That said, I can't tell you how many times I've heard people insist they need a particular program, when in fact all they really mean is that they need a particular functionality. If you're taking a course that revolves around how to use a particular application, or you need to be able to export into a particular proprietary format that only the original program can use, or there simply isn't a viable open source program providing the same functionality, sure, finding an alternative isn't going to be your best approach. Choosing an alternativeĪn alternative to your Windows program isn't always a viable choice. In short, before you try to get the Windows version working, be sure you're not missing the native Linux application. Almost half the games in my Steam library now have a native Linux port. Not just indie games, but some of the top titles both old and new. For gamers, Steam installs just fine and will provide you with many of the games you had access to on Windows with no additional effort. In addition to open source software, you'll find many of your not (yet) open favorites built for Linux as well, from Chrome to Slack to Skype. For those used to having to find, download, and manually install binaries in Windows, Linux made getting this software even easier than it had been before. Many were installed by default, and others just took a quick search with my package manager to find. Programs like Blender, Inkscape, GIMP, LibreOffice, FileZilla, Calibre, Audacity, VLC, and many others had already been a part of my workflow on Windows. When I finally dropped my last Windows partition for Linux, one of the things that eased the transition was that much of the open source software I had already been using for years was immediately available in my Linux distro. Whatever your reason, if you're looking to bring your Windows program to Linux, you've got a few options.

Maybe the software is now years or even decades old, or maybe you want a specific feature that wasn't built-in to the version released for your OS.

While in an ideal world we'd all only be running open source software on top of open source operating systems, that's not an option for many people today, and so bridging the gap between the open and the proprietary is an important step in bringing new users over toward a more open world.Īnd even when programs are free and open source, that doesn't mean that someone has taken the time to port them to your preferred operating system. Free online course: RHEL Technical Overview.Running Kubernetes on your Raspberry Pi.A practical guide to home automation using open source tools.6 open source tools for staying organized.An introduction to programming with Bash.A guide to building a video game with Python.

Crossover linux winewrapper.exe.so