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Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

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Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#51

Post by oarsinsync »

0815test wrote: post #27
EamonnMR wrote: post #10

WINE needs 32 bit support. The bulk of windows programs that people still care about are from the 32 bit era, and as they point out many 64 bit apps use 32 bit installers. Maybe it's time for x86 box like DOSbox.

> Maybe it's time for x86 box like DOSbox ...or Virtualbox.

You're suggesting an emulator, which is absolutely correct and a worthwhile reminder that we can emulate 32bit without any problem.

It's also worth considering the context, WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) provides an abstraction layer that doesn't require the overhead of an emulation layer.

DOSbox is similar. (EDIT: apparently it's not, and is actually an emulator. TIL.)

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#52

Post by peterangular »

ionised wrote: post #35
scrollaway wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find asking these kinds of questions to people using professional software like that is akin to asking a professional c++ programmer "why not lisp?". Imagine you spend a career training on something and random people just tell you to do something else.

You spend a career training in skills, not training in specific tools. If you limiting yourself to a single tool and refusing to learn anything else you are doing yourself a disservice.

Yeah - it's not about that. GIMP and Inkscape are incapable when it comes to professional graphics work.

Broken tools cost my client money.

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#53

Post by sidthegeek »

momokoko wrote: post #7

I'm curious about Wine's usage and relevance at this point in the Linux desktop story. My assumption is that Linux users(myself included) that use Windows applications(not games), tend to just run a VM in seamless mode for Windows functionality. I would be curious if others had any insight(anecdotal or otherwise) about Wine usage these days.

I couldn't live without Wine (or Crossover). I develop web apps for a small company, and Ubuntu Mate is my primary development environment. A lot of our software relies heavily on Word and Excel because that's what our customers use. And Wine does a superb job of integrating Word and Excel into the Ubuntu desktop. Hats off the the Wine developers for the amazing job they've done.

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#54

Post by deng »

momokoko wrote: post #7

I'm curious about Wine's usage and relevance at this point in the Linux desktop story. My assumption is that Linux users(myself included) that use Windows applications(not games), tend to just run a VM in seamless mode for Windows functionality. I would be curious if others had any insight(anecdotal or otherwise) about Wine usage these days.

> My assumption is that Linux users(myself included) that use Windows applications(not games), tend to just run a VM in seamless mode for Windows functionality.

Running in a VM requires an additional Windows license. I'm not even sure if you're allowed to use an OEM license for a VM, or if you need proper retail or even one of those "VDA licenses". It's precisely this kind of stuff why I still use Wine.

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#55

Post by ForHackernews »

momokoko wrote: post #7

I'm curious about Wine's usage and relevance at this point in the Linux desktop story. My assumption is that Linux users(myself included) that use Windows applications(not games), tend to just run a VM in seamless mode for Windows functionality. I would be curious if others had any insight(anecdotal or otherwise) about Wine usage these days.

I use Wine to run Adobe Digital Editions because the proprietary DRM is the only way to get library epub files onto my eReader.

It's very valuable to me for this use case, and AFAIK, there is no viable alternative on Linux (other than cracking the epub DRM, which I really don't want to do and risk giving publishers an argument against public libraries.)

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#56

Post by peterangular »

roywiggins wrote: post #43
ionised wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You spend a career training in skills, not training in specific tools. If you limiting yourself to a single tool and refusing to learn anything else you are doing yourself a disservice.

The problem is that everyone has their favorite tools, and a barrage of "what about " when you are in no mood to invest the significant time and effort on a standing start for when you've got your existing toolset warmed up already.

> when you are in no mood to invest the significant time and effort on a standing start for when you've got your existing toolset warmed up already

Sure, and on the contrary I've added Procreate on an iPad as my new illustration workflow because it absolutely kills vs. my old Photoshop/Wacom technique.

This isn't a "I'm not willing to try new tools/invest time into learning because I'm comfortable" thing... it's a GIMP/Inkscape are not capable thing.

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#57

Post by peterangular »

fifnir wrote: post #19
peterangular wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah - me too. As someone who's always needed Photoshop and Illustrator in my workflow I have tried to use wine on multiple occasions with no success. Never once was I able to get it configured to the point of usability/stability. VMware Workstation is the only thing that's ever scratched the itch. I've always thought that Wine is just a compatibility layer for games and entertainment because actual professional soft…

why not GIMP and Inkscape?

They're incapable tools, plain and simple.

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#59

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

olliej wrote: post #47

But why not just do a translation — 32bit x86 to 64bit x86 doesn’t meaningfully restrict available instructions, then just* plant a bunch trampolines in the low 4gig to the real implementations in the 64bit adds space. * I know this isn’t a trivial “just” but it seems like a plausibly achievable approach to me

I wonder if it'd be easier to use qemu's binary compatibility features? Granted, I've only seen that used in Linux, but it's an existing layer that supports running code for another processor as if it were native.

Re: Wine Developers Concerned with Ubuntu Dropping 32-Bit Support

#60

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #48
Arkanosis wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Wine from time to time, because some vendors (especially hardware vendors) still expect you to have Windows for silly reasons (eg. to write an update file on an USB key for a car GPS — I'm looking at you, Renault — or to unlock a phone bootloader — I'm looking at you, Xiaomi). That's a life saver in such cases and I can't state how grateful I am for Wine to exist. And no, I won't run Windows in a VM as I refuse…

You can grab free Windows VMs that Microsoft provides for browser testing. They expire after 90 days, but they are usable for the purposes you mention (except gaming). https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/v...

Okay, I'll be that guy this time: Why the downvotes? This is a bit hacky and only allows temporary systems, but it appears to be functional, free-as-beer, and works fine for these random one-off cases.
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