Wine 11 runs Windows apps in Linux and macOS better than ever
Submitted 3 weeks ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/15/wine_11_arrives_faster_and/
Comments
deathbird@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
Zagorath@quokk.au 3 weeks ago
I misread that as “Win 11 runs Linux and macOS apps better than ever” and was ready to sarcastically point out that Linux runs Linux apps better too.
Ricaz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Contrarily, Win 11 does run Windows apps worse than ever
hissingmeerkat@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Windows 11 might be usable if it gets a wine port so it can run windows apps.
hogmomma@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I mean, isn’t that kinda the goal…?
Manticore@lemmy.nz 3 weeks ago
What about software outside of browsers of gaming? Lemmy talks about gaming a lot but it remains to be seen if working professionals are able to leave W11 behind
LeFantome@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
This is a funny take given that for most of Linux history, the majority of Linux desktop user have been “working professionals”, largely IT workers and developers to be fair.
At this point, you cannot really make a blanket statement about who Linux is appropriate for. It is down to individual use cases and preferences.
I have been using Linux for decades and, while I have also used Windows and macOS, other operating systems are frustrating to use due to the many limitations. And I have been several kinds of “working professional” over that time at many different levels of seniority. But I recognize that this is because all my workflows and expectations evolved on Linux.
The “working professionals” you imagine likely have the same issue. It is not that Linux could not work, or even that it is not a better place to start. It is document compatibility and familiarity.
At this point, Linux “being ready” comes down almost completely to a tolerance for learning and change. Nobody says you have to change of course. But working differently does not mean that something else does not work.
There are of course still some software gaps. CAD is not great on Linux (getting there). Print graphics professionals (people with CMYK workflows) will hit real roadblocks. Some debugging tools available on Windows are worth the productivity for certain workflows. And “office document” users may encounter display inconsistencies when sharing documents depending on which features they rely on. Perhaps the latter is what you mean.
As for gaming, it depends on what titles you favour. Some Windows games play better on Linux. Some worse. And of course some not at all.
When choosing software for a company, I consider something that cannot work on the Linux desktop or through the cloud disqualifying. I can think of few cases where that has been the wrong decision.
Nikelui@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Software outside of gaming usually has native alternatives, so unless you are forced by your employer to use a specific program it is less of an issue (since you are probably also forced to use Windows)
corey931@lemmy.wtf 3 weeks ago
For music production you sadly only got Ardour and Reaper and I consider neither of them good enough to work professionally and fast workflow in writing sessions, else I’d be over to Linux already
SlumDogGazillionaire@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Sadly I had to abandon Linux as I had no way of getting the pen pressure for a tablet to work for Zbrush 2022. It’s an essential part of my workflow and there’s no Linux native version. Tried Wine and virtually every method possible but still couldn’t get it to work. Dual booting for one piece of software seemed silly. Really unfortunate that this was my deal breaker as I was really enjoying the experience.
DillingerEscape@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Professionals left Windows decades ago
GalacticSushi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
IMALlama@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
White collar professionals who spend their days developing and deploying software or working on compute infrastructure? Sure, some of them have been on Linux for decades. Although many big corpos love Windows and Microsoft products, so at best you’re going to have a foot in both worlds if you work at one of these companies.
Some admin jobs that don’t require bespoke software (ie very little beyond say an office suite) have started making the jump recently to save $$.
Basically every other white professional that needs to work on a computer with industry specific software like people in medical, engineers, business? Odds are they use windows since the software they use for their job is probably only built for Windows and maybe Mac if they’re lucky. Very few employers are going to mass deploy Linux to run applications via Wine. These employers have support contracts for the major software products their employees use and they won’t get support if they’re not running software on its native OS.
Joelk111@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m a profesional software developer and my employer doesn’t let me use Linux.
