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Corel Dropping WINE?

Nathan Ehresman writes "According to this "Corel Corporation will use GraphOn's Bridges(TM) software to allow access to Windows applications from Corel's(R) Linux desktops." Does this mean Corel is dropping support of WINE? " I sure hope not. They've put a lot of effort in to the project, and I think they raised a lot of peoples hopes and expectations...

89 comments

  1. Possibly... by jd · · Score: 2

    They're just hedging their bets. (I hope.) WINE is still far from usable by non-techs, and Corel presumably need to be able to include something. My guess is that what they're -really- doing is saying (to themselves) "Ok, if WINE passes muster, we'll use that. If not, we've now got this alternative that we can throw in instead, with no loss of face." Personally, if that -is- the case, I'd say it's very pragmatic, and probably sensible, but in the long term, they're better off concentrating on WINE, if for no other reason than they have a measure of influence over WINE, and so can be sure that what they want gets implemented. They can't, for 3rd-party, closed-source software.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  2. corel linux by DarkClown · · Score: 1

    Can anyone comment on how stable and usable this graph-on product is?
    So, I downloaded the ISO image and installed it on a box to check it out. The install, was _really_ easy, however I wish it had gone ahead and had the network setup as part of the install.
    I've gotten used to gnome on the Red Hat boxes I use, so it was intersting to revisit KDE - sure has come a ways since I last used it 9 months ago.
    This is pretty supreficial, but I wish that corel had made the default backgrounds a little snazzier than just solid colors - assumedly this is going to be many consumers first foray into linux - be good to get some 'Oohh, pretty's' right off the bat..
    Anyway, I'm kind of puzzled that Corels stock isn't moving in a more positive manner right now. Thoughts? Insights?

    1. Re:corel linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Right now the stock is up 7/8 (7.9%) over yesterday's close. When you posted, CORL was nearly flat on the day, so I can see your concern. Next time you see a disparity between the news of a particular stock and the stock's movement you might want to act on your instincts and buy (or short, depending). Your gut instinct was right here, and you happened to notice it before the masses did. :)

      In the longer term, yesterday's close was still 25% over a week earlier, before Corel Linux was released Tuesday at Comdex. Many traders entered the market for the Corel Linux release run-up, and are now withdrawing their positions. This is one reason CORL hasn't been doing so hot the last two-three days. But there are probably quite a few longs predicting a short-term low at 11, which gave support. This news probably bumped it up to 12ish.

      I still think it's silly that this news proped up CORL so much today, considering Corel Linux hasn't even had one week to establish market share. This news really doesn't effect CORL's bottom line.

      5-day chart of CORL's stock activity
      (15-minute delay)

    2. Re:corel linux by DarkClown · · Score: 1

      yeah, it was funny- i went to check the current price after i posted and it was up after being flat all morning.
      by the way, as far as market share goes - they haven't even shipped their retail product - they've just made the free download available, which is far less featured (and only available as an ISO image). Looking forward to seeing it hit the shelves. Supposedly this will happen on the 30th.

  3. Dropping WINE support? by a9db0 · · Score: 1

    I certainly hope not! GraphOn's products seem to be competitive with Windows Terminal Server, not WINE. Bridges might provide a nice, if closed source, complement to WINE. And it would be nice to see a Linux-based alternative to Terminal Server for all those up-and-coming ASPs to consider.

    --
    -- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
  4. Do You Trust GraphOn? by Ledge+Kindred · · Score: 5
    These guys have been making a lot of funny press releases lately, like being involved with the claim that China was proclaiming Linux the "Official OS of China" or their more recent one where they claim to have the patent on any technology that allows remote display of Windows apps on UNIX-like systems.

    One can't quite help but suspect these guys might be trying to ride some of the current publicity around Linux, especially that generated by Comdex.

    I'd personally wait until Corel makes some sort of announcement themselves before taking this one from GraphOn with anything but a large grain of salt.

    -=-=-=-=-

    --

    -=-=-=-=-
    My mom's going to kick you in the face!

    1. Re:Do You Trust GraphOn? by MindStalker · · Score: 2

      http://www.corel.com/news/1999/october/october_25_ 1999.htm

      The same annoucement, on corels site. Its a month old even. Oh well, we might need to somehow contact corel in a plesent a kind way and see if they understand the patent problems that graphon has created.

  5. WINE and bridges aren't the same! by Gurlia · · Score: 3

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what the article describes about bridges, it's basically allowing Windows apps to display their stuff on a Linux desktop via some kind of connection (modem, network, etc.). Doesn't this mean that the Windows app will still need to run on a Windows box somewhere? I don't know if that many users can afford to have two boxes just for the sake of running Windows apps on Corel Linux.

    OTOH WINE lets you run Windows apps from the same box... a much more preferable solution for the typical PC user, I'd think.

    --
    mikre he sophia he tou Mikrosophou.
  6. Wine will go on by Stu+Charlton · · Score: 4

    If Corel drops support, it's not the end of the world: It's just the sign of a struggling business making a tough business decision. The work they've put into the project should be remembered & respected - but it will go on with or without them.


    --
    -Stu
  7. GraphOn sucky Software Patent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe they're afraid of the STUPID SOFTWARE PATENT GraphOn have. Write to to them and tell them how bad GraphOn are. We don't need wanmt GraphOn (or MainWin) for that matter. Wine is the way forward. If GraphOn's stupid US patents hold up though, then Wine development cannot happen in the US. that sucks. Write to you public representative and tell him how much that sucks, and how much software patents are damaging the US software industry - pretty soon, all the good stuff is going to be coming from the European Union and Asia. And Europeans - make sure to make yourself heard against the introduction/recognition of idiot US software patents.

