seamlessly run linux apps on your windows desktop

There's no doubt that Linux—particularly Ubuntu—is a killer operating system full of excellent apps, but for about a million reasons, you're stuck running Windows as your main operating system. We understand, these things happen. But what about all those killer Linux apps you've left behind when you decided to live the Windows life? Sure you could dual-boot or run Linux in the confines of a virtual machine window, but wouldn't it be great if you could run those apps side-by-side with your Windows apps—like Linux users can do with WINE or OS X can do with Parallels or VMWare? You can, and today I'll show you how to seamlessly run your favorite Linux applications directly in Windows with a free software called andLinux.

What Is andLinux?
andLinux is actually a full installation of Ubuntu Linux running on top of your Windows operating system. Similar to how you can run coherence mode in Parallels or unity mode in VMWare Fusion, andLinux takes your Linux apps out of the virtual machine and creates a seamless interface in which they co-mingle with all your Windows apps. Kinky, huh?

To get you salivating, I've put together a gallery of my Windows desktop full of Windows and Linux apps giving each other sideways glances and touching in unnatural ways.

 Kate vs. Notepad
 Konqueror vs. Explorer
 Synaptic (Linux), Add or Remove Programs (Windows)
 IE, Linux Firefox, and Konqueror
 Akregator Newsreader, Windows Explorer, and Konsole
 

andLinux works with Windows 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista (32-bit only), so if you're running one of those versions of Windows, head over to the andLinux download page and find a mirror to download the installer or just grab the torrent here (the torrent download was really fast). andLinux comes in two flavors: the minimal XFCE version (143MB) and the full KDE version (665MB); for this guide, I'll be using the full KDE version.

Once you've finished your download, launch the installer and let's get started.

Installing and Configuring andLinux
Most of the andLinux installation process is relatively straightforward, but there are a few points worth highlighting. The first installation screen worth noting is the memory configuration, where you choose how much RAM you want to allocate to andLinux when it's running on your system. You can choose anywhere from 128MB to 1GB, but 192MB is actually recommended as a minimum. I chose 256MB on my system, but your choice may vary depending on what kind of free memory you have on your computer.

You'll also run into a screen asking you to set the startup type. You can choose to always run andLinux automatically as a service, or you can require andLinux to be started manually through the command line or by starting andLinux by launching it from Windows. I chose the "run andLinux manually as an NT service" option (despite what you see in the screenshot), but if you're sure you're going to be running your Linux apps on a frequent and regular basis, you may want to set it to start automatically.

andLinux isn't able to access your entire Windows filesystem by default (yet), so in order to share files between Windows and Linux apps, you'll need to set up Windows file access during set up. I've chosen to do so using Samba (as you can see in the screenshot). Here's how it works.

You need to set up a shared folder somewhere on your Windows computer (anywhere, really) by creating a folder, right-clicking it, and selecting Sharing and Security. Then just enable sharing for this folder and allow users to change the folder contents. Make sure your share name doesn't contain spaces or andLinux will complain. Hit Apply to save those sharing preferences, then just give the andLinux installer the name of the share, then the username and password to your Windows account.

When you're finished with the installer, you'll need to restart your computer before you start using andLinux and running all those Linux apps on your Windows desktop.

Run Applications with and Linux
If you didn't set andLinux to start automatically you'll need to start andLinux with the helper app in the screenshot before you do anything with it. After it's started, you can now launch any of the pre-installed applications you want. You can do this in a number of ways, but I'll highlight a couple.

First, you'll notice that you've got a new system tray app running; it's a little KDE Start Menu, giving you access to several default KDE apps, from Konqueror (a file manager, web browser, et al) to Synaptic (a package manager from which you'll install new apps). I'm highlighting these two in particular because you can browse and launch more apps from Konqueror and you can install new apps from Synaptic.

