Win4Lin: Difference between revisions

{{refimprovemore citations needed|date=February 2014}}

{{Infobox Softwaresoftware

| latest release date = {{releasestart date and age|2008|6|04}}

| status discontinued = Discontinuedyes

'''Win4Lin''' is a discontinued [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] [[software]] application for [[Linux]] which allowed users to run a copy of [[Windows 95]], [[Windows 98]], [[Windows Me9x]], [[Windows 2000]] or [[Windows XP]] applications on their [[Linux]] desktop.<ref name="sams"/> Win4Lin was based on [[Merge (software)|Merge]] software, a product which changed owners several times until it was bought by Win4Lin Inc. Citing changes in the desktop virtualization industry, the software's publisher, Virtual Bridges, has discontinued Win4Lin Pro.<ref name="w4l">{{Cite web|title=Win4Lin Pro|url=http://win4lin.com/wp/|publisher=Virtual Bridges|accessdateaccess-date=Nov 14, 2012|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208081242/http://win4lin.com/wp/|archivedatearchive-date=February 8, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, Win4Lin came in three different versions, depending on the virtualization requirements of the user.<ref name="suse">{{cite book|last=McCallister|first=Michael|title=Suse Linux 10: Unleashed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_mbgQfn3ZAC&pg=PA191|publisher=[[SAMS Publishing]]|accessdateaccess-date=Nov 14, 2012|year=2006|pages=191–192|isbn=9780672327261}}</ref>

* Win4Lin Pro offered users the ability to install a fully virtualized [[Windows 2000]] or [[Windows XP]].<ref name="suse"/>

The Win4Lin 9x/Pro (henceforth the only technology discussed in this section) operates by running Windows applications in a [[virtual machine]].<ref name="sams">{{cite book|last=Hsiao|first=Aron|title=Sams teach yourself Red Hat Fedora 4 Linux: all in one|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTDAfvuTZ4IC&pg=PA678|accessdateaccess-date=Nov 14, 2012|date=July 7, 2005|publisher=[[SAMS Publishing]]|page=678|isbn=9780672327070}}</ref> Unlike [[Wine (software)|Wine]] or [[CrossOver]] which are emulation-basedcompatibility layers, virtualization-based software such as [[VMware]] or Win4Lin require users to have a Windows license in order to run applications since they must install a full copy of Windows within the virtual machine.<ref name="bushong">{{cite news|title=Windows Emulators for Linux: VMware, Win4Lin Face Off|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/69849/Windows_Emulators_for_Linux_VMware_Win4Lin_Face_Off|first=Charles|last=Bushong|work=[[Computerworld]]|date=April 4, 2002|accessdateaccess-date=Nov 14, 2012|pages=1–2}}</ref>

When the Win4Lin application starts it displays a window on the Linux desktop which contains the Windows desktop environment.<ref name="infoworld">{{cite news|title=Get Win4Lin and Windows users won't feel disenfranchised under Linux|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vDgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66|first=Nicholas|last=Petreley|date=Nov 20, 2000|work=[[InfoWorld]]|accessdateaccess-date=Nov 14, 2012}}</ref> Users can then install or run applications as they normally would from within Windows.<ref name="infoworld"/> Win4Lin supports Linux printers, internet connections, and Windows networking, but {{as of|2000|lc=yes}}, does not support DirectX and by extension most Windows games.<ref name="infoworld"/>

They also offered Win4BSD for [[FreeBSD]].<Refref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freebsdsoftware.org/emulators/win4bsd.html |title=win4bsd FreeBSD |website=www.freebsdsoftware.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204020112/http://www.freebsdsoftware.org/emulators/win4bsd.html |archive-date=2008-02-04}}</ref>

Win4Lin was initially based on [[Merge (software)|Merge]] software originally developed at [[Locus Computing Corporation]], and which changed hands several times until it ended in the assets of NeTraverse, which were purchased in 2005 by Win4Lin Inc., which introduced Win4Lin Pro Desktop.<Refref>[http://opensource.sys-con.com/node/48377 So You Want To Run Windows 2000 and Windows XP Apps On Linux? Win4Lin Out From Under Windows 98 Bondage], 2005</Refref> This was based on a 'tuned' version of [[QEMU]] and KQEMU, and it hosted [Windows NT]-versions of Windows.

Many users reported that the 9x version ran windows software at near-native speed, even on quite low-powered machines, such as Pentium-IIs.{{cncitation needed|date=February 2014}}

Nicholas Petereley, praised Win4Lin in two of his columns in the year 2000, for its significantly faster performance than its competitor [[VMware]].<ref name="infoworld"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Am I the only one who doesn't know why to use VMware?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60|first=Nicholas|last=Petreley|work=[[InfoWorld]]|date = 11 December 2000|page=60|accessdateaccess-date=2012-11-14}}</ref>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090803143034/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/review/1014879/inquirer-helps-debug-win4lin-pro INQUIRER helps debug Win4Lin Pro] [2.7], [[The Inquirer]], 2006