    1. Re:GraphOn sucky Software Patent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are wrong, WINE development CAN continue. GraphOns patent and WINE cover two different things. GraphOns patent covers ONLY the display of Windows apps on a local machine in which the actual app is running somewhere else on the network. You must have a Windows machine running somewhere on the network to run the windows apps. WINE is a completely different product.

  8. Yipes! No, that's not what it does! by Ami+Ganguli · · Score: 5

    Corel is using Wine to port their applications to Linux. I've always assumed (perhaps wrongly) that they weren't interested in Windows emulation, just porting their own apps using the Wine API.

    GraphOn produces networking products, not Windows emulation. This is basically a Windows version of X-Windows.

    So:

    To port Corel Office to Linux -> Wine

    To run Windows apps remotely with the display on a Linux box -> GraphOn

    To run Windows apps locally on a Linux box -> Wine

    --
    It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. - Abraham Maslow
    1. Re:Yipes! No, that's not what it does! by ianezz · · Score: 1

      > GraphOn produces networking products, not Windows emulation. This is basically a Windows version of X-Windows

      From what I understand reading on the GraphOn website, it seems to me that their product does exactly the job done by the well-known (and GPL'd) VNC, perhaps better.

    2. Re:Yipes! No, that's not what it does! by quonsar · · Score: 1

      Hi people. Speaking of dropping...I just dropped a bowl of hot grits down my pants !!!

      Unless you acquired said grits at a drive-up window while wearing spandex and the temperature of said grits exceeded 179 degrees F., I don't think you have an actionable cause.

      (Score: -5 Offtopic)

      ======
      "Rex unto my cleeb, and thou shalt have everlasting blort." - Zorp 3:16

    3. Re:Yipes! No, that's not what it does! by acarey · · Score: 1

      Actually, I think it's a little different from VNC, although the goals do overlap. My (limited?) understanding of the two is this:

      1. VNC captures a bitmap of a server desktop (or, at least, the parts of the desktop that have changed) and sends _this bitmap_ down to a client viewer.

      2. VNC's display, therefore, is only as multi-user as the base OS... under Unix, VNC can serve out multiple distinct desktops, but under Windows VNC can only serve out one desktop.

      3. VNC can't share out an individual app - it shares the whole desktop.

      Now, compare this with GraphOn's product (or, at least, my understanding of it):

      1. GraphOn server on Windows NT intercepts GDI calls and translates these calls into a language which is then passed to a client which renders the GDI call at the client end.

      2. Because the application is never actually displayed on the NT side, it's possible for GraphOn to serve out multiple distinct copies of the app simultaneously.

      3. GraphOn serves out on an application-by-applicaton basis, not the whole desktop.

      'Course, I could be wrong - it wouldn't be the first time. But the above is my understanding of the differences between the two...

      BTW the patent that GraphOn acquired is _extremely_ specific; there was a discussion about it on the VNC list recently and the conclusion was that the patent didn't really apply to VNC.

      --
      -- "I believe the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush, 29 September 2000
    4. Re:Yipes! No, that's not what it does! by Luke+B.+Bishop · · Score: 1
      Not QUITE right about VNC... While it is the case that GDI calls are not intercepted by VNC in the windows version, the equivalent is done on the X versions. The thing has its own Xserver that you run in the background, and connect to using vncviewer. In fact, I'm using it right now to type this comment. VNC is amazing.

      Although, just the same, VNC in windows doesn't sound as powerful overall. Ah well.

      --
      -- For large values of one, one equals two, for small values of two.
  9. Bloody sensationalistic headlines by Neph · · Score: 4
    Wine and this Bridge utility serve completely different purposes, and I have no idea what leap of logic could lead one to the conclusion that Corel is dropping Wine support.

    Corel wants Wine mainly for winelib, which allows it to build Linux native executable versions from its existing Windows codebase with a minimum of fuss.

    GraphOn's Bridges allows you to run Windows applications on a remote server, and have them displayed locally (much like X clients). Unless Corel has suddenly dropped the licensed-software model in favour of "application rentals" from the desktop, which would be a pretty rash move even by Corel's standards, I really don't see the "threat" here.

    Steve 'Nephtes' Freeland | Okay, so maybe I'm a tiny itty

    1. Re:Bloody sensationalistic headlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any way, if you want to retarget Windows applications, you can use Back Orifice ( it's actually probably the best remote tool for windows...)
      or VNC (yes, there is a server as well as a client for win32, despite the screenshots being mainly unix)

      www.bo2k.com

      www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/

    2. Re:Bloody sensationalistic headlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "What leap of logic could lead one to the conclusion that Corel is dropping Wine support?" Umm... maybe the "we're trying to grab more mainstream readers" logic? And let's not forget... Justin is a newbie at this. Only seven articles to his credit. It's not like any of these guys (roblimo? hello?) have demonstrated any kind of awareness of the /. gestalt, or even basic ability to read articles and be vaguely aware of what the hell is going on around them. Reading /. used to mean articles posted by CT, who could be relied upon to point out both the fun and the technically relevant, something that is no longer really a factor here. This used to be a great site... oh well. Until the posters get their heads out of their arses (and Rob, god bless him, uses something more efficient than perl to generate pages, or just deliberately scares away 75% of the readership) this'll be just a shell of what it used to be. -An AC with 48 karma points who has been reading since the second or third month this place was around, and is vaguely sad for what once was.

