Linux - thumbs down

[Theo Markettos]

It may make a difference - the version of Wine bundled with distros is often very out of date compared with upstream. But essentially nothing works perfectly with Wine, there are always some glitches - even little things like font/graphics issues, but usually more fundamental things. So anything working in Wine should be seen as a bonus rather than an expectation.

If you have a particular Windows program to run I'd run it in a VM - the integration between VM and host can be quick slick these days. My standard approach is to install (say) XP in a VM, turn off networking, and set up a shared folder between the VM and the host for saving your work. Don't give the VM access to all your files. Use the snapshot facility of the VM to take a known-good copy of the VM as freshly installed, and start that afresh for each session. Then you don't need to worry about updates or virus checkers.

This could be a bit awkward for a website editor tool though. You might want to have a proper networked Win7 VM instead.

Theo

[The Natural Philosopher]

I kept mine that way so I CAN use win xp based browsers to test websites.

BUT they are MY websites.

I don't let winxp go near anyone elses and I absolutely dont run mail on it.

[Bob Martin]

Both my Garmin Satnavs work fine under XP in Linux's VirtualBox, but I haven't found a film scanner that does.

[Adrian Brentnall]

That makes a lot of sense - so effort spent in trying to get my web editor running under Wine is likely to me wasted ? Good to know - thanks!

The particular piece of software also handles ftp to the server (a function that I'm sure is available 'native' under Linux - but it's so much more convenient for a quick one-line edit to a site to do the edit and just hit 'publish') This would involved allowing the VM to 'access all areas'.... - which I think is what you're advising against..

Bother! - I really don't want to migrate all the websites away from this web dev package - having done that about 5 years ago....

Thanks for the caution about Wine, though - I thought it was something daft that I was doing...

Adrian

[mick]

There are quite a few HTML editors that run under linux. Some of them are excellent. Have a look at KompoZer. It may well be just what you are looking for as it is WYSIWYG and includes a site manager. There are more powerful packages, but not all are WYSIWYG.

[The Natural Philosopher]

prolly need the nonfree VB with USB support

[The Natural Philosopher]

I say if you are clued up enough you dont need to worry.

IIRC you can give the WIN VM its own IP address and let the linux firewall ensure it can't access more than ftp and local networks.

Or simply never have any moving data on the WIN VM at all - always keep data on the linux as a remote 'share' and then every time you boot the VM, boot from 'last snapshot' instead of 'last live session'. Or do that periodically anyway.

[cl]

It's the one I use, it's only 'non-free' in the sense that some of the code is proprietary.

Most USB stuff is fine (the Epson scanner for example) but I've had little luck with phones and, particularly, with Garmin SatNavs. The problem is often that they have multiple USB modes and switch between them using proprietary drivers on Windows that dig around deep in the hardware (presumably).

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ah...yes used to have that issue with a DVB adapter that not only was a TV tuner, but also an infra red receiver AND a USB stick containing firmware to run the stick..a few kernel iterations later and Linux understood it all.

HOWEVER I am surprised that a windows driver cant be loaded into VM and do that job anyway..must be a deep flaw in the USB emulator.

You MAY be able to use the above linux native though.

[Adrian Brentnall]

HI Mick

Thanks. WYSIWYG isn't a straightforward HTML editor - it keeps its layout info in an internal format and generates the html @ publish time

- so transferring the sites wouldn't be as easy as 'open the html in Kompozer'... - so potentially a lot of work....

I might download a copy and take a look, though...

Thanks Adrian

[Tim Watts]

I can recommend VueScan under Linux natively - it is (or was a few years ago) a *very* good file scanner.

[cl]

Yes, I've bought it, but the dedicated Epson Software for my V700 is better for automated clean up of old slides.

[Adrian]

Can you set up a batch job in GIMP?

[Cursitor Doom]

It'd be much better to just maintain an old WinXP partition or disk separately for such instances as when you need to run Windows applications; I have never bothered with Wine as it just adds an extra layer of aggro when you really don't want it, esp. if you're a noob it's an overhead you probably can't afford.

[Huge]

Naah. VirtualBox is brilliant.

[Tim Watts]

OK ... It worked very well with a Nikon Coolscan III (IIRC)

[Adrian Brentnall]

Hmm - thing is that the majority of times I need a computer, it's for a) Web design b) Email / surfing c) Accounts

Now (b) and (c) could well be done under native Linux programs (e.g. Thunderbird /any browser / libre office)

But, very often, a client will send me updates for their website via email - so that'd (I guess) necessitate dropping out of linux into a win environment, copying across (?) any images or text that formed the update, processing them as necessary, updating the website under windows and then going back into Linux....

Sorry if I've misunderstood what's possible - but my hope was an 'all-or-nothing' approach - Ideally I'd like to leave MS behind, but it sounds like that's not going to be possible ?

And I'm definitely a Linux noob - last time I had anything to do with

*nix was on a dev system called 'Torch' - which was easily 25 years ago!

I'd got the impression that programs like Wine would support a Windows program - but it seems that it's not guaranteed..?

Nothing against Linux - and I realise that I'm being difficult by wanting to run a win program in a linux environment

Thanks Adrian

[Adrian]

The trouble is that Windows has so many "non-standard" but very well known little backdoors into various APIs, which LOTs of developers use and completely ignore the published methods and standards. An emulator will normally emulate the standards - the way MS tells developers to develop - and may even emulate some of the non-standard backdoors, but can never hope to do all.

Hell, even MS manage not to retain compatibility between Windows versions...

Hey, could be worse. Could be t'other way around...

[Tim Watts]

And VMWare Player is free and also very good.

[Clive George]

Just sticking with windows would seem to be the obvious answer. Especially if you're using it for work. W7 or W8.1. Obviously it will cost a certain amount, but unless you undercharge it should pay off pretty quickly.