Linux is mainstream! I've been using it for so long that I haven't even noticed. Just now, as I write this for a site that's not specialized in Linux, it dawns on me: everybody else has begun to notice something better. Few contest the superiority of Linux in the server arena, but desktop users have always stumbled on the wonders of text config files and cryptic messages standing in the way of that simple letter they have to write. This is beginning to change though, although there is still dependence, not so much on Redmond, but on third-party Windows applications. For them there is Wine. And it's free.

Wine is a translation layer (a program loader) capable of running Windows applications on Linux and other POSIX compatible operating systems. Windows programs running in Wine act as native programs would, running without the performance and memory usage penalties of an emulator, with a similar look and feel to other applications on your desktop.

The project came a long way from its beginnings in 1993, when it was created to allow Windows 3.1 apps. Nowadays, it not only runs XP applications, but according to the Wine team's latest benchmark, it's faster than Windows itself!



A quick look at the benchmark report has Wine leading XP on 67 tests, and going slower on 63. Windows is consistently faster at heavy graphics tests (not much faster, mind you), and Wine rules pretty much every other area. Wine on Linux is better or a lot better than Windows in areas that seem to depend mostly on the underlying kernels: memory access, file-system speed and general process control - areas in which Windows doesn't have a particularly impressive track record.

Even though it may be faster, that's not what recommends Wine for the job. The best feature is still its designed purpose: it allows you to run Windows applications without having to run Windows.