The definition of a web site that refuses to upgrade is one that does not "understand" anything other than Internet Explorer 6 or 7. For many this is a constant source of frustration for three very good reasons:

1. Internet Explorer 8 has been in existence for almost seven months at the time of this writing. The administrators of these "IE only" web sites couldn’t figure out how to write in support for 8 in this span of time? Apparently not.
2. Many choose not to use IE, but they’re out of luck when certain web sites will only support IE 6/7 and nothing else.
3. Windows 7 comes provided with IE 8 (unless you’re in the UK.) These computers will be on the shelves very soon and in come places already are. What does one do in that situation since they can’t "degrade" to IE 7 or 6 just to get certain web sites to work?

There are two ways to get around problematic web sites like this.

Method 1. Using IE 6 or 7 in WINE for Linux

WINE has had the ability to run a whole bunch of different IEs for some time now. Versions 1 all the way thru 8 are available, but the ones you would be interested in for compatibility’s sake are 6 and 7.

The only problem you may encounter running IE this way is that certain plugins for IE may not work when used in WINE. This is rare, but it can happen if it’s some ActiveX oddball plugin or something like that.

Method 2. Windows 2000 or XP virtual PC

On my Windows 7 desktop I purposely keep a barebones setup of XP running with IE 6 in VirtualBox. When I upgraded to Win 7 I already had an existing fully licensed copy of XP Professional Edition, so that’s what I have used in the virtual PC.

In Windows you have three major choices for computer virtualization, that being the aforementioned VirtualBox, Microsoft’s Virtual PC or VMware. I choose VirtualBox because it operates exactly the same in Windows, Mac or Linux – and I truly like that kind of compatibility because no matter what OS I’m on, VirtualBox is always familiar. However you may like Virtual PC or VMware better as far as your personal preferences are concerned. I will say the easiest of the bunch is Microsoft’s version because it’s very straightforward – but it only works under Windows.

Setting up your virtual PC with IE 6 or 7, and other notes

If you have a fully licensed OEM disc of Microsoft Windows XP, such as I do, this comes with IE 6 as its bundled web browser. What I’ve done in my virtual XP PC is used Microsoft Update to patch up every single thing I possibly could except the browser. This can be done easily. What I have is an XP that does have IE 6 for those web sites that absolutely refuse to work right with anything else.

VirtualBox running XP Professional Edition with the IE 6 browser

A bunch of updates in the virtual PC with XP, including Service Pack 3 – but still on IE 6

It is the fortunate case that web sites that are IE6-only are dwindling slowly but surely off the internet, but instead of embracing multi-browser capability, they’re latching on to IE 7 which is just as bad.

For the time being, I use a virtual XP with IE 6 and if I have to go to 7, this can be downloaded without going to 8 with XP, and I’m sure Microsoft will be keeping this download on their web site for at least a few more years.

Even if you are running XP with IE 8 now and plan to stick with that for a while, you can still use Virtual PC or VirtualBox to install another Windows XP (assuming you have another legal licensed copy) with IE 6 or 7. This will work fine.

The only thing you cannot do is have both IE 7 and 8 in the same Windows OS at the same time. While that would be really great if you could do that, it’s simply not an option. The easiest workaround is to have a virtual PC with a previous-generation browser.

For those of you out there who do not have another legal copy of Windows, my suggestion is to use VirtualBox and install a distribution of Linux, such as Ubuntu, and use IE 6 or 7 via WINE. Most distributions make this very easy to install, and I may even write up another article on how to do just that so it’s even easier for you.

A standard argument by Linux users is that if WINE cannot run a Windows  app for whatever reason, do it virtually. Load up Windows in a virtual session with your app of choice, be it VMware, Virtualbox or the like, load up your Windows session and run your app that way.

There is nothing to my knowledge that Linux cannot run virtually if WINE doesn’t cut it. But how well Windows apps can run in virtual is something else.

A few examples:

You’re a web designer and need to test your site designs in Internet Explorer 7 for browser compatibility. Running XP virtually to do that is fine because performance is not an issue.

You’re a blogger and really like Windows Live Writer. This is just a word processor, more or less. Running it virtually won’t be a problem here either.

You’re trying to edit video. You want to run something like Adobe Premiere, Ulead Mediastudio or some other high-powered video editing suite that you bought previously. Can you run this in virtual? Yes. Will it work well? Not a chance. The frame rate on preview will be terrible and so much memory will be sucked into the virtual session that it will probably crash it (not Linux, just the virtual session).

You want to play your favorite Windows games. Can they be emulated in Linux? Yes. Will they work as well? Most likely not. Frame rates will drop and overall gameplay won’t be as fluid. And no, saying "play on a console" is not a solution. There are many reasons why PC gamers like playing games on PCs and not consoles.

The only time I’ve seen Linux have a legitimate problem with emulation is when there’s any high-graphic app involved. The virtual software we have at present still can’t deliver performance as well as natively under Windows. It is virtual, after all.

In the end, I honestly can’t think of anything else that can’t be run in virtual or have a Linux native equivalent.

Have you run a Windows app in Linux that was a bust in WINE and/or virtual?

Name your apps. Did you find Linux equivalents or other creative ways of getting around virtual limitations? Let us know.

Those who use the Ubuntu operating system understand that when you go to Add or Remove applications, there are "main" apps and then everything else.

The "main" apps obviously work the best. These are the ones that are in Ubuntu’s main file repository, such as Mozilla Firefox and the OpenOffice suite.

WINE is currently not in Ubuntu’s main repository. It has been proposed that it should be.

My opinion? Yes, it should be there. Absolutely.

For those not in the know, WINE allows you to run certain Windows applications in Linux, BSD and Mac OS X. I say "certain" because WINE won’t run all Windows apps, but it covers a good amount of them.

Some would say "Why not just run a virtual session with Virtualbox under Linux to get all your Windows apps?" Yes, you could do that. But then you need a Windows license to install the operating system legally even in a virtual environment. With WINE there isn’t any OS-licensing necessary because you don’t need a Windows OS to run a Windows app. In addition, every time you want to run a Win app in Linux the non-WINE way you have to either "boot" the virtual OS, wait, then use it or physically restart your computer in a dual-boot Win/Linux style. This can get annoying quickly.

At present if you want to run WINE in Ubuntu you have to specifically choose the non-main repositories from Add/Remove. It installs and works, but the point is that if WINE came as a bundled app with the Ubuntu OS and resided in the main file repository, this makes it much more accessible. It also lets more people know that yes, you can run Win apps in Ubuntu without the need to install/use a Windows OS virtually (or dual boot, etc).

Whenever I need to run a Win-specific app in Linux, I always try WINE first. If it works, that’s awesome because it’s faster and more convenient than doing it any other way.