Don't Whine - WINE

Boot Camp sucks. Get with the program.

They all rushed out to get their expensive copies of the operating system they said they hated - and got clobbered for it. Don't you be the same. Even if Boot Camp works - which it doesn't yet - it's still a rip-off.

Boot Camp isn't a rip-off because it costs extra - all it requires is an up to date version of OS X (which you for security reasons might not want). It's a rip-off because Windows costs extra. And there's always been a way to run Windows programs without Windows. And that way is called WINE.

WINE stands for 'Wine Is Not an Emulator'. It lets you run Windows programs without running Windows. And it 'sandboxes' everything for your safety. And it's free. Free as in beer.

All you have to do to run WINE is run a Linux distro. Such as Ubuntu. Which Mark Shuttleworth's organisation will ship to your door for free. Free as in beer again.

That's right: not only is the Ubuntu distro free, the shipping and handling are free too. To anywhere on the planet.

All you need is an Intel PC. Which considering how many have jumped on the MacBook bandwagon, can be a considerable lot.

The Codebreakers have a version of WINE for OS X called DarWINE (haha) but it's not up to par yet. But if you have the right hardware, you've always been able to run your Windows programs for free - without owning a copy of Windows and without risking your security either.

See Also
WINE HQ
Ubuntu Linux
The Boot Boot Camp Can't