    3. Re:Bloody sensationalistic headlines by mochaone · · Score: 2

      Reading /. used to mean articles...

      This used to be a great site...

      Until the posters get their heads out of their arses...

      this'll be just a shell of what it used to be...

      ...who has been reading since the second or third month this place was around, and is vaguely sad for what once was.

      People like you irritate me. You sound like an old man with all that whining. What, this place isn't cool anymore because it's popular? You don't feel special enough anymore, is that it? Face it fella, things change. I too remember Slashdot from the old days. In fact, I remember asking myself who the Anonymous Coward guy was and marveling at his prodigious ability to post comments!

      The feel and mood of slashdot has changed to accomodate the hustle and bustle of the increased traffic. It's never going to go back to that charming little website that a handful of people knew about. Wishing for that just makes you seem awfully childish. This isn't the only pitstop on the metaverse. If this one doesn't do it for you, move on.

      --
      Hates people who have stupid little sigs
  10. Impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, that is one of the most totally incoherent comments I've ever seen on slashdot, and considering the usual quality of incoherent comments here, that's saying something!

    1. Re:Impressive by FreeUser · · Score: 2

      He wasn't terribly articulate perhaps, but he does have a very valid point. If patents continue to hamper innovation and development in the United States, places with less draconian patent legislation, or even just more responsible patent offices, will benefit. This could result in the United States falling quickly behind our overseas counterparts.

      Gratuitious MS-slam: It doesn't help that MS products are giving the US a reputation for producing shoddy software, either ... :-)

      --
      The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
  11. corel feels left out? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know that corel was getting a lot of work done for wine through cygnus- do they think this redhat merger leaves them out in the cold? I have been pointing to the cynus and corel relationship ever since the rumor of the merger.

  12. Corporations are not communities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is it that people expect corporations to have things like "virtues." Corporations are more like primitive animals that will do whatever it takes to get their next meal. A business man is someone who knows the market value of his grandmother.

  13. ... by Signal+11 · · Score: 3
    And what did you expect? Corel is a corporation. They make business decisions aimed at maximizing productivity. They are probably saying "WINE is a good *long term* investment, but we need something now, so let's get this deployed, and come back to WINE alittle later".

    I'm alittle suprised - this really isn't "news" - it's just idle speculation. It shouldn't have been posted to /. unless one of the WINE developers came here and said Corel was backing off, not being as active on the lists, etc. All that posting this is gonna do is put corel in an (undeserved) bad light. Come on guys - let's do alittle backgrounding first before we post stuff like this. Maybe slashdot needs an opinion / rumor section, 'cuz alot of people are going to hype up the significance of this.


    --
  14. Rather distressing, if WINE is dropped by Christopher+B.+Brown · · Score: 3

    The article does not indicate anything about WINE being downright eliminated, only that the GraphOn software will get added in.

    It is not self-evident that WINE becomes of no value; a major value to WINE to Corel should in permitting Win32 software to be recompiled using libwine so that they may be deployed as native Linux applications.

    In contrast, the GraphOn Linux Client to Bridges software is not a tool to allow Windows software to run on Linux; it is merely a tool to allow Windows software to run on Windows NT, and then display on Linux.

    The new Linux client runs Windows applications remotely

    Essentially, this provides the same sort of functionality as the Citrix ICA protocol, or Microsoft's Hydra.

    What is particularly distressing is that this supports the GraphOn Patent for Remoting Windows Applications. But that does not appear to have anything to do with WINE...

    --
    If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
  15. No No, This is more Like Star Portal or VNC. by jelwell · · Score: 2

    Taking a look at GraphOn's Homepage you'll notice that they sell a kind of X object handler that can act as an in between from windows to ANY desktop (including Linux). It would seem to me, then, that this move is aimed towards competing with Sun's Star Portal and the likes (Microsoft's Web Office) etc... than it is at trying to get native code ported over.

    This looks like a short term goal, Graphon is all about thin computing and NC's. Anyone think the Network Computer is alive?
    Joseph Elwell.

    1. Re:No No, This is more Like Star Portal or VNC. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's more - VNC Viewer has been out for years, doing a pretty similar job. And grphon have been awarded a US patent.

      www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/

    2. Re:No No, This is more Like Star Portal or VNC. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ummmm ... graphon was not *awarded* a patent ... they *acquired* a previously awarded patent

  16. Doesn't mention WINE by Me2v · · Score: 1
    I notice the article doesn't mention WINE. I for one don't have a vested interest in WINE, and have never been able to use it for what I need to do. I can't run Oracle Developer/2000, AFAIK, or several other devel tools I use regularly.

    However....

    I do think we need some sort of emulation (like WINE) that will allow us to run Windows apps. Even better would be something that lets us compile Windows apps natively. PowerBuilder has that type of functionality--you can design a project and take the project file to any of the several platforms PowerBuilder runs on, and compile the program for that platform. I think they use Berlin libraries (correct me if I'm wrong) for all the GUI and system calls PB apps make, on the different Unix platforms they support. Unfortunately, Linux isn't one of those. :/

    Bridges sounds like a decent app. From reading the article, I get the impression it is mainly used for deploying apps over the Internet, like what Sun wants to do with SO, and MS with Office, and Corel, I guess, with Corel Office. I don't know how this would affect local installs (i.e., not running over the Internet)--presumably, they would still need a translation layer between the app and the OS. So perhaps this is an addition to the architecture, and not a dismissal of WINE.

    Just my $.02

    --
    Matthew Vanecek For 93 million miles, there is nothing between the sun and my shadow except me. I'm always getting i
  17. Then why not use VNC? by smoser · · Score: 1
    So, GraphOn's Bridges allows you to run a windows application, and display it on your linux box, from what I understand.

