Microsoft Windows

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Microsoft Windows is a family of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. The latest version of this OS, version 11, is rumored to be very good. We are unable to verify but we have the general impression that it has improved since Windows 98.

Running Windows software on GNU/Linux[edit]

Internet Explorer version 6 running on Linux using Wine v0.9.23

There are two main options:

  1. Run Windows programs using the Wine compatibility layer (only works on x86/x86-64)
  2. Run a full Windows installation virtual machine using QEMU or similar virtualization software

Wine has come a very long way and it is possible to run many modern AAA games and other software under Wine. Games using fancy graphics may need an add-on to Wine called Proton which is developed by Valve for their Steam store.

Running Linux software on Windows[edit]

Windows 10 has a Linux sub-system, and Windows 10 versions updated after mid-2019 include a full Linux Kernel. Thankfully, Windows overhead (especially their malware scanner) causes up to a 300% slowdown on some applications, leaving you time to rethink why you're using WSL (which, since Version 2, has just been a VM).

Native Linux UI applications are making steady progress under WSL, to the point where many are as dysfunctional as native Windows apps. Freezing, lack of customizable hotkeys, and lack of desktop environment features give the gold sticker requirement for Microsoft's marketing team to advertise each release.


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