Sometimes, you really do just need to run a Windows app on Linux and perhaps WinBoat might make this easier with its promise of seamless integration.
  • Cainas@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    0·
    11 days ago

    For some reason I read it as WinBloat at first. Cool none the less, will make it easier to make my friends transition.

  • yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca
    0·
    8 days ago

    ehh, tried using it . . . and a

    failed to create network winboat_default: Error response from daemon: all predefined address pools have been fully subnetted

    happens. I’ll create a github issue, but at this point, I could have installed a full windows vm in less time than I spent troubleshooting this issue . . . so there’s that

  • katy ✨@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    12 days ago

    it runs a real copy of Windows

    then just run windows; at that point if you’re going to buy a license for windows, why go through hoops?

    • AmanitaCaesarea@slrpnk.net
      0·
      12 days ago

      So now suddenly us lemmy linux tech nerds forgot about mass…🙄.

      Unless that isn’t possible to run, then correct me pls

    • yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca
      0·
      11 days ago

      it runs a real copy of Windows
      then just run windows

      umm, running windows in a container is still running windows so . . . . you would still just be running windows

        • lilith267@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          0·
          11 days ago

          Microsoft offically supports and encourages using windows in a VM and container tho? It’s massivly important for developers and server admins to be able to do. Even regardless of that, they’d still prefer you to run a windows vm and keep their OS as a core dependency of your computing life

    • eldain@feddit.nl
      0·
      11 days ago

      Because windows is really bad for work, I would want my kde multidesktop multiscreen setup while I earn money spending time in visual studio.

    • elucubra@sopuli.xyz
      0·
      11 days ago

      Because I use a paid graphics suite for profit (Affinity, great and pretty decent payment model), and I’m OK-ish with paying (a fair price) for stuff that allows me to make money, but I’d rather live in Linux for most everything else.

      I currently use Affinity mostly in a VM, and dual boot for some very specific things, but this seems to be a way to make the experience better.

      Also, a lot of people have paid for a license when buying their computer. I’m OK with people sidestepping the strict licensing terms if they have paid for it.

      It’s not “you have pirated it”, but “you aren’t using it exactly as we want you to”

  • neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    There is a Windows only video confrencing app that I need to use for work. Would this work ok?

    I wonder if it can connect to my laptops webcam and microhpone. I also wonder if there would be a delay in the video and audio streams.

    • mavu@discuss.tchncs.de
      0·
      11 days ago

      The good thing is, it’s all free software (*), so you can just try.

      (*) Windows is free, because you almost certainly have a license with your pc which you can use in the vm too if your pc runs linux.

    • azvasKvklenko@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      11 days ago

      Webcam is just USB device, you can passthru that to the VM and it will work. Microphone is part of your onboard audio device, but it can probably be configured somehow to also expose microphone on an emulated audio device inside vm, but idk

  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    The developer explains it should run basically everything unless “it requires strong GPU acceleration or kernel-level anticheat”.

    That is a lot of use cases people have for Windows only applications.

      • Leon@pawb.socialEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        The only reason I boot into Windows is to use Substance Painter. It unfortunately requires 3D acceleration.

        • xthexder@l.sw0.com
          0·
          11 days ago

          Can that not run through Proton? You could probably launch it through Steam, even if you bought your copy somewhere else. I have loads on external apps added just for easy setup with Proton

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        Sure, but many of those use GPUs as well. Consider things like CAD, photo or video editing. And “office suite” things tend to have Linux-friendly alternatives or are usable through web browsers. I’m sure there will be some niche applications this would be usable for but honestly I can’t think of… any.

        • theshatterstone54@feddit.uk
          0·
          11 days ago

          I can think of one: Excel Macros. If this had come out before May 2022, it would have saved me from needing to dual boot for a single assignment where I needed to do data analysis using Excel just two months after switching to Linux. It was literally around 2 hours of work, or less, and the entire dual boot setup took a similar time.

        • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          0·
          11 days ago

          PKhex, I hope. As long as it’ll run it, PKhex needs not your GPU acceleration, it just gives me pokemon when I have nobody to trade with (or $999999999, change OT names, etc).

          Although worst case scenario, it runs ok under wine, and for the trading I can actually use the Flipper 0, but not the OT names.

