Something called the WINE project has been around for years. The idea was and remains to run Windows applications under Linux.

Does it work? Sort of. Sometimes. I played with this years ago and at best the results were disappointing. The usual problem is while some Windows applcaions like Word or Excel will run under Linux...sort of. That's the Achilles' heel. SORT OF. The truth is Linux may accept and run some Windows DLL's, but then again some won't work right. So for all intensive purposes a pipe dream. So far.

This is different than a Windows application ported to Linux or a Linux application like GIMP ported to Windows. These are knock-offs then run on a different OS.

So the short answer to can Vegas run under Linux? No.

I'd figure that any Windows app that depends on something besides basic windows components wouldn't work properly. Why? Windows stuff requires DirectX, certain drivers, stuff like that.

Of course it IS possible to design programs so that only an executable would need to be customized for each OS & use a dll like system that is identical on all OS's run (Quake 3 did this: you could comile source to non-DLL files that could be run on a Mac, Windows, Linux, or any other OS that was supported).

However, you'd also need to have the software built from the ground up to support this, and in most cases that means you couldn't use things like DirectX. :)

Wine has come along way from where it was a few years ago. It supports many API's and they are always looking at more. If i remeber right directx 7 is the current supported api. Woukd i run Vegas under wine. Nope. As great as Wine is, there are a lot of variables not looked at by the wine people. Another implementation of wine is crossoveroffice by codeweavers. They spend more time adding onto wine for specifc apps. Ive run all M$ office apps on crossover flawlessly.
Ive also run Adobe photshop,quickbooks, macromedia studio mx,. In photoshop it is a little snapier and quicker then same app on windows xp. (i have a dual boot, so same hardware). If you go to there website, check out how many apps have been gold verified, and also there compatablity list, over 700. They also have a pledge system. If they recieve enough pledges for a certain app, they will spend more time on that app to make it work with crossover office. So for all you linux guys who want vegas to work on linux, maybee a couple of pledges would get them intersted.

Just checked out there website, and vegas 5.0 is already listed as untested app, but they are looking for advocates. Advocates test crossover and applications, and they get a free crossover office, ass long as they are a advocate

How do these scenarios deal with external device support? Can you capture, print to tape, etc? Do audio drivers work? Do they support all the multimedia formats that VV handles?

I like the idea of running VV outside of Windows, I just don't want to wrestle with new problems if I don't have to.

bd

I think that wishing Vegas ran on Linux is like wishing your girlfriend had a different mother -- wish as hard as you may, it won't change anything. You either tolerate the mother, or get a new girlfriend.

I may be the only human being on the planet who has no issue with Windows or Bill Gates making billions by selling it. Funny thing about Linux, the only guy NOT making money from it is the guy who created it. That just seems wrong....

Many specific application will not run under Linux for quite some time. If they are running under wine-those application are in "emulator mode". It require eccesive amount of memory. Look like you have a problem with windows and attempt to look other OS. Moder Linux it is as much "memory hungry" as windows. Current Linux variation software require as much disk space as windows.Years back- I run Slackware v1.0 and was a lot of work to install.Moder versions of Linux are easy to install as windows, but not neccesery quicker install.
Then it is problem with hardware drivers. Many manufactures are not willing to port drivers to Linux.
Try to find what it is wrong with your windows and fix it. If it is too slow-add more memory. Upgrade system speed. I am not "windows lover", but with given options(drivers and application) I stick with windows for now.

I did run test betwine Apache web server and IIS and windows server comes a lot faster and require less memory. More web pages can be serve from IIS that Apache and faster.

Those are fighting words, don't think you wan't a bunch of linux guys starting to post speed times of Apache and IIS.

Just looked over the CodeWeavers link. They've made a lot of progress over the last year or two. I was especially impressed that ANY version of WMP or Quicktime would run. That makes running Vegas seem a lot more possible.

Some background about Crossover. It's an enhanced version of Wine, which I believe still stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator". Indeed it isn't an emulator. It provides substitute libraries that run natively in Linux. When there isn't a native library available it can go to your windows configuration and use the Window's DLL found there-which implies that Crossover and WINE run best on a dual-boot system that has a windows system partition on it. So, basically, you wouldn't abandon Windows for Linux.

Because Crossover (and Wine) is not an emulator, performance can be pretty good. However, it seems that since Vegas is so very tied to Windows I'd be surprised if it was a good an experience in Linux. I suppose you might see being able to run Vegas and FilmGimp at the same time as an attraction.

As for setting up Linux? My last few installs have been from Knoppix CDs and I've been amazed at how flawlessly it worked. All hardware successfully detected and set up. And if you don't want to install, you can boot from the Knoppix CD and have a temporary running Linux system. This is a good way to preview a Linux system without hosing your current setup.

