How do y'all deal with programs not supported on Linux?

I’ve been seeing all these posts about Linux lately, and looking at them, I can honestly see the appeal. I’d love having so much autonomy over the OS I use, and customize it however I like, even having so many options to choose from when it comes to distros. The only thing holding me back, however, is incompatibility issues. A lot of programs I work with very often are Windows-exclusive, and alternatives supporting Linux are rare. So I guess I’m stuck with Windows, since I deem those particular programs really important.

Any advice from Linux nerds here? All constructive replies are very appreciated.

brunofin,

Depends on what you do. I take care of this .Net 4.2 backend project which is not compatible with Linux in any safe way. For years I used windows and tbf I enjoyed it, but I am back to Linux and I use a VM with Windows on it to run the project on Rider. I have a setup which allows me to use the backend in this VM and the front-end, database and all rest is native on Linux. It works well for me with the downside of RAM usage, but I designed this laptop with this kind of use case in my from the very beginning so 64GB of RAM I have enough room to run the VM and everything else I need and steel have a snappy environment. I like it better this way, Linux has evolved so much in the past years I am honestly very impressed.

AlecSadler,

For Visual Studio Enterprise, Adobe PDF editing, native Office apps, SSMS, and RDP thin clients, I use a Windows VM.

niisyth,

For occasional use of a Windows specific software, how feasible is it to keep a VM handy? Not too much of a drag or a bit of a hassle.

Been on the edge of turning the main OS to linux on the gaming rig.

AlecSadler,

I have a 2TB SSD and a 1TB SSD. My Windows VM is allocated 100GB, so it really isn’t bad at all. I use VirtualBox and it starts up basically instantly.

I just realized I have an oldish laptop with Windows on it though so I’m thinking maybe I should just remote into that instead…derp

BURN,

I don’t use Linux

Unfortunately alternatives for everything don’t exist. Adobe products, CAD and certain games just will not run under wine. I tried dual booting, but it became too much of a hassle to have to reboot my computer 4-5 times a day

Aatube,
@Aatube@kbin.social avatar

I either find an alternative or use it under Wine-GE

FierroGamer,

I generally just avoid it, otherwise I use it on windows, I still use dual boot with windows and Linux, will probably stop after w10 stops getting security updates since I don’t really care all that much about windows specific stuff

HubertManne,
@HubertManne@kbin.social avatar

Ill do my usual name drop of zorin os linux distro. its maine thing is windows compatibility and comes with play on linux and wine preinstalled and setup. Also comes with many linux applications installed out of box. I think its the best shot for an easy move over but if it does not work that does not mean it can't be done but its gonna be a bit of work more than likely.

thelastknowngod,

What software are you using that is keeping you on windows?

FWIW, the last version of windows I’ve run was WinME circa 2001ish… I’ve been on Linux since '99 or so. You can certainly get by for day to day stuff. The only thing holding you back is going to be pretty niche.

Gabadabs,
@Gabadabs@kbin.social avatar

If I'm being totally honest, my primary use-case is gaming. I only have linux installed on my device, and if a game doesn't work, I simply play other things and hope it will eventually work.
Sometimes, with some effort, you can get windows programs to work using wine. For example, I was able to run Mod Organizer 2 to mod skyrim without issues. If that fails and your software won't work in wine, you could either find alternative native linux software or just dual-boot. I used to do that to play VR games in windows 10 since I've had issues running them in linux. Another option is to run a windows Virtual Machine whenever you need whatever software you can't get working, but there's pretty bad performance limitations unless you can get hardware passthrough working.

Pantherina,

Lots of Linux-only software too

maximilian,
@maximilian@lemmy.ml avatar

What programs do concern you?

dvdnet89,
@dvdnet89@lemmy.today avatar

macros on excel

Aatube,
@Aatube@kbin.social avatar

LibreOffice also has macros support

dvdnet89,
@dvdnet89@lemmy.today avatar

macros created by different people on excel viewed differently on Libreoffice also Some of the excel formulas that is written on VBA does not work well on Libreoffice

linearchaos,
@linearchaos@lemmy.world avatar

Native>wine>pwa>VM

My win11 VM sits on my disk, most days it stays off. It starts in 30 seconds and I use remina to remote into it. It sucks that I lose 60gb of disk, but it’s fast and everything just works.

We use Google docs at work so that’s an easy win.

Outlook’s Progressive web app is 99% awesome.

be_excellent_to_each_other, (edited )
@be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social avatar

Unless you have very specialized requirements (and quite possibly you do) the solution is usually to unhook yourself from thinking of needing specific programs and to instead focus on needing to perform specific tasks. (Then finding the Linux way to perform that task.)

Barring that, the codeweavers suggestion is a good one. I used it in my early days when I thought I couldn't live without particular pieces of Windows software and although that was several years ago, even then it was pretty good about being able to easily run arbitrary Windows software. IMO it's cheap enough to be worth the investment.

If you truly have bespoke requirements that just can't be satisfied by either of the above, staying on Windows may legitimately be your best option.

More generally - if you decide to take this step, expect to have to learn to use a computer substantially differently than you have in the past. It's not harder; in many ways it's easier. But if you are very experienced and comfortable with Windows, a lot of concepts are going to feel foreign to you. Tackle one task at a time and your experiences will build upon each other. Go into it expecting to have to learn, and you'll do fine. Bizarrely I find the least tech-savvy folks sometimes have the easiest time transitioning.

princessnorah,
@princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

CrossOver is also made by CodeWeavers, but includes paid support as well. Maybe it might suit your use case?

www.codeweavers.com/crossover

Steamymoomilk,

Does anyone know how well this actually works? Ive been fighting with fusion 360 to work on linux. Yes i know about bottles and it works okish but it lags alot.

princessnorah,
@princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Are you looking to run games, or other software? ProtonDB has details of what games do and don’t work using it. Proton is also maintained by CodeWeavers, I think it’s basically the gaming support from CrossOver.

Hairyblue, (edited )
@Hairyblue@kbin.social avatar

All my games work with Steam/Proton (thanks Value!) and I mainly use my desktop as a gaming PC. I do some bussiness stuff but LibreOffice will work. Or I also use Google Docs to do things--can be saved as Microsoft Office file types or PDF.

But you are right, if you need a Windows only program, then Windows is the only option. I had to update the firmware on my Xbox controller that I use with Steam to play my games. I had to wipe one of my laptops and put a copy of Windows on there to get this done. Another time there was a free Baldurs Gate game from Amazon games I could get, BUT you needed the Amazon Game app to get it. And it only ran on Windows. I put Windows on a laptop, download the free game, then moved it to my Linux Gaming PC. After adding it to Steam as a non Steam game, I was exploring dugeons with elves and dwarves.

It's still a Windows world, but IF enough gamers switch to Linux that could change. And Microsoft is only going to get worse with ads.

HouseWolf,

I’d say make a wholehearted attempt to try open alternatives even if you stay on Windows for the time being. I had been doing so for a few years before I even considered Linux and by the time I finally did switch the transition was a lot smoother.

That being said I’ve been surprised by how much stuff actually does run under WINE!

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • linux@lemmy.ml
  • localhost
  • All magazines
    •
    Loading…
    Loading the web debug toolbar…
    Attempt #