Syndication@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
I can’t speak for other programs, but for example, Photoshop runs under wine mostly. The issue is certain features like the content aware tool are locked behind the stupid Adobe Creative Cloud BS and is reported to have issues depending on which version you’re using and what tools you care about. IIRC, it’s mostly the newer AI tools that are affected so maybe linux users won’t care as much, but its still a downside worth noting nonetheless.
Most of the time when Adobe products are mentioned in this context, people will instead offer alternatives rather than telling you to run it under wine. It really depends on what programs professionals are using at their jobs though, and I imagine most will just use Windows on a separate work computer and not deal with the random issues with compatibility and troubleshooting. I think most wouldn’t want to risk losing important work related projects either. If its something more simple like Microsoft Word then you could probably get away with using it on linux though.
CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It really depends on what programs professionals are using at their jobs though, and I imagine most will just use Windows on a separate work computer and not deal with the random issues with compatibility and troubleshooting
If you’re talking about professional VFX tools, then they all have 1st party Linux support. And no, Adobe Premiere and After Effects don’t fall into that category.
If its something more simple like Microsoft Word then you could probably get away with using it on linux though.
You can just use the PWA versions of Microsoft 365 Copilot App (formally known as Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, formerly known as Microsoft Office). And better yet, LibreOffice is fully supported on Linux and arguably better than Microsoft 365 Copilot App.
Manticore@lemmy.nz 3 weeks ago
Yes, I am a design professional. Although I use Affinity rather than Adobe wherever I can, since i own the licence in perpetuity; but that isn’t Linux compatible either.
Since design software can include metadata in exported files, it’s also wise to use legally registered software so that my clients aren’t exposed to legal issues.
I’ve been looking at Linux for several years now, and this is the sole reason why I can’t leave Windows behind yet, because as you say: random issues with compatibility and troubleshooting.
So it bothers me whenever I investigate this and people suggest clearly inadequate ‘alternatives’ like GIMP or tell me I should just switch anyway. Anybody that implies I could do my job with GIMP clearly isn’t informed enough to actually answer my question.
Thank you very much for the nuanced and good faith explanation.
LeFantome@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Photoshop is perhaps the canonical example of software that does not run on Linux and is actually needed by “professionals”.
Photoshop does not run well enough on Wine that I would expect a pro to run it this way. And, if you are a print professional, there really are no Open Source tools that do what you need yet.
Bit outside of print, I think it is more about familiarity than capability even with regards to Adobe alternatives. And there are alternatives UI options for things like GIMP if the Adobe metaphor works better for you.
Inkscape seems to be attracting some actual professional use. Scribus seems close to getting there too. The furthest behind is GiMP.
That said, I am impressed with the development pace of GIMP now that version 3 has finally shipped. And it seems that proper CMYK support is on their near-term roadmap. I could see them shipping something functional next year. I would say similar things about non-destructive editing.
It will be interesting to see if attitudes change towards GIMP after these issues are addressed. The UI also takes a lot of heat. Now that there is a consistent cadence of releases (it seems), perhaps that will see steady evolution as well.
brucethemoose@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Davinci works better in Linux.
RAW photo editing is already horrible in Windows if you’re trying to do HDR. To be fair, it’s horrible in Linux too, but as much as I hate it, they can’t touch Apple.
See this post I just made: lemmy.world/post/41751454/21613633
iOS will render HDR JPEG-XL, AVIF and tiled HEIFs straight out of a camera; no problem. But it’s a struggle on Windows and Linux.
merdaverse@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
For software developers Linux was and is the superior choice. For media based professions (video editing, digital art etc.) there’s still a long way to go. There’s way more choice on Windows and not everything works smoothly through Wine
Aetherion@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Professionals will be trapped forever in windows because of custom banking software.
Katana314@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I guess this isn’t really even “news” to Linux gamers now, but once in a while it’s nice to make an article about what constant progress has happened in a certain sphere. Certainly many people staying on Windows out of inertia blinked and missed it.