    If this is true, then why would Corel spend money on such a product when they can get (virtually) the same functionality using VNC?

    The only difference between what I understand Bridges to be and VNC is that VNC would put the entire desktop in a window on your Linux box while Bridges would only put the one application that you were running in that window.

    VNC is a very solid application, that I've to run those windows applications that I still need while sitting at a Linux box. The only benefit I could possibly see in Bridges over VNC is that Bridges could (possibly) take advantage of the (semi) multi-user part of NT while VNC does not.

    Anyone know anything that I'm missing here?

    1. Re:Then why not use VNC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yup ... bridges allows one nt box to serve an app to multiple users ...

  18. Re:Corel and GraphOn (was: Possibly...) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But aren't Corel and GraphOn "joined at the hip" in some fashion (so the GraphOn s/w may not be 3rd party closed source from Corel's point of view)?

    Corel and GraphOn Form Strategic Alliance

    Corel acquires significant interest in GraphOn

  19. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by jelwell · · Score: 2

    It would seem that Graph On doesn't even have a product out that allows Unixes to use Windows applications remotely. Looking through their product line you'll notice that all of their products communicate Linux/Unix applications to Windows Desktops or to Java clients. Anyone heard of an X server for windows? that's news to me.
    Joseph Elwell.

  20. GraphOn world first by zogulus · · Score: 1
    I just had a look at the GraphOn products page.

    Nice little gem:
    GO-Joe
    GO-Joe(TM) is the world's first thin server-based solution for accessing Unix and Linux applications, from virtually any Java-enabled desktop or device...

    These guys should really look at VNC.

  21. Nothing new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not news. The Corel developers have publicly stated that they will stop using Wine after porting Corel Draw, since there are too many problems with Wine (espec. font support).

  22. BSD vs. GPL license again ... by CocaCola · · Score: 3
    Without trying to rush judgement, if this really is true then this is yet another example of how the GPL protects the development community (and code authors), while the BSD license does not.


    Corel initially supported WINE in a big way, Corel contributed back changes, Coral actively participated in development mailing lists. Today they have their complete internal tree (see this article) which they have not published so far. They are using WINE in the Corel/Linux distribution though. If WINE was GPL, then nobody could keep such proprietary enhancements to themselves. Corel can use, abuse and throw away WINE, leaving nothing for the WINE community but unecessary confusion. The BSD license is simply too naive for this world, and its inteded 'bigger freedom' actually results in more abuse! The sad fact is that freedom cannot be guaranteed without weapons, and the GPL is the protective 'weapon' to keep free code freed. Microsoft has analyzed this issue very accurately in the Halloween memos: the GPL is a 'next generation' license, much more 'dangerous' to Microsoft than the BSD license.


    It's still not too late though - WINE could still be released under the GPL, which will prevent many types of abuses. We can only hope that WINE developers understand these issues.

    --
    --Coke
    1. Re:BSD vs. GPL license again ... by jschmied · · Score: 1

      No need to discuss this topic again. There were some rather long discussions on the wine mailing list with the result to not use GPL. You cant surely not accuse corel abusing wine. Their patches are still comming in. I dont care if they have a internal tree. Even if they only publish a part of their changes they did quite some work for the public release. juergen (wine developer)

    2. Re:BSD vs. GPL license again ... by CocaCola · · Score: 1

      The WINE-internal discussion I have seen was based on an inferior understanding of the GPL.
      The main argument to go BSD license was to allow linking of closed-source applications with WINE-lib. But if you release WINE under the LGPL then this is perfectly possible. I very much respect the license choice WINE developers do, but I'm free to point out problems (and you are free to ignore them), no?

      --
      --Coke
  23. Not that big a deal by steve9000 · · Score: 1


    It dosen't seem like this is a big deal to me.
    This allows remote running of windows apps
    in a similar way to X (though not as good I'll
    warrant since X was designed for networking from
    the ground up)

    For the home user though its pretty useless. It
    sounds like you'd have to have a fairly beefy
    application server to make it work. And for games
    it's next to useless.

    It seems to me that some of the biggest
    improvements in Wine have been in getting
    games to work.

    Steve.

  24. Corel dropping wine? by zimbu · · Score: 0

    I just always thought they were dropping acid.

  25. Bridges != WINE by infoflux · · Score: 1

    I don't think that we have much to worry about here. It seems to me that Bridges lets users run windows apps off of a windows box over a network and have them display on a Linux workstation. Wine, on the other hand, lets users run windows apps directly off the hard drive under a Linux environment. Two completely different functions for two completely different sets of tasks. I could see where each would be useful under certain circumstances. I'm really impressed with WINE thus far, and I hope that development continues. If MS were smart, they ought to help with WINE development to try to skirt anti-trust action ("see our apps do run on other OSs, we don't have an OS monopoly"). I'm still not able to run all the apps I'd like (have to use vmware for that), but still, alot of progress has been made with the WINE project, and I'm excited to see how it progresses

  26. Hopefully this will straighten things out by dmueth · · Score: 3

    Everyone needs to do a little research before getting excited here.

    First, Corel will not drop Wine any time in the near future. Wine is the most important part of Corel's business strategy over the next couple years. It allows them to port all their windows applications to Linux quickly and maintain these ports easily. This will be the first time Corel will improve its revenues in years, and it will be dramatic. From a revenue standpoint, I think Wine is more important to Corel than their new Corel Linux distro or the GraphOn partnership, at least in the short term. From a Linux user standpoint, it means we can all have a high-quality, stable office suite (and graphics suite) running natively under Linux very soon.

