MS Office from Linux with CrossOver

[Megan Golding <mgolding -at- secureworks -dot- com>]

Given the recent Linux conversation in the "Back to the Dark Ages"
thread, I thought the Wired News article at
http://www.wired.com/news/linux/0,1411,51390,00.html would be of
interest.

Several writers have acknowledged interest in Linux, but say they cannot
live without certain tools. FrameMaker is often on the short list, as is
Visio, and Microsoft Office. Well, at least as far as the last is
concerned, a new application called CrossOver may offer a solution.

For a while now, Linux users who wanted to run Windows application had
to resort to emulator programs (WINE, Lindows, and VMWare are notable
examples). I use VMWare daily and love it -- Windows 2000 inside of
Linux is a wonderful thing that lets me draw the occasional diagram in
Visio while doing everything else in Linux.

CrossOver, on the other hand, "Linux users can install and use Microsoft
Office on their PCs without the Windows operating system." (from the
Wired article)

According to the article, "CrossOver Office 1.0 worked almost flawlessly
in Wired News' tests. Office 98 and 2000 programs installed easily and
ran smoothly over Red Hat 7.2 and Mandrake 8.2 Linux OS distributions on
five Dell and Compaq PCs."

CrossOver Office is $54.95 and requires a licensed version of MS Office
to work. Unlike many Linux apps, this is not free (as in beer) or free
(as in liberty) software. So, it doesn't solve the licensing issues
originally brought up in the "Dark Ages" thread...at least not directly.
Remember, on a Linux system, you don't have to purchase the e-mail
client and all those other applications besides Office. Could be several
hundred to a thousand dollars on a typical techwrler's computer.

Meg

-- 

Megan Golding (mgolding -at- secureworks -dot- net)
SecureWorks, Inc.

Make your life a mission - not an intermission.
         -- Arnold Glasgow



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