CrossOver - Windows Applications directly on your Mac or Linux desktop

CrossOver is a powerful software developed by CodeWeavers, which allows Mac OS X and Linux users to run Windows application directly on their desktop. CrossOver is based on the open-source Wine project, but with a few additions. The additions over Wine include a user-friendly interface and auto-detection of officially supported programs (when you insert its installation disc). CrossOver is also a commercial product. However you can enjoy a 30 day trial of either the Mac version or Linux version for free.

The main difference between CrossOver/Wine and VMware/Parallels Desktop is that CrossOver is not virtualisation software. CrossOver only converts and executes Windows code within the main operating system. VM software like Parallels Desktop (Mac) emulate the entire Windows operating system, and therefore you need to pay for the VM software as well as the operating system. In CrossOver, you just insert, install, run! (Insert the Disc, Install the Windows Software, Use the Software) Of course, software support is very limited, and only a few Windows products are actually confirmed to run properly on CrossOver.

There are two versions of CrossOver for each operating system it runs on: CrossOver Linux and CrossOver Mac.

CrossOver is actually easy to use. If you have proper installation disc of the software (including Pirate CDs too, in most cases), CrossOver will automatically detect the Windows disc. If the software is detected as one in CrossOver's supported software list, CrossOver will ask your permission and then download related files such as fonts. After setting up the CrossOver system to receive the software, the actual Windows software installation will begin. And if the installation is done correctly, links to the new program will be made in the CrossOver software folder.

If the program is unknown to CrossOver you may still continue. But if even a single file required by the Windows software is missing, you will not be able to install or run it properly, if at all. In case of known applications, CrossOver will download all necessary files beforehand. CrossOver can even automate the entire installation process for some known application, including Microsoft Office 2003 and 2000 (sorry, no 2007 yet).




I tested Microsoft Office 2003 Professional on CrossOver Mac. First when I inserted the Office 2003 installation disc, CrossOver opened itself automatically and announced that the Microsoft Office 2003 disc is inserted. I choose to install it. Then CrossOver begins to check if its emaulated Windows directories have the necessary files for the installation. In my case, I had just installed CrossOver. So CrossOver downloaded some important system files as well as a load of Windows fonts (free of charge, of course). Then CrossOver executed the Office 2003 setup program. Things continued to go smoothly. At the end, however, CrossOver only produced a link to Microsoft InfoPath 2003 in its Windows Applications directory. Where were the other programs? I had to make links to them myself.
So what happened to the programs?
Microsoft Access - Opened like a saint, but crashed when I attempted to create a database.
Microsoft Excel - Perfect.
Microsoft InfoPath - Crashed when creating a new form.
Microsoft Outlook - Perfect.
Microsoft PowerPoint - Perfect.
Microsoft Publisher - Perfect.
Microsoft Word - Perfect.
Only Access and InfoPath did not work. But it is likely that other bugs and errors were hidden underneath somewhere. I did not have much time to go through the whole suite.

So my opinion is that CrossOver is a great program. Many of its bugs will soon be fixed and more software will be officially supported. The only problem is that it is not free. But the US$79.99 will not go waste. And also keep in mind that a large amount of the CrossOver funds go to development of the open-source Wine project.

If you want, there is a free alternative to CrossOver, also using the Wine base, named Darwine. But be warned: Darwine is nothing like CrossOver. It is as difficult to use as the original Wine, and does not support even half the programs CrossOver does. However it, like CrossOver, is a promising project.