    Graphon makes a line of products which allow software to run on a server running operating system Y by a client on a machine running OS Z, where Y and Z can be Windows, Unix/Linux, or Java. Obviously this is A GOOD THING, since it will help break the Microsoft monopoly and allow people more flexibility. It is also key for ASP's, which Sun and Microsoft are fighting for, but Graphon and Corel beat them to. Note that Corel originally wrote some of Graphon's products and traded it to Graphon earlier this year for 20% equity in Graphon. This is why Corel and Graphon have such a good relationship, which will be a good thing for anybody who wants to work outside of Microsoft's box.

    As for GraphOn, Corel, Linux, and China - this is a good thing. It means a lot more people will be using Linux and a non-Microsoft office suite.

    As for GraphOn's stupid patent on X clients on Windows, they aren't the first company to have a very dumb and indefendable patent.

    Today's press release means that users of Corel Linux will be able to remotely run Windows applications on Corel Linux by connecting to a Windows application server. This is analogous to sitting at one Linux machine and logging into another to run a graphical application over X. Except in this case, you're sitting in front of Linux running some Windows app made by a company who doesn't care about Linux users and won't port to Linux. So, this too is A GOOD THING for Linux and Linux users:)

    One last point: Anything which is bad for Microsoft is good for Corel. Corel is competing head to head with Microsoft on office suites which is the majority of Corel's revenue. Thus, anything which undermines Microsoft's monopoly will help Corel get market share. So Corel will happily help Linux, application serving, etc. even if it doesn't directly bring revenue to Corel just because every new Linux user is another person who may buy Corel Office instead of Microsoft Office. It is not clear that Corel will make any money off of its new Linux distribution, but they created a new Linux distro because they saw that no other distro was easy enough to use by most people. And they released their improvements (except 3rd party stuff) as GPL, since Corel wants people to use Linux, whether it is Corel Linux, Red Hat Linux, etc.

    Dan

  27. Justin, post a retraction - NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    These are different products. Your headline and
    ignorant comments are going to cause confusion.

    GraphOn's product won't even be available for
    another few months to a year; whereas Corel is
    heading into Beta testing with their Linux
    suite.

    Please just post the story and let the people who
    post comments jump to illogical conclusions.

  28. This is based on old events by tilly · · Score: 2

    Nearly a year ago Corel sold GraphOn their technology for allowing remote access to Windows boxes in a platform neutral way. This announced agreement would appear to be based on that old event. Corel would presumably prefer it if you used Linux. But if you have a legacy Windows application that must be run, Corel wants that not to be a barrier.

    Pluse Corel does partly own GraphOn, so what is good for GraphOn is good for Corel. :-)

    Cheers,
    Ben

    --
    My usual seat in the cluetrain is at A HREF="http://pub4.ezboard.com/biwethey.ht
  29. nothing about corel dropping wine in the article by DarkClown · · Score: 1

    hey, now wait a second.
    that press release mentions nothing at all about corel abandoning wine. it simply says that it will include graphOn bridge for network applications on windows.
    where did this 'corle dops wine' notion come from?

  30. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by dmueth · · Score: 1

    GraphOn's Product DOES exist.

    You are right that it is not advertised on their Products page. This is probably because they first unveiled it last week at Comdex. Read today's press release. It WILL let people run Windows applications remotely from Unix/Linux/Windows/Java.

    According to a previous press release, it will be available for Linux next month.

    Dan

  31. Re: Justin, what were you thinking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Change the title of that article; it is flat out
    wrong.

    Thank you.

  32. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by treat · · Score: 1
    Anyone heard of an X server for windows? that's news to me.


    Actually, there's a few of them. Exceed (from Hummingbird), Excursion, XLink, MI/X from Micro Images. I also read in a slashdot discussion a while ago a mention of a free X server for Windows, but I don't remember anything about it.

  33. Come on already, Corel is a dead company by Zico · · Score: 1

    I can't believe that so many of you people are hanging your hopes on a loser like Corel. Are you really that desperate to be able to run Windows apps on your computers? Imagine if all that development work had actually gone into producing decent apps instead of WINE itself -- which still doesn't seem like it will ever do better than a half-assed job on anything but a handful of quality Windows apps.

    Whenever I see someone using WINE, I just want to slap 'em around and tell them to quit being such a cheapass and to go buy one of those dinky little $300 Windows boxes, which will still blow WINE away. I can't help but think that they're the kind of people who take a date to the Sizzler all-you-can-eat bar with "two-for-the-price-of-one" and free drinks coupons stuffed in his pockets.

    It'd be sad if it weren't so freakin' funny.

    Cheers,
    ZicoKnows@hotmail.com

    1. Re:Come on already, Corel is a dead company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wine will eventually be a superior implementation of windows to windows. Why? Built in true multi-user support, true memory protection (instead of allowing all 16-bit apps to bypass MP), lower latency, and fully themable GUI.

  34. have you ever READ the GPL? by SEAL · · Score: 1
    GNU General Public License

    The GPL does NOT force a developer to release the source code, unless the product is being distributed. Even if Wine used the GPL, Corel has every right to maintain an internal-only tree. Their proprietary enhancements, as you call them, are intended ONLY FOR THEMSELVES.

    Let me quote from the preamble:

    For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.

    'Nuff said.

    SEAL

    1. Re:have you ever READ the GPL? by CocaCola · · Score: 1

      Corel has already released work based on WINE, so whats your point?

