In order to install .exe programs on a PC running Ubuntu you use an application called Wine. Installing Wine is simple. Just click on Applications, then Add/Remove, type Wine in the search box and and place a check in the box in front of Wine Windows Emulator. Click Apply Changes and Wine will be installed for you.
So far I have tried to use Wine to install two of my favorite programs that do not have Unix versions and found several excellent references on using Wine.
The first is SnagIt Screen Capture which is a great program any blogger could put to good use. It allows you to easily make screen captures of images and any part of or entire Web pages and add them to your posts. I encountered many errors trying to install it but kept going. Although it installed it does not work.
The other program I tried is the excellent Keyword Research program AdWord Analyzer. The good news was that this program appeared to install correctly. The bad news is it immediately tried to run an updater which gives errors. I haven’t been able to open the program.
Many commonly used .exe programs are more likely to run under Wine. You can search the Wine Applications Database for information on specific programs. SnagIt has been tested under Wine and parts of it did work for someone else.
As more people switch to Ubuntu more developers will create Unix versions and/or make their applications compatible with non-Windows operating systems. There is a process to assist developers with compatibility with Wine. I hope my favorite program and application developers decide to support non-Windows operating systems.
I realized that it would make sense to see if there were any Screen Capture applications already in Ubuntu. I tried going to Applications, Add/Remove Applications but no programs come up on a search for Screen Capture.
Next I did a search online for +”screen capture” +ubuntu and found How to take a screenshot or region capture like Snagit in Ubuntu. That looks like a good solution so I have created a post on how to get a screenshot into a WordPress post.
WINE REFERENCE RESOURCES:
- Official Wine Documention
- Wine Application Database
- Official Wine Help Thread
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Direct Marketing Review of AdWord Analyzer
- BC Software’s Review of SnagIt 9
- Digital Inspiration Review of SnagIt 9
