Filed under: Software
Crossover Mac enters Beta 2 phase
We missed this a few days ago, but Crossover Mac, CodeWeaver's WINE environment that allows you to run Windows applications along side OS X applications, with no need for virtualization, has been updated to Beta 2. What's new in b2? Lots, apparently. There are "dramatic" performance improvements and bug fixes for full screen mode, case-sensitive file systems, CPU detection, and the registration process, to name a few. Now I haven't personally used Crossover yet, since I'm supremely satisfied with Parallels, so I can't confirm that those updates are actually there, but I'm willing to give the developer the benefit of the doubt on this one. If you're using it, please chime in with your thoughts.
Thanks, Mike!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
EclipseEmpire said 4:06PM on 10-05-2006
I've used this app for awhile now, and it works great for me. I use it for Visio 2000.
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Mike Utugau said 4:07PM on 10-05-2006
As far as as know Crossover allows windows apps to run on mac without the need of windows, so, it has nothing to do with parallels. This is the dream of everyone, like me, that cannot yet abandon windoze completely.
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JR said 4:20PM on 10-05-2006
I'd buy this faster than an addict buying his fix off the streets if it worked with Outlook 2003 and Exchange.
Frankly, I think Entourage is horrible.
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Grg Terry said 4:21PM on 10-05-2006
I've have used the first beta to run Dreamweaver MX and Internet Exploder (to check html display) and it worked pretty well. Very easy to set up and use. I never could get Parallels to install a Win OS.
The one negative I found was that the auto recognize CD program hogged a bunch of memory. However, it can be turned off. That feature was nice in that one could insert a Win program CD and it would be instantly recognized/ started. Overall, if one has a Win app or two for which you cannot find a suitable Mac replacement, it is worth the money.
My preference is to avoid Win apps - I've pretty much quit using Dreamweaver - now I use BBedit and Rapidweaver.
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Mark D. said 4:26PM on 10-05-2006
Well, the only app I've really tested in Crossover in b1 and b2 has been winamp (unsupported). It doe sactually run better in this release, finally launching right away and consistently (as well as playing streaming video much much better, though still limited to the upper left corner.)
I haven't had run anything else to speak of, except ie6, which in a win98 enviroment it runs fine, but in the winXP one I had some trouble getting it to install. It claims to be installed but none of the required files are present. I might delete the bottle and retry later, but otherwise everything is looking good.
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Zack Kitzmiller said 4:39PM on 10-05-2006
AT GRG: Why not use dreamweaver for OS X?
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flightbag said 5:14PM on 10-05-2006
Used for about a week now, works like a charm with the few programs i need to run, without the need to purchase a windows licence. As a beta its very stable, and when registered , its very quick from startup, so i cant see of any reason for the other choices out there.
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Marin Kent said 5:47PM on 10-05-2006
I waited and pondered which route to take. I chose CrossOver to run Access. It installed very easily and works a treat. Why fill a hard drive with an unwanted operating system? 1st class software, I say.
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fredouil said 6:07PM on 10-05-2006
Does it make OSX vulnerable to virus and worms ?
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Sturek said 6:26PM on 10-05-2006
No, because the program is restricted to its "bottle" and there's no real Win kernel running, it's virtually immune. I used beta1 for Steam (HL 1 and all mods I tried worked pretty well on my MacBook and HL 2 ran ok, besides the crashes ;) but Steam is high priority for the guys at CodeWeavers it seems) and I am VERY happy with this app. But it seems my demo just expired yesterday :/ Now I gotta find 40 bucks :/
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Matt said 6:43PM on 10-05-2006
@9: good question, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't as you have to actually choose which apps you want to run - they can't just go spawning off everywhere.
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ds said 6:34PM on 10-05-2006
Does anyone know if this app works with the Sony Ericsson Update Suite? I've been dying to upgrade my phone's firmware but don't have access to a pc.
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Sturek said 7:15PM on 10-05-2006
@11: I don't know, nobody has tested it yet (or filed a beta report) not even a report for the Linux version of CrossOver (which is like version 6 or 7 now), but you can try. 12s guess was wrong, you can easily install apps that are not officially supported and a lot do work pretty well. Just install the demo and try it out, it won't make a mess on your HD. Put in the disk and CrossOver should recognise the installer and you can do an express install and see if it works. Though CrossOver has some trouble with USB devices.
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dave said 7:46PM on 10-05-2006
so it appears that only word and excel and their predecessors (97 versions) along with the ppt viewer (not the actual ppt app) are getting 'gold medals' and everything else is prone to bugginess....honestly, if they want the level of embrace that their competitor parallels got, i strongly advise them to not charge for beta releases that only support one or two apps...it sounds dreamy, but not bug-free enough for a serious work environment...
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Stu L Tissimus said 4:12PM on 10-06-2006
I actually only started using Crossover today, and was pleasantly surprised that it could run a Win32 N64 emulator (Project64) at native speed. Very impressive. I've used WiNE before, but I'm still not quite used to having it on a Mac.
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michel said 8:54PM on 10-05-2006
it's not as parrallels
crossover / wine is a reimplementation, a rewrite, a bridge, of windows foundation upon os X (and linux / freebsd).
the application is working inside os x without the help of the true windows.
the application is restricted to a specific folder (for example in linux it's /home//.wine/c/ ) so virus will not destroy your os x or files.
crossover can not test ALL windows software
but many will works, really many.
and for complex applications, wine can use the very dll and files of a true windows. if wine can access a full installation of windows (for example you copied a windows installation inside a mac os x directory or its own partition) , wine will use the real dll windows to satisfy the application.
do try. one year ago, I used World of warcraft windows on linux without worries. even if 'officially" crossover was not ready. (I used a development version of Wine, the free/opensource version of crossover. Crossover in fact bring support and tweaking to improve wine)
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Doug McIntosh said 8:59PM on 10-05-2006
Since nobody has posted this yet, here's a Video of Crossover Mac running a graphically rich Winbloze GAME!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbMhk2fdl_k
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mapin said 12:32AM on 10-07-2006
I downloaded the trial a few hours ago, tried to install MS Office 2000 and it just got stuck at the installation stage. Next I tried MS Office XP, it got thru the installation and then completely froze up my machine. Next I found the FAQ on how to completely remove Crossover from my new mac pro. That part worked flawlessly. Back to Parallels.
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