      --
      --Coke
  35. he's very right..please moderate this up :) by Travoltus · · Score: 1

    .

    --
    --- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
  36. A wine-devel explains it all (tm) by Ian+Schmidt · · Score: 3

    First off, this article is *totally* irresponsible on Justin's part for not doing any research. The GraphOn product has *NOTHING TO DO* with Wine. They aren't even competitive. Wine lets you run and port Windows apps. GraphOn's thing is a VNC clone that lets you display Windows apps remotely, while running them on real Windows.

    And secondly, for the love of Christ, *change the Wine topic icon*. The Wine project has had a real, official logo that's much nicer looking for 2 years now. See http://www.winehq.com/.

    PS: about the browser wars: some other developers got MSIE 5 displaying images over the weekend, so now you can do real surfing in it :) Maybe that'll light a fire under the Opera guys ;-)

    -Ian, in the Wine AUTHORS file and damn proud.

  37. Slashdot -- the almost news web site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Yet another evidence of Slashdot's decline: stupdity.

    Corel isn't dropping Wine for GraphOn -- these are two seperate technologies. One allows Windows programs to run natively, the other is just a thin client for Windows apps running remotely.

    Is it just me, or does Slashdot suck?

  38. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by spinkham · · Score: 1

    It was MI/X, at one point it was freeware, now it is shareware..
    I still use the old freeware version at home..
    I might be able to scare up a copy, if anyone's interested..

    --
    Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups.
  39. Some more detail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This little project which has everyone so excited has been in the works for about a year now. There really isn't anything surprising in this announcement.

  40. Bloody Stupid Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I've become increasingly sickened by the poor editorial content here at Slashdot. Are these 14-year-olds that run the show?

    Back in the day before Slashdot sold out, this type of stupidity was forgiveable. After all, it was just some college kids doing this for fun. Now that Slashdot is a for-profit sling-ding, I expect better than this type of crap.

    You are losing your userbase, Slashdot. Quickly.

  41. Re:Slashdot is slowwwwww... here's why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SlashDot makes heavy use of what web developers call "table hacks" or "table abuse"... They use tables to provide formatting. That creates two problems: the pages are enormous, and most browsers (with the exception of Mozilla Milestone 11 and maybe MSIE5) can't display anything within a table until the closing tag is received or the end of page is reached.

    Grab a copy of the latest Mozilla milestone and use it for your web browsing. That won't fix the problem, but it'll reduce it considerably.

  42. Wine Is A Failure by fishlet · · Score: 1

    Ok, be warned... this comment is Inflammatory, Flamebait(tm), Troll babble and whatever else you wish to call it but I'm going to say it anyway because I've got a very strong opion about this (no matter what this does to my Karma)...

    All this said, IMNSHO Wine is a failure and will not amount to anything worthwhile. I've been using Linux faithfully since 1996 and back in those days had high hopes for wine. Over 3 years later sad to say I still not cannot reliably run even the simplest 32 bit apps. Even some 16 bit apps like file mangler do not work flawlessly. Not to say wine doesn't amaze me at times, I was really intrigued to see it render a complete map in Delorme Street Atlas 5.0... but after that it just froze like a rock. Here are the reasons wine is a waste of time...

    a) Microsoft changes their API constantly, no one really knows how it works except for them. Anyone ever wonder why Microsoft apps "just work better" on windows than the competition?

    b) By the time wine is done, all those apps will have better native linux equivelents.

    c) (similar to b) All the manpower being put into wine could better be spent cranking out similar applications for linux.

    d)There are much simpler ways of running windows apps under the Linux environment... VMWare to name one. I'd really like to see the whole wine team scrap wine and start working on a freeware PC hardware emulator instead. That way I could run my BeOS apps in a window next to my windows apps (all under Linux).

    And now, to divert for a moment to a slightly off-topic subject, one big thing that keeps most of us going back to windows is GAMES. At least *I* don't care if I never see Microsoft Office again, but I feel bad about leaving behind Need For Speed 4. Now... most big game companies develop for the PlayStation, Nintendo, etc, and then the PC. Fortunately, game system API's can't change every 5 minutes like Microsoft directX seems to be doing. Heres an oportunity folks to draw some serious attention to Linux as a gaming platform. As seen with Bleem (a game system emulator for windows)... a emulator with native bindings can produce rather good performance on a PC for console games.

    1. Re:Wine Is A Failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      "a) Microsoft changes their API constantly, no one really knows how it works except for them. Anyone ever wonder why Microsoft apps "just work better" on windows than the competition? "

      You're just repeating more /. FUD. If Microsoft keeps changing their API why does Photoshop 3.0, written for Win 3.11, still work fine on NT4 and Win98? If the API had changed it shouldn't work, right? What about older versions of Word Perfect, they still work as good as they ever did. Just because companies today crank out poor software you want to blame Microsoft. Maybe Microsofts apps 'just work better' because they do a better job, not because of these mythical hidden APIs.

    2. Re:Wine Is A Failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft only changes APIs when it wants to kill a competitor. eg the whole of win32 was basically to kill OS/2.

  43. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by curri · · Score: 1

    Is it stable ? In that case, I would really apreciate getting a copy .... Right now, I'm trying VNC client for windows and its X/Server for linux; it is a good product, and very stable, but it seems that a normal X/Win server would be better, but I hadn't been able to find one. Orlando

  44. Table Abuse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, I think it's just the sheer number of people here that causes the slowdown (I notice it more during weekdays, especially when there is a story with lots of responses..) The pages themselves transfer pretty fast, it's the wait for the server to produce them.

