Macworld: News: CrossOver virtualization software public beta offered

Macworld: News: CrossOver virtualization software public beta offered: "CrossOver virtualization software public beta offered
By Peter Cohen



Codeweavers has announced the release of a public beta version of CrossOver Mac, their virtualization software that lets Intel-based Macs run Windows applications, without having Windows installed.
Based on the open-source project WINE, CrossOver Mac provides the ability to run Windows applications and some games on the Mac without having to reboot or switch to a virtual machine interface %u2014 applications appear in the same Finder interface that Mac users are accustomed to. Because it%u2019s based on WINE, which translates Windows-specific code references to other operating systems%u2019 technology, no Windows operating system license is needed in order to get CrossOver to work.
By comparison, Boot Camp, Apple%u2019s Windows-enabling software for Intel Macs, requires you to install a copy of Windows. Similarly, Parallels Desktop for Mac needs a Windows operating system (or other PC-compatible operating system) in order to operate.
Codeweavers advises that CrossOver Mac%u2019s public beta %u201Cwill give you a taste,%u201D but %u201Cshould be considered an early test release.%u201D The developers promise %u201Csubstantial further improvements%u201D before the production version ships. In other words, unless you%u2019re willing to tolerate issues that sometimes pop up with experimental software, %u201Cyou should skip this and wait for notice of the production release.%u201D
The CrossOver Mac public beta is a 60-day version. Users interested in placing a pre-order can, for a reduced price of $39.95."

(Via .)