It is always the best policy to tell the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar - Jerome K. Jerome
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Winonx lets Apple Mac OS X users run Windows applications
A SOFTWARE TOOL lets Apple Mac OS X users run Windows applications without having to use virtualisation, according to NES Software.
Winonx is based on Wine project code and enables users to run Windows applications on other operating systems such as Unix and Linux. Since Mac OS X is based on the Nextstep derivative of BSD Unix, apparently it wasn't too hard to port Wine to run on it.
Wine is freely available under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence, but NES Software has done all of the configuration and packaging work to deliver its capabilities in a tool that can be downloaded from Apple's Mac App Store and run on an Apple computer under Mac OS X.
NES Software claims that Winonx provides Apple fans with easy and affordable access to a wide variety of Windows applications, including business and productivity tools that are not available for Mac OS X.
The firm said that this offers an alternative to running virtualisation software, which is resource-heavy and requires Mac users to buy a Windows licence to run Microsoft's operating system in a virtual PC.
In contrast, WinOnX costs just $4.99 (£3.15) to download, which NES Software CEO Hisham El-Emam said makes it a compelling tool.
Linux users can snigger at Apple fanbois paying money for what's essentially free software, but then again, NES Software has packaged the Wine port to Mac OS X and it's only three quid, after all.
"For many, WinOnX is the only easy-to-use alternative to pricey Windows licences and virtualisation programs. And as our list of compatible Windows applications continues to expand, WinOnX becomes an increasingly attractive alternative for the average Mac user," El-Emam said.
Wine essentially works by intercepting Windows API calls and substituting them for those of the underlying operating system, making it similar to an emulator.
However, the Wine developers don't regard it as a Windows emulator and tend to bristle when it's described as one. Indeed, the name Wine is one of those recursive acronyms that programmers familiar with Lisp seem partial to using, standing for "Wine Is Not an Emulator".
Unlike virtualisation, Winonx does not guarantee compatibility with all Windows applications, just a selected but growing subset of them, and NES Software advises Mac users who require full Windows compatibility to take the virtualisation route.
A list of compatible applications is maintained on the Wine project web site. Winonx supports Apple Mac systems running OS X 10.6 or later. µ
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I've made a completely free program that does much more than this one that uses Wine for a couple of years called Wineskin.
Why buy this for $5 when you can get something better for free?
http://wineskin.doh123.com/
Cmon, guys, 3 quid is nothing, it's a stupid tax. If they made it work better, more power to them.
Virtualization has advantages... that few who have not used it that almost make Windows practical. -)
The "killer app" is that Vitualization allows efficient ~instant snapshots and ~instant ROLLBACK of the system state--- It's a Magic "undo" button that Microsoft has not so far effectively managed to do on metal in spite of their best efforts.
Unless you are playing games, it's the only sane way to run Windows (any version) if you value your time at all.
"Or you could just get a proper Windows PC....Far cheaper and less than a tenth of the security vulnerabilities of OSX."
And be exposed to all the experience-ruining quirks that come with your average Windows PC. Aka, having the antivirus nag at you that you are not protected right after you open your new PC (would you buy a car that says the anti-theft system isn't working the moment you put the key in?), not having ANY ability whatsoever to save your edited videos in the industry standard MP4 format without third part software, having to tolerate one and a half minute boot times (even on 3GB ram systems), PCs that ship with the hardisk fragmented (it has happended) etc...
Screw that! I want a premium experience. I want things to just work from the moment one i take the thing of the box! It's called refinement. Windows PCs lack that.
Or you could just get a proper Windows PC....Far cheaper and less than a tenth of the security vulnerabilities of OSX.
I don‘t know man, i ve tried Wine and it seemed way to problematic to be usable. The concept could theoretically work, but thanks to the team behind it trying to make it work with the 510 different permutations of Linux, it doesn‘t. There are cases where one Windows app works in one permutation (“distro“) of Linux and not in an other! I mean, making apps for that run in all distros of Linux is already hard, but making an API translator is practically impossible! Mac OS X is collateral damage. CrossOver is just as lame, as they dont use the Wine codebase but a fork of an early non copyleft-licensed version. Both Wine and CrossOver do NOT support Vista apps and DirectX 10 apps. Just use virtualization.
@NickG
The practice of repackaging and selling is ALLOWED by the GPL license, as lobg as source code is offered, so if the Wine team is OK with it, your opinions don‘t matter. This is the miracle of the GPL anyone can repackage your app and collect donation and sales revenue instead of you. These guys however could be in violation of the GPL due to Apple‘s AppStore terms which conflict the GPL (see VLC incident).
Point taken. I've changed the article to say that NES packaged the Wine port to Mac OS X. That it has made this easy to download and use may be worth three quid.
as a previous comment said it has already be done for OSX. If you want better compatibility use CrossOver as they have taken time to work out several problems that will occur with apps.
NES didn't port wine, it's been widely available on OSX for quiet a while now (http://wiki.winehq.org/MacOSX/Installing), the source code can even be compiled on Windows.
So, ya, these are a bunch of scam artists charging for free software.