I know we have dedicated a few posts in recent days to running native Windows applications on Mac but we can’t help it! 
So, what options are available for running Windows apps on Macs?
- Parallels allows you to run XP/Vista virtually within Mac OS X, but for a price.
- Fusion is the alternative to Parallels, but that too comes at a price.
- Crossover can run .exe files within OS X, at a price.
- Bootcamp permits you to boot up XP/Vista on an Intel Macintosh machine, for free!
So that makes Bootcamp the only solution for those who hate parting with their cash. While the other three products allow you to run Windows and OS X simultaneously, Bootcamp restricts you to either choosing to load up Windows or OS X at start up. If you want to run .exe applications on top of Mac, you’re going to have to splash some cash, or maybe not..
Enter Darwine
The Wiki entry for Darwine states that it’s a port of the Wine libraries to Mac OS X. So what is Wine?
Wine is a project which aims to allow a PC with an x86 architecture processor running a Unix-like operating system and the X Window System to execute programs that were originally written for Microsoft Windows
There is more technical jibberings about Wine on its Wiki entry but all you need to know is that Darwine works and it’s an Open Source project hosted on Source Forge. In other words it costs €0.00 to download, install and use.
Of all the applications which can run .exe applications in a Mac environment, it is Crossover which resembles the functionality of Darwine the most. Crossover doesn’t come for free though.
When I first found Crossover, I attempted to run and install the Windows application; Google Talk. Crossover didn’t install the application correctly but nor did Darwine. I assume it’s due to an authentication feature on Google Talk to prevent a cloaking of the user agent or something like that.
After failing once again to install Google Talk on Mac, I attempted to install the Windows version of Filezilla. While Filezilla is available on Mac as a beta, it is very buggy. The below screenshot was taken during the installation process and it indicates a successful installation (click image to enlarge).
The good news is that Filezilla worked a charm! I managed to install, run, connect to a FTP account and install all these beautiful screenshots without any issues. Click the image below to see Filezilla running under Darwine.
With Darwine, you can do some pretty cool things on Mac which you couldn’t do before. Such as install Internet Explorer on Mac.
Why would you want to do that?
- Well, if you’re a web developer then you’re a slave to Internet Explorer no matter which Operating System you use.
But, if you’re a serious developer you should have a Windows machine close to hand for testing against browser and OS compatibility. If you can’t afford or justify having a dedicated Windows machine, then Bootcamp or maybe even an online emulator such as Site Vista might suit you better.
So that’s Darwine. A handy application to have close at hand. It may not work with every Windows application but it won’t cost you past a free trial of Crossover, Parallels or Fusion to find if a compatibility issue exists.
