Linux, CrossOver, a Dell X1 and a Bottle of Wine - Nirvana

You may recall that I have been playing around with using Ubuntu Linux  and CrossOver Linux  from CodeWeavers to bypass the requirement for a Microsoft operating system. CrossOver Linux makes a graphical front-end for Wine, the open-source software that allows running many native Windows applications within Linux. I am making some progress in this area, and, while many of my legal applications are not supported by the Wine/CodeWeaver community, I can see the future, and it does NOT require a Windows operating system to run Windows apps. I have been using my old SATA hard drive in my Dell laptop to test; but, over the weekend, I installed Ubuntu Linux and CrossOver Linux on my ultralight Dell X1 computer, and it now is my carry around Linux box. Ubuntu Linux is easy to install and use, and takes no time at all to acclimate to. With CrossOver, I have successfully installed, and am now running, Microsoft Office XP (Word, Outlook, etc.), and I even got WordPerfect 11 to install. Some of my other legal-specific apps remain to be installed, such as ProDoc, Displaysoft real estate software, and HotDocs. Since Linux has versions of the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email , my Web activity is the same as always. And, using GoToMyPc, I have complete access to my Amicus Attorney case management system and Amicus Accounting. CrossOver Linux leverages the Wine system, so named because it works by creating "bottles" on the Linux computer that create a small virtual Windows environment for particular applications. Bottles can be XP, Windows 98, or Windows 2000 flavored, and, with some tweaking, just about any Windows app will run in them. Will I make a complete switch to Linux soon? Too early to tell, but you will be the first to know.

Comments

[Russ Gray]

I'm heartened to hear that you're having some success with linux. I used linux all through law school, but haven't been able to use it since then because most legal software is fairly specialized. I'd be interested to hear if you have any luck getting Amicus (I use V+) and/or PCLaw working.

[Zale]

Keep up the good work. You are in a position to test some things that I am not, so I am looking forward to the report. The result won't dissuade my forging ahead with Linux, but it will help me know all the possibilities. You might let the CodeWeavers folks know of your results as well. Thanks again.