There are many people who would like to switch from Windows to Linux to Mac and thus change the operating system of their computer. The main problem, the factor that makes me think "I would like but I can't", is that you can not use the Windows programs you are used to on Linux or Mac . For example, using Linux, you should give up such beautiful games developed only for Windows and you will also need to find a substitute for work programs, for Office, for video players, for photo manipulators and so on. In another article free alternative programs to the most famous, both for Windows and for Linux, identical to the most popular paid programs.
However, you can do even more, it is in fact possible to install running all Windows programs on Linux, not with an emulator but with a program called Wine that allows you to start the executable .exe and Windows .msi installation files on Linux and on Mac.
The recent news is that Wine 5 is now also available with support for 64-bit programs and is the only way to start Windows programs on a Mac OS X system . Wine 5.0 comes with important improvements such as the reimplementation of Direct3D and XAudio2 (to improve video game support) and the support of Vulkan 1.1 and Multi-monitor. In addition, updating applications becomes easier with the support of the Microsoft Installer (MSI) patch files, which contain all the information necessary to update the programs together with the installation of the .msu update files from the WUSA tool (Windows Update Standalone Installer).
In the article on virtual PCs and emulators, we mentioned the Mac Parallel Desktop program that allows you to install Windows as a virtual machine on a Mac, only that Parallel Desktop is paid.
Wine 5 is really well done, it replicates the Microsoft operating environment with a set of registry keys and file systems identical to what is known on Windows. With Wine you can install programs for Microsoft operating systems and be able to use them as if you were using Windows ; works with almost all programs, applications, .exe files and video games. Wine, it is so well done that it carries on Linux and Mac also the risk of viruses that can be attached to the Wine registry. On Ubuntu Linux the installation of Wine is quite simple and does not present particular difficulties.
Official Wine for Linux and Mac can be downloaded from the WineHq.org website.
READ ALSO: 5 ways to open Windows programs on Mac
Very briefly, with Wine it is possible to modify, from the configuration menu by writing the winecfg command on a terminal (or by going to Applications -> Wine -> Configure Wine), the audio settings (enable Hardware acceleration and disable the driver emulation) and for the graphics card on which you can also enable the " Vertex Shader ", the " Pixel Shader ".
From the Drives tab you can set the CD ROm player starting with Wine, useful when you insert a Windows program that is on a CD or DVD.
The Wine registry can be opened by typing the command " wine regedit " on a terminal.
On Wine you can also install DirectX, useful for making video games and Windows libraries, dll files.
On the official WineHq website there is a list of all the applications, programs and video games for Windows that are supported by Wine and that can also be installed and used on Mac and Linux.
For a complete guide of Wine on Linux, installation and use, in Italian it is possible to download the translation of the official one on the website Codex.atervista.org.
To install Windows programs on Mac and Linux and also install programs that theoretically would not be supported, you can also use an easier program than Wine (but much less powerful and not entirely free): PlayOnLinux for Linux and PlayOnMac for Mac. With these can be installed on Linux programs such as Office, Autocad, Photoshop, iTunes and many Windows video games.
Mac experts surely already know that to start the Windows exe executable files on Mac, the "portable" programs that do not require installation and which end with the .exe as an extension, you can also use the WineBottler program, very simple, on which just drag the file to open it.
Always for Mac you can use WinOnX, always based on Wine, it is a Windows emulator that allows you to install programs in a Windows environment perfectly recreated on the Mac.
