Corel Linux to Access and Run Windows Apps

rawlink writes "Corel has announced that they are working w/ GraphOn to support their Bridges client software on Corel Linux. This will allow the Linux client to access Windows apps over a network connection, much the same way that Citrix does." I hope this won't be too expensive; it could instantly enlighten the minds of a lot of people wondering what the next OS for their LAN should be...

Comments

Windows Terminal Server

[Tenement]

To my memory the Windows Terminal Server is based (and licensed) off of (by) Citrix's server side windowing technologies.

If you surf over to Citrix's Web Site you'll notice that there already is a linux client for this server.

Simply put, if you have a WinNT TSE (Terminal Server Edition) Server or a Windows 2000 Server you'll already have access to this with native Microsoft enhancements.

With thanks

Tenement
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GraphOn and Patents

[Ledge Kindred]

Remember that GraphOn is that company that claims to have a patent on displaying Windows apps over X.

Showing support for a company that goes for outrageously stupid patent things is hardly something I'd want to get excited about.

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musings

[xeno]

I see some pros and cons:

• This means that users can run windows apps on a free OS, which is good. However, connection or per-seat licenses may be required by MS, since the app is actually running on a Windows system. Lightweight clients, heavyweight licensing restrictions; windows is like glue -- you touch a box with a running MS kernel, you have to play/pay by their rules.
• It also means that the apps stay remote. On the good side, it might encourage users to adopt Linux-native apps locally, but is also might make them feel like second class citizens -- tied to a network to get familiar apps. This becomes less and less of an issue as KDE and Gnome environments begin to provide more and more general-office functionality.
• It's nice to see some movement towards server-based apps on a true multi-user system (multiple people logged into the same NT box simultaneously, a la NTTS). However, in my explorations, the licensing fees for such a config is more expensive than just buying one cheap system per anticipated concurrent user (a farm of cheap single-user-OS NT boxen) and using VNC.
• It doesn't preclude the use of WINE. This is good, because binary compatibility would be the death of the whole Win32 platform. ("A better Windows than Windows") On the flip side, it takes away some of the motivation to continue WINE development, particularly from Corel, which promised much support for WINE.
• Graphon's model means sending screen scrapes over the network & potentially over the internet. Is it encrypted well? On the flip side, using SSH to tunnel VNC is rather intimidating to the typical human.

Just some thoughts, and no real conclusion. I guess I'll stay here on the fence, and throw some more support/feedback to the WINE folks.

Jon

It doesn't remove the need for WINE

[Ian Schmidt]

Specifically, Corel is involved in WINE so they could easily port their apps to Linux. They are by all accounts almost done with this for their first round of apps (they recently split their tree from the WineHQ one so they could do beta testing without us all possibly breaking their stuff - we'll remerge once they ship :). They are even paying Wine's leader (Alexandre Julliard) money to fix Wine's last major architectural problem (only 1 address space for all processes) despite the fact that the problem doesn't directly affect their applications.

(as an aside, the Wine team has seen interest from some other "name-brand" commercial software vendors about using WineLib to port their stuff now that Corel's done the hard part - we may have enough apps to conquer the desktop sooner than you think :)

As has been stated before, GraphOn's system has completely different goals and is more like WinFrame or VNC than Wine.

-Ian "wine-devel" Schmidt