First, if you launch Konqueror and go to the Applications tab, you can browse some of your installed Linux applications by category, from Entertainment and Games to Internet and Multimedia. If this is your first time playing with Linux, I'd recommend trying out a few different apps to get a feel for what's available.

Install New Linux Apps with andLinux
Now that you've done that, you've probably got an itch to install new apps. To do so, click your KDE start menu and launch Synaptic, which is sort of like the Add and Remove Programs app in Windows—but way more useful. From Synaptic, you can browse the mind-boggling wealth of Linux apps. Use Synaptic to search for specific apps or just browse for apps by category. If you find something you like, mark it for installation, then apply the changes. Synaptic will automatically download and install everything you need to run that app, and when it's all installed you'll be able to launch it from Konqueror. Handy, huh?

andLinux even tweaks your right-click context menu in Windows, so if you click on a text file, for example, you can open it in the default andLinux app for that program. That means you can open a document or folder from Windows in the parallel Linux environment in any of those supported applications. I had some trouble getting this functionality to work correctly, so your mileage may vary.

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Keep in mind that andLinux is currently in beta, the release at the time of this writing being beta 1 release candidate 6, so this is pretty bleeding edge stuff. Most of the core functionality is there, but it can be a little buggy at times, so not everything will work perfectly. If you're not ready to take that jump, it's understandable... just keep your eyes open, because once this hits a more stable and well-tested release, those OS-lines that were once so strict will become that much more blurry on your Windows box—as if those lines weren't already blurry enough now that you can installed Mac OS X on your Hackintosh PC and then run Windows seamlessly from the Mac.

Linux lovers, let's hear what apps you'd recommend Windows users try out on their newly Linuxed Frankenstein PCs in the comments. Likewise, if you've tried out andLinux, let us know how it's working for you.

Adam Pash is a senior editor for Lifehacker who won't rest until there is peace and harmony among all his operating systems. His special feature Hack Attack appears regularly on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Hack Attack RSS feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

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在Windows桌面无缝运行Linux程序

毫无疑问，Linux－特别是Uubuntu－是一个杀手级的操作系统，充满了卓越的应用软件，但是大概有千万个理由，你仍然把Windows作为主要的操作系统。我们理解，这事经常发生。但是，你宁愿决定生活在Windows中，而抛下那些杀手级的Linux应用程序吗？当然你也可以双重启动或很局限的在虚拟机窗口中运行Linux，但是能和Windos程序一样一起运行这些程序不是很棒吗？－就像Linux用户使用WINE或OS X通过Parallels或 VMWare做到的那样。你能！并且今天我向你展示通过一个叫andLinux的自由软件，如何在Windows中无缝运行你最喜爱的Linux软件。

什么是andLinux？

andLinux实际上是在Windows顶层上Ubuntu的一个完全安装。与Parallels中的一致模式或VMWare Fusion中的统一模式相似，andLinux把Linux程序提出虚拟机，混合在你所有的Windows程序中，创造出一个无缝界面。很古怪，啊哈？

为了让你们咽一下口水，我放出一些图片，我的Windows桌面充满了混在一起的Windows和Linux程序，以一种不自然的方式打击一下大家。

 
andLinux工作于Windows 2000, XP，2003，和Vista(只限32-bit)，所以如果你运行着以上任一个版本的Windows，连接到andLinux下载页面找一个镜像下载安装程序，或者直接抓取这个种子（BT下载真快）。andLinux有两道美味：XFCE极小版（143MB）和KDE完全版（665M）；本篇指南中，我会使用KDE完全版。

一旦下载完成，运行安装程序让我们开始吧。

安装配置andLinux

大多andLinux安装过程简单易懂，但是有一些要点值得强调。安装屏幕第一个值得注意的是内存配置，在那里你选择当它在你系统中运行时，分配给andLinux多少内存。你可以在128MB到1GB中任意选择，但是实际上推荐192MB作为最小值。我选择256MB，但是你可以根据你电脑有多少空闲内存而变化。

