Linux and Windows stuff

Posted on January 11, 2006 No Comments

I saw something on digg the other day about this thing called Cooperative Linux. I forget what the big deal was, but like any linux related thing, I’m sure it was celebrating a new kernel… Anyways, with a name like Cooperative Linux, I confess I was intrigued, so took some time to surf on over and have a look.

Great tag line on the first page:

… “If Linux runs on every architecture, why should another operating system be in its way? ” …

And, the elevator pitch right below it:

Cooperative Linux is the first working free and open source method for optimally running Linux on Microsoft Windows natively. More generally, Cooperative Linux (short-named coLinux) is a port of the Linux kernel that allows it to run cooperatively alongside another operating system on a single machine. For instance, it allows one to freely run Linux on Windows 2000/XP, without using a commercial PC virtualization software such as VMware, in a way which is much more optimal than using any general purpose PC virtualization software. In its current condition, it allows us to run the KNOPPIX Japanese Edition on Windows [...]

[Screenshots of KNOPPIX Japanese Edition]

Suppose I don’t want a japanese version of KNOPPIX though? What then? Well, I’m not sure. If I was fearless, I’d grab the downloads from their Sourceforge site I suppose. Maybe even run them in a vmware session until I was sure what I was getting into? Seems so cautious… Since I’m being cautious, maybe I’ll go read a bit at the wiki first and see if I can learn anything.

Question though: How would this compare to using Cygwin or Cygwin/X? What about uwin, from AT&T research labs? That came across digg recently too. And heck, microsoft still has SFU (Windows Services for Unix) that I suppose covers some of this territory too? Granted, these all certainly don’t do the same thing! But, at a coarse level, running an app in a “native” *nix mode or having an environment to run an app as a windows app is, to some extent, certainly in the same ballpark. Is there a huge need for all these sorts of things I wonder?

I can’t answer my last question, but I can say that it sure is fun stuff to play with.