    Combine this with the fact that their adbanner server is slow/unresponsive, and doesn't issue WIDTH and HEIGHT args to the IMG tags (so the browser has to wait for the banner to load before it can render the page.)

    For a REAL example of "table abuse", check out Freshmeat - my P150 (yes, old and slow) can take a few minutes to render each page after retreiving it.

  45. Doesn't mention WINE, because it's not like WINE by Christopher+B.+Brown · · Score: 2
    GraphOn's "Bridge" is not a Windows emulator.

    It's a way of allowing one to display remotely Windows applications.

    That means that in order to use it, you have to have two boxes:

    • An NT box, running a GraphOn "NT Service," which will run the application you want to run, and
    • A Linux/UNIX box, with a GraphOn "Display Server," that will display the output from the application that's running on the NT server.

    This is not an emulation; you require an NT box on which to run the application. No emulation involved.

    --
    If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
  46. Is it that much of a failure? by Christopher+B.+Brown · · Score: 3
    It's possible; the more recent Windows stuff doesn't merely use the Win32 API, but rather use COM components, that may tie applications more tightly to needing Microsoft code there.

    On the other hand, there is a sizable body of applications that need to be able to run on all of:

    • Windows 95
    • Windows 98
    • Windows NT 3.51
    • Windows NT 4.0
    • Windows 2000
    ...which all have slightly different variations on what forms of Win32 and COM that they support.

    This actually makes it more possible to build a decent emulation; if Microsoft changes the APIs too much, particularly in the direction of "breaking if you're not doing things exactly the way we want you to today," this will break code that already needs to run on four (or more) distinct Microsoft platforms.

    It wouldn't do to assume that this makes it necessarily easy to track MSFT changes, but it is certainly the case that it gets harder over time for MSFT to make changes.

    The cool thing about WINE is that it potentially provides a way for some of that "bad old Windows code" to get redeployed using libWine to run natively on a UNIX. Obviously with some uncertainty as to the likelihood of that turning into billions of lines of UNIX-based apps...

    --
    If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
  47. Whats VNC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and where can i get it

    1. Re:Whats VNC by Frando · · Score: 1
  48. BFD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the two products aren't even comparable -- StrapOn does a VNC/pcAnywhere/timbuktu style export of a PC application (running under MSHAFT windos) to a real os. WINE runs a MSHAFT windos application *on* a real os. with WINE, there is a minimum of one 'pute, with StrapOn, there is a minimum of two 'putes. your sysadmin better be willing to leave that StrapOn port open, or you'll get nada on your real 'pute. i think wine will be viable no matter what corel does, because the two products are so distinct. StrapOn, to me, is just another POW (pile of ware) that exports a windos display to another 'pute -- been doing that for a long time (for free) with vnc, etc. Wine actually lets me RUN the MSHAFT windos app ON the real computer. and hey, i'm no expert on windos apps or exporting them, nor do i keep up with all things corel or StrapOn. this could be a entirely different product, but i think this is the real schiznit.

  49. Re:Corel, Wine, Graphon, VNC by jhml · · Score: 1
    I think something got out of whack on this discussion. Graphon is irrelevant to WINE. It is a possible replacement for Citrix or PcAnywhere type solutions, is cross platform, and saves big money on license fees from Microsoft.

    Graphon and VNC do the same thing. We have been using VNC for a year --linux to windows and windows to Linux. It works well over a 100Mbs network, but is a dismal failure at 56K

    . Graphon seems much more efficient-- at least on their demo it makes it feasible to run an application like Wordperfect reotely over 56K. That is pretty good and better than much of the competition.

    If the products stay as they are more or less, we would use VNC in house, but use Graphon for our remote dial up users (who currently use PcAnyhwere as a windows to windows solution).

    I could see a real potential for VNC to gain speed which would hurt Graphon. I can also see a potential for Graphon's patent to be a problem for VNC-- as I understand it Graphon bought a formerly existing patent that predated VNC.

    I think Graphon has enough interest in the Linux community that patent problems could probably be worked out, if any exist.

  50. Re:Corel, Wine, Graphon, VNC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    vnc isn't developed in the US, thanks be to god. It is developed in AT&Ts UK research lab

  51. xwin32 by peter · · Score: 1

    Starnet sells XWin32, but the demo version of it works well. It exits after 2 hours of use, unless you fork over the cash (you can start it again, but your X apps will have to be restarted too.) One cool feature which I haven't seen in other non-unix X servers (not that I've tried many, but I've seen eXceed and Mi/X on a Mac) is that you can set it to open X windows as top level windows managed by MS Windoze's WM. (then you don't need to run a UNIX WM.) You can use the traditional one-big-window style, too. The only disadvantage to xwin32 is that it is non-free (speech). It's a nice free beer, though, even if you can only drink it for 2 hours at a time :)
    #define X(x,y) x##y

    --
    #define X(x,y) x##y
    Peter Cordes ; e-mail: X(peter@cordes , .ca)
    1. Re:xwin32 by vyin · · Score: 1

      peter said the following re: xwin32:

      One cool feature which I haven't seen in other non-unix X servers (not that I've tried many, but I've seen eXceed and Mi/X on a Mac) is that you can set it to open X windows as top level windows managed by MS Windoze's WM. (then you don't need to run a UNIX WM.) You can use the traditional one-big-window style, too.

      Well, I've never tried exceed on a Mac, but on the Windows version you can also do what you describe... That is, you can see a complete Unix desktop or you can have a Windows style menu borders etc. on your apps (CDE looks really strange this way) or you can remotely execute single applications and not start an entire desktop.