My fervent hope is that, someday in the future, people can build a gaming PC and just forego Windows to save $100.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
My fervent hope is that, someday in the future, people can build a gaming PC and just forego Windows to save $100.
Who’s building a gaming PC and paying retail price (or any price) for the Windows license anyway? I think anyone who knows anything about technology knows how easy Windows has always been to pirate, and that keys are readily available for cheap
CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
My fervent hope is that, someday in the future, people can build a gaming PC and just forego Windows to save $100.
Good news! Your future hope is reality’s past!
Seriously though, who buys a copy of Windows for a custom built PC that they install Linux on? I’ve built a bunch of computers over the past decade or so and I haven’t purchased a copy of Windows since the early 2000s. And technically that was just an OEM licence that came with a laptop.
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 3 weeks ago
Ooh, those are some lovely features. If only Nvidia hadn’t dropped support for 10xx cards as per 590.xx locking me on kernel 6.12, I might even have been able to enjoy using ntsync!
(Fuck Nvidia)
Olap@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
580xx on arch forever I presume then. Gonna be rough in a few years
Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Think Nouveau will catch up by then?
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 3 weeks ago
Yup :(
Klajan@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I really gotta double check on my laptop, but I am using the nvidia-580xx-dmks aur package with the latest kernel (should be 6.18) without Problems.
But then again a lot of the “normal” HW acceleration is handled by the igpu there.
milk@discuss.tchncs.de 3 weeks ago
Yeah I thought the whole idea of dkms was so that you aren’t locked to one kernel?
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 2 weeks ago
Thanks. No harm in trying it out, at least if I prepare appropriately.
ImmersiveMatthew@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I am just hoping the Steam Frame provides the foundation so that in the years to come I can get off Windows for VR development. Feel trapped right now.
herrwoland@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
All I want is to be able to run Adobe software on Linux properly. My work requires me to work with premiere and after effects all the time so the moment they run ok on linux I’ll be the happiest person!
CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
All I want is to be able to run Adobe software on Linux properly.
Never going to happen. They are a horrible company that actively refuses to port anything to Linux.
There are other far superior options that do run natively on Linux. DaVinci Resolve is one, it works as both a NLE and a compositor and is objectively better than anything Adobe has to offer.
CosmoNova@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Windows aged like milk while wine is wine.
Frenchgeek@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Is it because Wine has improved, or because Windows has not?
flyhunter@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yes
CelloMike@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
If anyone has experience in running Fusion 360 on wine plz shout up, that’s the last thing I need to work out before switching to Zorin…
Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
It’s better with something like Winboat (virtualized windows container) within your OS than something like Wine. This is the same case for other “We don’t support Linux officially because fuck you” productivity applications like Adobe’s suite.
Personally, I moved from Fusion360 to FreeCAD instead, but I haven’t heard anything negative about the Winboat method.
_thebrain_@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Fusion works flawlessly for me in winapps (and I’m sure winboat), but it is s-l-o-w. I probably need to figure out GPU passthrough and it might be bearable… But I haven’t had much time to dedicate figuring it out.
lightnsfw@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
Do you have any good resources for learning FreeCAD coming from Fusion 360? I’ve taken a couple runs at it but it’s just not clicking for me. Feels like I’m trying to operate Fusion with my feet every time I try to use it.
SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
There’s a couple of Lutris scripts, but the one that kinda worked for me was this github.com/…/Autodesk-Fusion-360-for-Linux/
Depending on what you’re doing, check out Freecad. It’s still a bit buggy but ever since it hit 1.0 it’s been a lot better, and it runs natively on Linux
CelloMike@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah maybe this is the push to finally learn freecad!
Eat_Your_Paisley@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Is there some reason you haven’t tried it yourself?