        • Obi@sopuli.xyz
          0·
          11 days ago

          Right, pretty much the bulk of my work use for my PC :( I guess I still need to wait a bit more before I can finally switch over…

        • yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca
          0·
          11 days ago

          A lot of music production software doesn’t rely on GPU acceleration. There’s also proprietary bullshit like software that controls specific hardware, like GPU control software, MIDI devices and other random devices like things for RGB control or printers. Oh yeah, and tax software, to do taxes and whatnot, most of them are windows or mac exclusive, so that would come in handy too. I used to run a full-fat windows VM for things like these, but winboat might actually be a more tidy solution.

          There’s plenty of examples of software that either will never be created on linux or proprietary bullshit that devs simply can’t be bothered to reverse engineer for linux.

        • nyan@sh.itjust.works
          0·
          11 days ago

          Sort of? In my experience, the people working on WINE have always been more interested in game compatibility. Sometimes other software will work, but it’s a crapshoot.

    • Tywèle [she|her]@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      0·
      11 days ago

      I will try to use it with Adobe Reader. Right now I need a Windows VM to use it because a PDF I use (MorePurpleMoreBetter Character Sheet for D&D) needs all the PDF scripting and it only works in Adobe Reader and getting Adobe Reader to work in Wine is a pain.

    • RmDebArc_5@piefed.zipOPEnglish
      0·
      11 days ago

      We have Wine / Proton of course and they can run a lot, but not everything is possible. WinBoat is different. Instead of running compatibility layers, it runs a real copy of Windows using Docker and KVM under the hood. The developer explains it should run basically everything unless “it requires strong GPU acceleration or kernel-level anticheat”. It uses FreeRDP for showing the apps on your Linux desktop, enabling you to interact with them like you would with any other Linux app.

      I don’t want to sound rude, but maybe read the article and not just the headline before asking questions

  • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    Listen, I only need to know one thing: can it run Paint.\NET?

    Because pretty much all my needs are met but

    GOOD GOD THE SELECTION FOR GENERAL-USE RASTER EDITING SOFTWARE ON LINUX IS BALLS.

     

     

    (inb4 anyone says anything: Krita = painting not editing; GIMP = sucks balls; PhotoGIMP = sucks less balls; Pinta sucks balls ever since they switched to GTK4; and pretty much all other options are MS Paint equivalents so also all suck balls.)

      • ProgrammingSocks@pawb.social
        0·
        10 days ago

        90% of the complaints I’ve heard about GIMP are just because its UI and workflow are different from whatever tool they’re used to. I like GIMP just fine because I learned on it. I don’t even like using Krita because I feel like it’s 50% gimp with a skin lol

      • ohshit604@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        Gimp is heavy in my opinion, no matter the desktop I opened it on It always takes a while to fully open. If I want to make a quick change to an image, crop, draw or write on I don’t want to sit for 5 minutes for the editor to open.

        iirc gimp tools weren’t all that beginner friendly either.

        • hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org
          0·
          11 days ago

          it is indeed pretty slow to start, but after that it’s pretty fast and doesn’t use much memory. I’ve used it heavily on my core2duo macbook (cpu capped to 800mhz due to no battery) until a few years ago.

      • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        Okay, so, please forgive me ahead of time for the following rant. To be blunt, you did ask. 😛

