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Convert Linux to Windows

philipbohun.com

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Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#171

Post by jack_pp »

csdvrx wrote: post #158
doublepg23 wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is interesting seeing Office suites from the 90s and wondering what really needed improved. Google Docs pioneering “auto saving” in the cloud is the only one I can think of.

> wondering what really needed improved Maybe not much? A few months ago, I ran out of power (my mistake, I use full screen apps to avoid the distraction, so I didn't realize I was unplugged) After plugging in and restarting Linux then the ancient version of Word I was using, I got a pleasant surprise: the "autosaved" version of the document I was editing, with nothing lost! As for llm, Excel 2010 may not have been m…

So you're saying you're using Word 2010 and have no problem with files created recently? I find it surprising that modern word .docx is compatible with 15 year old Word

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#172

Post by tombert »

lucasoshiro wrote: post #29

> Imagine we made a new Linux distro. This distro would provide a desktop environment that looks close enough to Windows that a Windows user could use it without training. You could install and run Windows applications exactly as you do on Windows; no extra work needed. Why not use ReactOS?

I played with ReactOS a few months ago in a virtual machine, and even in that relatively controlled environment it still crashed a lot.

I’ve been hoping that ReactOS would be the thing that truly murdered Microsoft Windows, but that really hasn’t happened; it seems like that’s happening via combination of a lot of applications moving to the browser and compatibility layers like Wine and Proton.

Linux has pretty good driver support nowadays, and outside of drivers Wine will have as good or better support for applications, so I am not completely sure what that says about the future of ReactOS.

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#173

Post by SunlitCat »

marticode wrote: post #104
kazinator wrote: post #85

> I can pull down a 20 year old exe and still run it today on Windows. Sure, but for how much longer will Microsoft allow this unsigned ancient binary? Using Linux for runing Windows programs is going to be desperately needed as Microsoft enshittifies Windows going forward.

I really don't see Microsoft blocking unsigned exe. There's just too much old Windows/DOS software out there still in use, sometimes running critical infrastructure.

Like someone already said somewhere, it will come in steps.

Windows S Mode was already a test.

The nagging, warning and outright "blocking" (while hiding the "run anyway" button under "more info") is the first step. This already is a warning to software vendors that something will come.

The next step will be blocking unsigned exes on Home Editions (not on Pro or Enterprise), so that software vendors and most of places depending on unsigned old software can move on to signed software.

Then Home and Pro Editions of windows wont be able to run unsigned software anymore and if you need unsigned software to run you'll have to use an Enterprise Edition.

The last step would be no windows can run unsigned software anymore and if you need unsigned software running, you'll need to run that one on an Azure instance of Windows which can still run unsigned software or (if you can't / don't want to run your software in the cloud) you will have to contact Microsoft for a special Windows version, costing lots of money. But if your business depends on that one single unsigned exe file, you might be ready to pay for that one.

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#174

Post by tombert »

foxes wrote: post #163

20 year old games don’t work on modern windows that well at all, so that’s one counter example, so not sure where the point comes from.

I recently played Sinistar Unleashed on my Linux laptop.

I was never able to get this game working on regular Windows hardware, even when I bought the game brand new and tried running it on a contemporary computer, but it runs fine with Wine and Proton.

I decidedly could not get it working on a dual boot of Windows 10 (that I installed just to play to it).

Granted, even with Wine it wasn’t trivial to get working, but it wasn’t that bad. The game is actually not bad, I would have loved playing it as a kid, but I had to wait 25 years for Wine to let me play it, apparently.

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#175

Post by tombert »

trelane wrote: post #59
xtracto wrote: post #55

I want the opposite: id like a way to run the windows kernel, drivers and most low level OS stuff by windows, but with a Linux user Interface: Cinammon, apt and all the debian stuff. I run Mint as my main OS, but hardware compatibility is still a headache in Linux for me.

If you're not buying a laptop with Linux preinstalled and supported by the hardware vendor, you're going to have a hard time. You might get lucky, but it sounds like you've not been lucky.

I’ve never bought one of the dedicated Linux laptops, but I’ve had pretty good luck with AMD stuff.

My current laptop, Thinkpad P16s AMD Gen 2, was pretty straightforward to get working with NixOS. No special drivers, and everything, including WiFi and function buttons on the keyboard, worked fine without any kind of special concessions.

This was also the case for my last non-Mac, from 2017-2020, I got Ubuntu installed on there without many headaches, and it wasn’t a specific Linux laptop, though again it was AMD.

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#177

Post by LASR »

caspper69 wrote: post #127

I have points to burn, so I'll post, because I know this will scratch some folks the wrong way- apologies in advance. I use Windows. In fact, I like Windows. I know lots of (ok, more than 5) greybeards who feel exactly the same way. I don't want Linux to be Windows, but I also don't want Linux on my personal desktop either. I have a Mac Mini M1 on my desk, and I use that for the things it's good for, mainly videoconf…

TLDR: I’ve got stuff to do.

I feel exactly the same way. I recently bought my father-in-law an M4 iMac which he thought was a disproportionately nice gift for no apparent reason.

Oh there are some very compelling reasons for it. My tech support load went way down and he’s super happy. Win-win.

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#178

Post by darkwater »

Everybody is commenting on possible implementations or how similar solutions already exist. I would like to focus on an overlooked but very important fact: most of the important software in the Linux ecosystem is opensource. Yeah, the ELF binary from 20 or 25 years ago might not run anymore out of the box but you have the source code, access to the whole history of source code of needed libraries. It will for sure not be a 0-effort adventure and it will not work with proprietary and closed source software, but it's doable for most of Linux old abandoned software.

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#179

Post by sureglymop »

csdvrx wrote: post #135
pbohun wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is great! Someone else mentioned binfmt_misc. I didn't know about that.

The next step is to isolate the Windows applications: you could use different WINEPREFIX, but I think the better way is to do it like android: one "user" per application. It's not just to prevent applications to read other applications files, but also to firewall each application individually For example, if you don't want the application you've mapped to user id 1001 to have any networking, use iptables with '-m own…

What would be the latest usable office version recommended for this?

Re: Convert Linux to Windows

#180

Post by eitland »

csdvrx wrote: post #135
pbohun wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is great! Someone else mentioned binfmt_misc. I didn't know about that.

The next step is to isolate the Windows applications: you could use different WINEPREFIX, but I think the better way is to do it like android: one "user" per application. It's not just to prevent applications to read other applications files, but also to firewall each application individually For example, if you don't want the application you've mapped to user id 1001 to have any networking, use iptables with '-m own…

This is really interesting.

I thought it was impossible to run newer versions of Office on Linux.

Myself I often prefer LibreOffice, but more options are more options!

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