[ Thanks to Frank for
this link. ]
“Whether you love it or hate it, Microsoft Windows is here to
stay. That is, until more companies are willing to develop their
client applications for Linux. Currently, it is impossible for me
to avoid using Windows. However, I believe it is beneficial to
embrace many different operating systems as each has its own
advantages and disadvantages. I needed a product which allowed me
to use Linux at work, and still run all the necessary Win9x
applications. I came across Merge, a product which has existed for
many years, and has recently seen new light under the name of
Win4Lin. It is produced and packaged by a company called Trelos and
at $50 a license, I have not regretted my decision to use this
product.”
“I must begin by pointing out that Win4Lin does not support
Windows NT/2000. Win4Lin allows the installation of a licensed copy
of Windows9x inside a Virtual PC, using the native Linux file
system. Within this Virtual Win9x, I can install all the software I
need, i.e. Lotus Notes R5.03, Smartsuite 9.5, and many other
applications and utilities.”
“However, limitations do exist. Win4Lin only supports a real
basic pseudo Winsocks 1.1. However, according to Trelos, this will
be improved in future releases. Some applications, such as the
instant messaging service, Lotus Sametime Connect, cannot run. On
several occasions, my Lotus Freelance application crashed. In
addition, it is impossible to browse drives from the Win9x shell,
although this is not important when Linux can do that. (You can
always create a symlink from your Linux box so that Windows can see
it).“