你也会进入一个询问启动类型的屏幕。你可以选择总是自动把andLinux作为一个服务运行，或要求andLinux通过命令行手动启动，或Windows启动时自启动。我选择“run andLinux manually as an NT service”选项（不管你在截图上看到什么），但是如果你在确信你会频繁运行Linux程序的基础上，你可能希望设置它为自启动。

 andLinux默认仍然不能访问Windows所有的文件系统，所以为了在Windows和Linux程序间共享文件，你需要在安装时设置Windows文件访问。我选择使用Samba来做这件事（正如截图所示）。这里是展示它如何工作的。

你要通过新建文件夹在Windows某个地方（任何地方，真的）设置一个共享文件夹，对它右键，选择共享和安全。然后只要激活这个文件夹的共享并允许用户改变文件夹内容。确保共享名不要包含空格否则andLinux会抱怨。点击确认保存共享参数，然后只要把共享文件夹的名字给andLinux安装程序，然后是Windows帐户的用户名和密码。

当完成安装程序，在使用andLinux和在Windows中运行所有的Linux软件之前，你需要重启电脑。

通过andLinux运行程序

如果不是设置andLinux自启动，在使用它之前你需要使用截图中的助手启动andLinux。在它启动后，你现在可以运行想要的任何一个预装软件了。你可能通过很多方式做到这一点，但是我还是要强调几点。

首先，你会注意到一个新系统托盘程序正在运行；它是一个小型KDE启动菜单，通过它访问很多默认KDE软件，从Konqueror（一个文件管理器，网络浏览器，等等）到Synaptic（可安装新程序的软件包管理器）。我特别强调这两个软件是因为你可以从Konqueror浏览和启动更多软件，从Synaptic安装新软件。

然后，如果启动Konqueror并游到应用软件标签，你能分类别浏览到一些已安装的Linux软件，从娱乐和游戏到互联网和多媒体。如果这是你第一次玩Linux，我推荐尝试一下不同的软件，找一点可见的感觉。

通过andLinux安装新Linux软件

既然已经尝试了一下，你大概已经忍不信手痒想要安装新软件了吧。要安装新软件，点击KDE开始菜单并启动Synaptic，它就像Windows里的添加/删除程序那样－但是更有用。通过Synaptic，你可以浏览Linux软件令人惊讶的财富。用Synaptic搜索具体的软件或分类浏览软件。如果发现你喜欢的，标记安装，然后应用更改。Synaptic会自动下载和安装运行那个软件需要的一切，当安装完成，你可以从Konqueror启动它。很方便，啊哈？

andLinux甚至改变Windows的右键菜单，所以如果比如你点击一个文本文件，你可以在andLinux默认程序中打开它。那意味着你可以在平行的Linux环境中从Windows里打开一个文件或文件夹，用任何支持的软件。我正确运行这个功能遇到了点麻烦，所以你的情况可能不同。

记住andLinux现在正在测试，写这篇文章的发布的是beta 1第6候选版本，所以这真是该死的边缘。大多数核心功能在这，但是有时BUG会多一点，所以不会一切完美运行。如果你不准备接受这个跳跃，可以理解……只要睁大你的眼睛，因为一旦出现一个更稳定和良好测试的版本，那些曾经如此严格的系统界限在你的Windows盒子上会变得更模糊－因为那些界限现在仍然不够模糊，你可以在你的Hackintosh电脑上安装MAC OS X，然后在MAC上无缝运行Windows。

Linux爱好者，让我们在评论里看到你推荐给Windows用户，在他们被Linux化的自作自受的电脑上试用的软件。同样，如果你已经试用过andLinux，让我们知道它是如何为你工作的。

Adam Pash是Lifehacker的资深编辑，在他所有操作系统安定和和谐之前，他是绝对不会休息的。他独特的黑客攻击言论有规律的出现在Lifehacker。订阅黑客攻击RSS，在你的新闻阅读器上取得最新消息。