Wine 6.0.1: For that one weird app on that one weird Mac
- Reference: 1623319273
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/10/wine601/
- Source link:
The maintenance release has been a while coming, although support has been lurking in the development branches for a while.
Wine is a neat solution to the problem of having that one weird Windows app that has not been compiled natively for your platform of choice. It's not an emulator, but rather a compatibility layer that allows some Windows applications to be fired up on Linux and macOS.
[2]
Apple users wanting to run Windows apps (such as games) have had the option of using [3]Bootcamp , which boots into Windows, virtualization software such as [4]Parallels (which also require a Windows licence) or Wine.
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However, the arrival of the [7]M1 chip has made the running of Intel-expecting Windows apps somewhat tricky, even with Apple's much vaunted Rosetta 2 software.
Version 6.0.1 of Wine, however, adds the ability to run 64-bit Windows apps. There are caveats, however.
Taking it for a spin
Wine contributor CodeWeavers showed off Windows code running on its [8]CrossOver app on a M1 Mac in 2020 , and so the arrival of support in the open-source compatibility layer was expected. Sadly, it did not arrive in time for the major 6.0 stable release earlier this year, although it is more than welcome in the 6.0.1 maintenance release.
We installed it (with some help from Homebrew) on a M1 Mac Mini running Big Sur 11.2.3 and found it worked... OK.
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The Wine team maintains a database of compatible applications, and we'd strongly suggest checking your favourite is present before considering whether the investment or effort needed to get 6.0.1 up and running on a Mac is worthwhile.
Wine remains a work in progress and, as well as Wine64 support on M1 Macs, there are more than 60 fixes in 6.0.1. They include tweaks for several games as well as to Adobe products and iTunes (both of which exist natively on the M1.)
If you have one of Apple's latest and greatest, and a hankering for a 64-bit Windows application that is unlikely to trouble the M1 native list, then Wine 6.0.1 could be a useful option. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.winehq.org/announce/6.0.1
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YMI3IkcXa7bANyQqxqo3tgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/22/mingchi_kuo_apple_arm/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/15/windows_on_m1_silicon/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YMI3IkcXa7bANyQqxqo3tgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YMI3IkcXa7bANyQqxqo3tgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/07/21_point_5_inch_imac_vs_m1/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/19/crossover_apple_m1/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YMI3IkcXa7bANyQqxqo3tgAAAIE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: It's not an emulator
But then you have to expand the acronym...
Good way to get an infinite word count I suppose.
Re: It's not an emulator
So with 6.0.1 on the M1 does that need to change to WINE is now an emulator?
It's astonishing that Wine exists...
...and I salute the folk who've worked on it, but is it necessary any more?
Anyone out there using it for anything more than experimentation?
Re: It's astonishing that Wine exists...
Valve are basically using it commercially, (as part of Proton) for their Linux version of Steam, as a means of allowing Linux users to play Windows games, i.e. those without a native version.
I've also seen other people using it to let them use applications like Notepad++ on Linux, as it doesn't have a native version there.
Re: It's astonishing that Wine exists...
Hello:
... salute the folk who've worked on it ...
Indeed ...
+1
... is it necessary any more?
For me , the answer is a resounding yes .
Wine and to a lesser extent, Judd Montgomery's J-Pilot, were the two applications that enabled me to finally open the Linux door for me.
Keeping my Pegasus email client, which at the time I had been using for almost 20 years, was the dealbreaker.
Although I tried many native Linux options, I wasn't able to find one that checked all the boxes.
Wine enabled me to use Pegasus Mail under Linux and I'm very happy with it.
As always, YMMV.
A.
Re: It's astonishing that Wine exists...
" ... but is it necessary any more? "
As the sub-heading says, "For that one weird app..."
In my case, a program called Logic Friday.
I not only need to run it on WINE, I have to download it from Internet Archive now, as its creators seem to have vanished.
(Link, for those whose curiosity is piqued: [1]Logic Friday .)
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20180204131842/http://sontrak.com/
Great news
Now mac users can run some decent software!
Easier to run a VM
WINE is pretty neat but basically if you really need to run a Windows application, just use a Windows VM because it's guaranteed to work.
Re: Easier to run a VM
Really? On M1 Macs?
(It's pretty much guaranteed not to work, since there's virtually zero chance whatever random Windoze cruft you want to run isn't compiled for Windoze on ARM.)
Re: Easier to run a VM
Except Windows/ARM supports running Windows/x86 applications via its own translator. If Wine is doing a better job than Microsoft's own stuff then that's Microsoft's problem to solve.
Re: Easier to run a VM
WINE is pretty neat ...
... just use a Windows VM ...
Not always.
Not every rig out there can run a VM.
At the time I migrated to Linux, my rig could not run a VM.
But it ran Wine and rhymed just fine. 8^D
Cheers,
A.
Yes, I do know it's not friday yet ... -------->
Re: Easier to run a VM
Someone else downvoted you, I can't speak for them, but you are wrong on two counts. (1) If Windows software works both in a VM and under Wine (or CrossOver), then Wine is far easier, a beginner can do it. (2) While it's true not all Windows software runs well or at all under Wine, equally it's far from true all Windows software runs well or at all in a VM. Usually the reason why it won't work in a VM is different. One application I have tried fails under Wine because the registry is not perfect, and fails in a VM for some DRM reason, and probably the developers like it that way. I will grant that *more* software works in a VM than under Wine, just don't say guaranteed.
It's not an emulator
I'd like to see the copy of this article before it was edited.
I bet the author wrote "WINE is not an emulator ... "