[MacTUG] Mac software will run Win apps without Windows

[Marlon A. Griffith]

MacWindows. June 30, 2006 -- Next month, a company called CodeWeavers 
will ship Mac OS X software for Intel-powered Macs that will enable 
users to run Windows XP applications, but without running Windows 
itself. CrossOver will also be the first solution to run PC games on 
any Mac.

CrossOver, http://www.codeweavers.com/, will run each Windows 
application will in a Mac OS X Window. There is no Windows desktop or 
start menu; Windows programs can minimize in the Mac OS X Dock. 
CrossOver has a Programs menu in the Mac OS X menu bar that lists 
Windows applications.

Crossover is not a virtualization environment or an emulator. For 
instance, document files created by Windows applications are stored 
in Mac folders, not in a virtual disk image or a separate partition.

Jeremy White, CEO of CodeWeavers, said that CrossOver will not run 
every Windows application, but will focus on a set of tested 
applications. White said that the 1.0 version will be optimized for 
Outlook, Project, Visio, and HalfLife 2, but other applications 
should work. White also said that because CrossOver has support for 
the Intel Mac's native graphics, it will be able to run PC games.

Because CrossOver doesn't require the user to own a copy of Windows 
XP, the total cost of ownership will be lower than any 
emulator/virtualization solution, and lower than Apple's free Boot 
Camp solution. CodeWeavers expects to sell CrossOver for US $50, and 
expects to ship it at the end of July.

CrossOver for Mac OS X is port of the Linux version that CodeWeaver 
now sells. CrossOver is a commercial version of the open source WINE 
software for Linux and Unix. White said that CodeWeaver is the 
leading sponsor of the WINE project. A Mac port of WINE, Darwine, is 
still in the early stages of development.