IS there a package that runs on linux which provides a similar service as parallel does on a Mac?

Operating Systems & Open Source
1

Hello, I believe what I am trying to achieve is clear, in the title, I know the latest vmware workstation does not have desktop integration (did they call it seamless mode at the time?) I tried to install version 11, which is the last one with that feature but it does not install properly.
I tried VirtualBox but it is a complete dog performance wise, I cannot even type properly in a windows vm under virtual box.
Is there another way to seamlessly run a windows program on a linux desktop?
Thank you for your help.

2

if you find it I want it too…

3

On Linux we often just use Wine to achieve our goals. But no, nothing as clean as parallels.

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4

Crossover is the proprietary tool you’re looking for.

2 Likes
5

HI, thank you for writing. I tried it, it was SO unstable I had to give it up

6

Terrible performance in VirtualBox sounds like hardware virtualisation is disabled (or blocked by something) and it’s doing a full x86 emulation in software. If that’s the case, no other virtualisation software will do any better.

Not sure if VirtualBox does the desktop integration thing either… I use windows stuff so rarely that I only boot up my VirtualBox VM every 4 or 5 months, do what I need, and shut it down again.

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7

I’d like to mention that the opposite(running Linux apps on windows) is actually very easy, with lots of options available. Personally, I like to use a proper Linux(either on “hardware” or in Virtualbox etc.), and then use something like XMing, but I suppose using MinGW would work as well.

I’ve heard that ultraVNC supports seamless window modes, and depending on your windows version you might be able to use Windows RemoteApp with a Linux client(AFAIK not all windows versions support RemoteApp hosts). I think Remmina should support RemoteApp.

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virt-manager if you want to virtualize an entire Windows installation or wine for individual applications. Nothing will be exactly like Parallels, but those would be the obvious choices since virtual box didn’t work out for you.

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Probably because Linux is open source while no one (sometimes I feel like not even Microsoft :face_with_hand_over_mouth:) knows what’s going on under the hood of Windows.

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10

Just FYI, @wendell wrote a guide that explains how to use RemoteApp for this:

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