Knoppix is a free download. Crossover needs to be bought but it's worth the money if you need to run a windows app in Linux. There's very little you'd really have to run-Quicken has been the biggest "must-have". The best reason to use crossover is to leverage your existing skills.

Rob Mack

What about a Linux-native video editor? Any likely candidates out there?

The only one I know of is Cinelerra. It's pretty ambitious. In the past I was scared off of it by the paranoid and depressive website but I think some medication has been applied.

I found it to be rough around the edges and core.

http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3

By the way, if you already hate XP's multiuser environment then you'll absoluteley loath Linux. XP is a pale shadow of unix in many ways.

Rob Mack

The trouble with linux is that you never get the state of the art system because of driver and software lag. Open source software is very good for what it is, but Windows software is always a step ahead because someone is making money keeping it ahead. For example, if linux ran Vegas 3, would you be happy with it knowing that Vegas 5 was available with Windows?

Wrong, Open up to the world of open source. You may not relize this but many bleeding edge technologies are open source. Windows has laged behind in many key areas. IIS is only now a viable product, every try IIS 3. not even close to what apache was doing during the same time. Ever looked at BSD(any flavor)? so much more secure then windows and linux. Most of your high end embeded firewalls, are running a BSD if not linux. SMTP server. Windows smtp server has only been usefull for the last couple of years. Before that everything was sendmail. THats why still apache,sendmail are the most used servers in there catagories. Open source opens up inovation not stiffles it.


Also wanted to add my qualifications of my linux and windows know how. I own a netwrking company called Networking Associates. We host over 200 servers some ours some not, ranging from linux(redhat,gentoo,slackware, and debian), open and free bsd, w2k server, w2003 server. We have Firewalls,loadbalencers, ssl accelerators. By far the linux servers and appliances are our least problem machines. like ronco says "set it and forget it". we have to always be on our toes with the windows machines. Security, sqlserver memory leaks, os issues, etc.etc.

It's a moot point with Vegas, really. Linux generally keeps up with drivers pretty well-well enough for most vegas needs. The things I'd worry about would be BlackMagic Design drivers and M-audio or Echo drivers.

Granted, you may not see a driver for the most bleeding edge graphics cards on the same day the card releases but generally they come very quickly. So what you get is drivers for hardware that is very current but usually not so bleeding edge that it doesn't even work yet.

Rob Mack

For that matter, if you run a professional studio and you need to reliably get work done, bleeding-edge technology is not a good choice anyway. Let the amateurs and early adopters find out all the bugs, wait until a more stable product/driver is released before betting your business on it.

And on that note, even though I like Linux i wouldn't try to do any sort of paying work in vegas under Crossover unless I was totally, totally, totally sure everything worked. Even then I'd need a compelling reason like some other Linux app that I wanted to use as well.

I suppose the nice thing is that the project files and media will work in both OSs so you don't loose much more that time if you're switching back and forth.

Rob Mack

I keep a linux installation on my "backup" machine, just to see how it's doing, compared to Windows, and so I can edit and send audio in case somebody releases a true "killer" virus. I'm only interested in Linux as a desktop system and replacement for Windows.

As a desktop replacement for Windows, my opinion is that it's getting closer, but still has a couple of years to go before it's ready for prime time. It's still too complicated for an average user.

FWIW
Travis
www.Announcing.biz

There's also a preview version of MainActor for Linux (by MainConcept). I haven't given it a try yet, though.

Rob

Not to be an idiot... but the phrase is... "for all intents and purposes"

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/intensive.html

I am exceedingly happy with Windows. I have two machines running Win2k and five machines running WinXP. I can't remember the last time any of them crashed for any reason and, as a result, I have no problem with Microsoft whatsoever.

John

Too complicated? Yeah, I have to agree.

Here's a good rule of thumb for usability - An interface/program/OS should be easy for 70 year olds to understand. The information should come to you more often than your having to search for instructions. Much like a "force" in a card trick.

I firmly believe it's possible for a Linux system to be easy to use. Much of this would come in the graphical environment-currently that would be KDE for most Linux distros.

Interface is important. Take Vegas, for example. I think most of the questions people pose on this forum could be answered in the interface. A succesful interface would be reflected in a reduction in the number of questions that get repeated here over and over again. Take aspect ratios as an example. There's no reason the concept couldn't be made a lot clearer in the Vegas interface. Or how about frame captures? Why do people ask if you can do it? They ask because it's an unlabeled button with no equivalent command in the toolbar. Yeah, you can and should read the manual but there's no guarantee that you'll remember every detail you'll ever need afterwards.

Okay, I've gone from a general principle that software should be easy to use to a more specific one that Vegas could improve itself. However, Vegas is probably the easiest NLE around.

Rob Mack