  52. Exactly! Score this man up! :-) by Ian+Schmidt · · Score: 1

    Because MS will for the forseeable future be maintaining Win32-based OSes with 2 radically different architectures but shipping apps that run on both, that limits what "innovations" they can do in user space. NT-only server apps are another story, but AFAIK there's no great desire for people to run IIS on Linux ;-)

  53. left handed monkeywrenches and sky hooks by flyneye · · Score: 1

    corel does evil
    using graphon to access windoze apps via the net
    in a rent an app situation.now you can pay for the privelege just like a windoze user to use word.
    i bet it catches on like disposable clothing,
    horseback simulator for motorcycles or
    freeze dried water.
    perhaps they should rent a life

    --
    *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  54. Then take the code WAS Re:BSD vs. GPL license. by mr · · Score: 1

    Look, if the BSD license bothers you so much, and you have such a belief in a GPL license, then by all means take BSD licensed code and add a line of GPL code and GPL the BSD license code.

    It would be MUCH more productive use of your time then comming onto slashdot and whining about the BSD licence. Go GPL the code, and make yourself happy.



    --
    If it was said on slashdot, it MUST be true!
    1. Re:Then take the code WAS Re:BSD vs. GPL license. by CocaCola · · Score: 2

      Me GPL-ing WINE does not prevent the abuse of freedom I was talking about. A theoretical Leach Corporation could still take WINE and rename it to 'Accelerated WINE, The Ultimate Emulator Much Better Than Plain WINE', equip it with a few proprietary bells and whistels and trivial enhancements. Sounds familiar?

      --
      --Coke
    2. Re:Then take the code WAS Re:BSD vs. GPL license. by mr · · Score: 1

      >Me GPL-ing WINE does not prevent the abuse of freedom I was talking about

      Huh?

      1) You GPLing WINE stops YOUR whining. Because now the 'the code' is 'free'....just like YOU wanted.
      2) The code is 'free' now. The 'freedom' is of the USER to choose what and how they want to use it.
      3) Why don't you have ANY respect for the authors and the people who work on the code? They opted for a BSD licence.

      >A theoretical Leach Corporation
      *yawn*
      1) If you havn't figured it out yet, big corporations take what they want. If they what what you have done, they will take it.
      2) Back to repect...the authors have decided that ANYONE is free to use their code ANY DAMN WAY THEY SEE FIT. So if some 'big corporate leach' (as you seem to want to call them) wants to use their work, the authors of the code have decided that this is cool.

      Again, go GPL the code and 'save the world', at least in your head. Your whining about WINE will then stop, as you have what you want. If you are unwilling to go GPL it, then what right do you have to whine about WINE?

      --
      If it was said on slashdot, it MUST be true!
    3. Re:Then take the code WAS Re:BSD vs. GPL license. by CocaCola · · Score: 1

      I think your position is naive. Yes, we could be a martyr like you. Or we could make a difference by making sure all code that is based on free code stays free. Others are still perfectly free to not use free code, nobody 'forces' anything. As far as big corporations go: it's not one case and not two when big corporations decided to not fully litigate their abuses of the GPL and settled out of court. FreeBSD is still not out of its SMP infancy, partly because BSDi hinders innovation by keeping their SMP improvements to themselves (and bashing FreeBSD on every other occasion, without acknoledging how they are regularly 'taking' FreeBSD code improvements.). It's all these little things that mount up and make a difference. License-incompatible code forks can destroy/hinder free software projects, what is so hard to understand about this? Thanks for your attention. About WINE: I fully respect the license choice of the authors, just like I respect FreeBSD's choice.

      --
      --Coke
  55. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by jelwell · · Score: 1

    I was being Sarcastic about the Xserver for windows part...
    :)
    I've been using Xoftware since 3.4. I remember when the tech guy laughed at me because he said I should upgrade to 6.0, now I think they're on something like 97.

    Although it is nice for people to point out alternatives for those less informed. ;)
    Joseph Elwell.

  56. Re:GraphOn's Product DOES NOT exist. by jelwell · · Score: 1

    I can read a press release just like the next guy. But have you seen their product? Remember LinuxOne? They had a press release too.

    Point of fact: A press release does not a product make.

    Saying "It WILL" do something only points out that sadly 'it DOESN'T' do anything right now.
    Joseph Elwell.

  57. my response is off topic, but by Ripley · · Score: 1

    I have been trying to get to cvs.winehq.com and www.winehq.com since Saturday, and I can't get to either one. I have tried from home, from work, and even from an old account at school. I'm amazed that there has been no comment on the news groups.

    1. Re:my response is off topic, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      try http://24.108.0.54/ for winehq.com

  58. Re:DOJ + open interfaces by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wine proves a point - if you add features fast enough, apps will follow the OS. Then I read what the lawyers had to say. Time to open a sourcecode clearing house to competitors- then you could have confidence in wine - and the market a viable alternative.

  59. where is winehq??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    www.winehq.com is not even coming up on DNS. Is this a conspiracy?

  60. See FreeMWare by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you're looking for a "free" clone of VMWare, there's one called FreeMWare. This is headed by the creator of the shareware Bochs emulator, so I think he knows what he's doing. Apparently they're taking an "embrace and extend" approach to VMWare (don't know the details off hand). The code is still quite beta, so don't expect miracles (yet).

  61. LAST POST by gammatron · · Score: 1

    WAY 2 GO JUSTIN!!! U r00l d00d!!!! got DA sc00p!

    gr33tz 2 d3v0