There are (sigh) still a few applications for which there is not a viable open source replacement, and W.I.N.E. still does not allow ALL games to play, "out of the box." However, the need for XP, for gaming or otherwise, opens new dangers to the world of linux. VMware is an option, but they have begun to charge, for their software, even for end users, now (unless there is something I have missed). Fortunately, there is an alternative that is actually VERY useful, and COMPLETELY open source. Sun Microsystems has a virtualization app called "VirtualBox." It can be found here:
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Although they have not included all of the bells and whistles into Vbox that VMware has in their product, I have found it extremely simple (noob users will delight). Sun has provided a ".deb" installer, and Vbox actually uses fewer resources than VMware. I can't really gauge whether or not this is something that "should be" incorporated into Ultimate, but I can say that this is an application that has wondrous new opportunities, for those who seriously game, but don't have the "tweaking knowledge" to be able to make Linux run all their games, and alos for those of us that are OBLIGATED to use Winblows, but don't want it actually "in control" of their system.
It is easy enough to acquire and install; but then, again, so are most of the packages that come with Ultimate. I have actually removed some of the packages that come with Ultimate, as I find them redundant. This is one of the things I love about Ultimate: It is better to have it, and not need it, than to need it, and not have it.
Kudos to the Ultimate team for an endeavor of monumental success, and I hope this post is found to be helpful to Ultimate users and moderators, alike.
- Sterling Dragon