        • It often doesn’t use common UI/UX conventions found in most other editors
        • It has no polygon tools.
        • The Lasso tool is called “Free Select” instead of, you know, “Lasso” like every other software under the sun calls it. (Though I admit this in itself is merely a nitpick, it is indicative of the larger trends.)
        • The text tool is so bad. Honestly, I don’t even know how to put how it’s bad into words, but just using it is…painful…in comparison to Paint.\NET, Pinta, or even MS Paint back on Windows. Other people can probably word the problems with it better than I can. Sorry I can’t be more descriptive.
        • It doesn’t have Lanczos resampling for resizing images (tbf neither do many others but still Paint.\NET does and so that’s a point against it. (If you don’t know, Lanczos is visibly superior in maintaining fidelity when downscaling an image, compared to linear, bilinear, cubic, etc.)
        • The currently active layer seems to randomly change, so that one minute you’re doing something and the next nothing is worked, you wonder “what the hell” and then finally after 10 minutes of searching you find out it’s because the layer has changed and now you need to go click on this one obscure option. (I don’t remember what it is. Select > Select None maybe? Anyway, I’ve had it happen where the option doesn’t even do anything.) It completely throws my whole game off and I’ve never once, even once had it happen until I started using GIMP.
        • The default UI/UX is very rough around the edges. Just to make it minimally usable for me, I had to install PhotoGIMP over GIMP and spend 20-30 minutes customizing the layout and keyboard shortcuts. Speaking of…
        • The default keyboard shortcuts are kinda wacko. For example, Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Fit Image in Window (basically zooming in/out but to see the whole image in your window) is +, -, and Shift+Ctrl+E, respectively; while most other programs have it as ctrl++; (and/or ctrl+=), ctrl+- (and/or ctrl+NumpadMinus), and ctrl+0 (and/or ctrl+NumpadEnter). Also, you cannot use tab or ctrl+tab to move to the next or previous tab, respectively, because tab is a excluded key for keyboard shortcuts. (I think I was once told it has to do with a limitation in GTK, but that’s ridiculous as Pinta has been able to do it for years.) There are countless other inane defaults for the keyboard shortcuts as well, frankly.
        • You cannot use LMB or RMB to switch between the primary and secondary colors selected. You have to use X.

        These are only a few of the most severe frustrations, annoyances, and hair-pulling-out moments for me with regards to GIMP. I’d never have even tried it out if Pinta hadn’t made the ass-backwards decision to move to the stupidly minimalistic and less functional GTK4 adwaita UI and if Paint.\NET worked. (I can’t remember why it doesn’t wanna work; I think it has to do with a dependency. I know it’s not the .NET framework since that could be handled by Mono IIRC.)

    • aliceblossom@lemmy.world
      0·
      10 days ago

      I’m with you. I love paint.net. For me it’s not even necessarily the feature set, but the fact that it starts up instantly unlike others. Most of the time I’m using it to make a quick meme and having to wait for something like GIMP to open makes me feel like it’s not worth making.

      • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        I definitely don’t mind trying new things, but that site says it’s a photo editor. A photo editor is not at all the same thing as a general-use raster editor like Pinta, GIMP, or Paint.\NET.

        • RmDebArc_5@piefed.zipOPEnglish
          0·
          11 days ago

          As far as I’m aware Photopea is supposed to fill the same niche as GIMP or Photoshop, though I’m no expert in the field.

  • unskilled5117@feddit.orgEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    Has anyone got this working on bazzite by chance? Any additional steps necessary? Winapps didn’t work for me, so looking for an alternative

  • spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    11 days ago

    On my Linux Mint laptop Winboat installed quickly and allowed me to install and run the one program I use that requires Windows. This biggest issues were with that same app’s windows when they were rendered on the Linux desktop. They sometimes couldn’t be moved, resized or closed, however the same app ran just fine on the Winboat Windows Desktop itself.

    The latest version is identified as an alpha release on the UI, so these problems aren’t surprising. What is surprising is how well so much of this works for an alpha release, particularly how polished the installation process is.

    Looking forward to using Winboat when it progresses to the beta.

    • RmDebArc_5@piefed.zipOPEnglish
      0·
      11 days ago

      From their FAQ

      With WinApps you do the bulk of the setup manually, and there’s no cohesive interface to bring it all together. There’s a basic TUI, a taskbar widget, and some CLI commands for you to play with.

      WinBoat does all the setup once you have the pre-requisites installed, displays everything worth seeing in a neat interface for you, and acts like a complete experience. No need to mess with configuration files, no need to memorize a dozen CLI commands, it just works.

    • ziggurat@lemmy.world
      0·
      10 days ago

      While I respect that you want more apps you use into the same package manager. I may be wrong, but its my understanding that they dont accept docker containers on flathub. I don’t even know it is possible to run docker inside a flatpak or if its possible if it would conflict with docker on the host. Docker or podman requires kernel features like cgroup which I belive flatpak sandboxes away.

      At the very least you need docker or podman and kvm and pass these from the host into the flatpak

      I really like having all or most apps in one or max two package managers on my computer. But I think this is a case where you might have to concede installing this piece of software without a flatpak

  • anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz
    0·
    12 days ago

    Instead of running compatibility layers, it runs a real copy of Windows using Docker and KVM under the hood.

    I take it that it requires a Windows license then, I’ll stick with wine.