Linux provides a very good upgrade path for servers in businesses of all sizes. Among the reasons for this are its versatility, ease of administration, minimal upfront cost and lack of client-access license entanglements. Also, users typically don't have direct contact with servers, so the underlying operating system isn't a big deal to them.

Not so with desktop computers for work or home. My experience as a user and programmer on Windows operating systems -- and as a participant in some lively discussions that take place in the Computerworld community forums -- confirm that the transition to Linux isn't always easy for the user or the administrator. Almost all users have some Windows program that they must have in order for Linux to be as functional as Windows is for them. Fortunately, there are a growing number of options for providing users with their must-have applications on a Linux desktop.

Then download this file (LTSP-20060209-09-w4l.tgz, 6.2 MB). This archive includes the Win4Lin Terminal Server software. Win4Lin gave permission to. Apr 27, 2007 - With no visible improvements over its previous version, Win4Lin Pro Desktop 4.0 is now outdated and outclassed. Installing Win4Lin Pro Desktop 4.0 requires some preparation. Win4Lin is based on QEMU and uses the KQEMU Linux kernel module for speeding up the emulation.

I've discussed some of those in a previous story (see ). This time, I've taken a hard look at two other alternatives. Two Approaches, Five Programs Emulation programs fall into roughly two groups: Those that require a Microsoft Windows license and those that don't. Programs that don't require a Windows license include the following: • Lindows, a $99 distribution of Linux that will run some Windows applications directly. It's due to ship soon from San Diego-based • CrossOver Office 1.0.0, from in St.

This $54.95 software package currently supports only Microsoft Office and Lotus Notes Windows applications. • Wine, free software that implements a Windows compatibility layer on top of Linux, is available from the Web site. But it doesn't support all Windows applications. I focus here on two emulation software programs that require a Windows license: [ Related: ] • NeTraverse Win4Lin 3.0, $89.99 from in Austin, Texas • VMware Workstation 3.0, $329 from in Palo Alto, Calif. The company also offers a server version. (Regrettably, VMware Express, the $49.95 desktop version that I reviewed last time and runs one Windows 9x virtual machine at a time on Linux, has been discontinued.) VMware vs. Win4Lin Although the no-license options are getting better all the time, and new versions are about to be released, the products with the best compatibility with Windows applications still require a license for Microsoft Windows.

Win4Lin and VMware Workstation aren't clones of each other, but they share certain qualities. Both lack support for the DirectDraw and Direct3D Windows drivers that improve performance in graphical programs.

I recently updated this TTS mod to give it some new life.

That makes it impossible to play Windows games that are graphics-intensive. There are practical and technical reasons for this, not the least of which would be speed and incompatibility between these technologies and the graphical user interface Linux uses, called X Window System. If you want to play Windows games on your Linux machine, you'll either need to figure it out with Wine, which may work in some cases, or you'll have to dual-boot your machine. That leads to the key difference between Win4Lin and VMware: the level of emulation. VMware is designed to create a complete virtual machine, and it performs very good hardware emulation. All devices are accessed through the underlying host operating system, and the file system may be a virtual drive that is contained in a file.