Crossover Offers Google Chrome on Linux
U.S. company Codeweavers today offers a special Google Chrome version of their CrossOver runtime environment for free download, giving Linux and Mac users the opportunity to test the search engine vendor’s new browser.
The makers of CrossOver Chromium designate their product as a “proof-of-concept” version. Codeweavers CEO Jeremy White describes the aim of the release as, “The message is very simply this: if you are a Windows software vendor, and you want to get your product into new markets, you should pay attention to Wine.” How this PR effort benefits the Wine Open Source implementation is that Wine is also the foundation of Codeweavers’ commercial versions of CrossOver, hence its business model. Accordingly, CrossOver Chromium releases just days after the corresponding Wine 1.1.4 update.
Codeweavers has long been on the lookout for just the software to “showcase the power of Wine,” as White puts it. The highly responsive Google Chrome seemed to come along at just the right time. It seemed to fulfill all requirements as being readily available and understandable, albeit usable only on Windows. According to White, “on Thursday, September 4th, I called a company Fire Drill… By Friday, we had a first working build.” For White, the speed at which the programming for the new Google browser occurred was all in a day’s work: “In many cases Wine is faster and more economical than doing a native port.” At the same time, he cautions that the product is still in its early stages, much like Google Chrome is in its own beta. “Nevertheless,” he emphasizes, “it is as fully functional as the Windows beta, and we think that sends an important message.”
The Codeweavers website meanwhile suggests that rather than use Google Chrome as the standard browser at this time, to wait for a subsequent version. The Linux and Mac versions can be downloaded for free from the website. The commercial versions of CrossOver for Linux and Mac are available with support and update services starting at $37 a year.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.
Chrome