the music player that comes on the latest version of Ubuntu, includes support for syncing to iPods, including the iPhone and iPod touch.
There is WINE, but it isn’t perfect. There were a few games (I can’t name now because I’m too old to remember) that didn’t run smoothly (on Ubuntu), but I remember being able to play some of the oldies without much trouble (Starcraft comes to mind).