By Anyone who has used Linux in the past knows about WINE, because sometimes the platform just doesn’t have the full suite of apps one requires. If you don’t know, WINE is a compatibility layer that aims to run Windows apps on Linux-based systems in native form. The acronym tends to stand for “Wine is not an emulator,” a mistaken presumption that most users make when trying to describe its function.
The exciting work is being done to bring this over to Android. It’s a marriage made in heaven, we’d say, but things won’t be too perfect out of the starting gate. For starters, things are running quite slowly right now. The team working on the project was able to get a Windows app running, but the experience wasn’t smooth enough to be practical. Still, it’s an exciting feat to get this compatibility layer up and running on ARM architecture when most Windows apps (RT-based devices notwithstanding) are built primarily for x86-based devices.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like this is the WINE team’s top priority — after all, more work is needed to bring its desktop Linux suite up to full capacity even after all these years of development. It’s said the project would get more attention if Intel’s x86 breaks considerable ground in the Android tablet game, though considering the company is having trouble doing that on the phone side of things (it has to compete with an immovable force consisting of the likes of Qualcomm, Samsung, and NVIDIA) we won’t hold our breath.
Would you want to see WINE on Android in imperfect form, or would you rather wait until the project can be done right? Be sure to sound off in the comments section below!
[Phoronix via The Register, thanks Matt!]
And how many years till it will be useful? I mean, sure it is always nice to have more things working on android, but this jsut seems like a multi-year project which by the time it will finally work will have become largely obsolete.
But those are just my thoughts, maybe I am wrong and I can play windows games lagfree in a few months on my android device, or use a BT mice and keyboard in full fledged excel/word/photoshop
But I highly doubt that
Let’s hope I my thoughts are wrong on this matter :)
I’d be happy if there was simply an emulator to run MS-DOS programs. There’s a whole bunch of nostalgia jewels to be played on that. I miss Prehistoric, OG POP, Civ I, etc.
Have you tried DOSbox?
I’ll give it a try, thanks! It came to my mind yesterday, so I didn’t have a chance yet to do my search :)
Whine is more like it… makes the .5% of the worlds consumers who use Linux at home all hot and bothered.
wow ! now we will be able to port Windows apps to , Android ! HOPE WINE WORKS , I got other article on it > http://www.techdigged.com/2013/02/run-windows-software-on-android-wine-is.html
Amazing. I want my Office 2007 running in my Android Tablet now! :D
do it right..ill wait
Until something like wine is developed tablets will remain a wanna be computer.
your welcome:)
You will likely not be able to run much because of the ARM architecture…
Android should provide some java and c(++) support.
Eclipse, LibreOffice, Gedit, real Firefox,…. Thats what we need on Android Tablets, not emulated windows programs
Minecraft PC version, here I come.
I’d rather have KVM on ARM working properly adn supported by the Android Kernel, then there is no need for WINE. I can just run a Windows Host in a VM and be done with it.
Done right, make it work and then drop that BOMB!