CelloMike@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I only have one machine, so I wanna be confident it’ll work before messing around with new OSes
Suavevillain@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Good stuff Wine.
criticon@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
The only thing I need to run on windows now is for H&R block tax software. I wonder if I can try it with wine but I’m afraid of losing the activation license
moonshadow@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=applica…
Looks like not great/no one has tried for a few years. I say give it a shot (far from tax season) and report back!
danh2os@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
[deleted]trougnouf@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I beg to differ.
Odemption@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
Wholly depends on the types of games you play, personally I don’t play competetive type online multiplayer games that require kernel level anti-cheat access and as such, I’ve had zero issues with gaming. Running EndeavourOS with KDE Plasma.
kalpol@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Same. Steam stuff and old stuff. I don’t play multiplayer, that really seems to be where all the problems lie.
Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
I love Linux, I used to use it for a few years during the windows 8 era. I eventually went back to windows and it’s just been a comfier place to be for me. Everything works. Every game works with zero additional thought. I need to run CAD software for work and unfortunately integrate with Microsoft services for work.
I could possibly switch to Linux on my home theatre PC that i use in my living room because I use Kodi and browsers for media consumption and mostly game on it by using steam remote play to access games from my windows gaming PC. That might be something that I consider trying in the future.
TheFonz@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Autodesk is also locking me into windows 😕
tinfoilhat@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
I exclusively use Geruda Linux. Things run better there than on windows.
FireWire400@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m glad I don’t really have any apps that require windows any more (apart from Affinity, which doesn’t run in wine that well).
Foobar2000 genuinely works so well in wine that I forgot there wasn’t a native Linux release.
BaraCoded@literature.cafe 3 weeks ago
Can it run FLstudio?
realitista@lemmus.org 3 weeks ago
I need a modern version of office working well.
dellish@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This is great, but does it handle GPU acceleration yet? The main thing I still need Windoze for is SketchUp and I have never managed to get it to work because I get a GPU acceleration error. Any hints would be welcome.
Verdorrterpunkt@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Having switched to bazzite because i was used to it from the legion go and it being perfectly fine for my stuff, all i need is for it to be MUCH more noob friendly. Like, i know several people i couldn’t recommend it to yet because it takes some effort on finding out how to do stuff.
amelia@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Wake me up when it can run Adobe Lightroom.
Ostuda@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Lulz, try running Affinity or DaVinci
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
i would hope every new version of wine runs windows apps in linux and mac better than ever.
aeronmelon@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Patch notes: “Made the app a little worse just to keep things interesting.”
Dagnet@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That’s the Microsoft strategy, but they forgot to make it better sometimes too
whaleross@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Wine 1.1, now with AI integration
Jrockwar@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
At this point, and given the current state of Proton (👍) and the current state of Windows (👎), the question should be, “Does the new version of Wine run Windows apps better than Windows?”
webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
With some apps/games it definitely feels like ir does. Would love to see someone dedicated do proper Wine vs windows benchmarks!
blaue_Fledermaus@olio.cafe 3 weeks ago
I’ve managed to run some old games on Linux with Bottles/Wine that didn’t work on Windows anymore.
DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Yes. It can run classic gaming that windows outright refuses to run. Wild
Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
Yes. Especially if said application was developed before 2010.
Passerby6497@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I misread the title at first and I genuinely thought that’s what this article was about.
RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 3 weeks ago
There used to be a Wine on Windows project because Wine was so much better at backwards compatibility.
Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Proton works nicely in steam
Non steam games is an entirely different complicated issue (for some games)
huquad@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
“Fastest iphone ever!” Yea I’d sure hope so being that it’s new and all
demonsword@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
on average that’s the expected outcome, but sometimes there’s a regression here and there for specific apps
UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
The next headline is going to be that they run better in wine than in windows.
cley_faye@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
We’re close to the Microsoft ecosystem here; newer version being better is not a given.
ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Yeah, I think that’s the entire point of having a new version lol
Matriks404@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It still probably doesn’t run two applications that I like to use, that is paint.net and latest free version of SketchUp (unavailable for download officially).
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Bugs and forced regressions?