Ceci n'est pas une pipe

I never tire of repeating that with the stable release of Debian you can do everything, absolutely everything you normally do with any other distribution less conservative. For everyday use, for the conduct of its business activities or just for the game, most users seem to prefer Linux distributions very little oriented to security and stability only for the fact that these are constantly updated to latest version any software.

I have already described in another post how you can benefit from the system of backports to update your favorite programs to a newer version of that inserted into the stable branch of Debian.

Debian Etch is ready to satisfy even though all of our natural temptation to turn to see the killer app for Microsoft on our Linux box. Take, for example, the case dell'odiatissimo and beloved Internet Explorer web browser. To see him turn on our Debian Etch there are at least two very valid solutions:

1. the suite Crossover Linux (aka: CXLinux) of CodeWeavers
2. script IEs4Linux Sérgio Luís Lopes Júnior

The first solution is not free, but it really costs a pittance compared to what offers:

CrossOver Linux allows you to install many popular Windows productivity applications, plugins and games in Linux, without needing a Microsoft Operating System license. CrossOver includes an easy to use, single click interface, which effectively Makes installing a Windows application simple and fast. Once installed, your application integrated seamlessly with your Gnome or KDE environment. Just click and run your application, Exactly as you would in Windows, but with the full freedom of Linux.

CrossOver Linux lets you use many Windows plugins Directly from your Linux browser. Plugins work on any x86 based Linux distribution and will integrated with most browsers Including Firefox 1.x, Netscape 6.x, Konqueror, Mozilla, and Opera. CrossOver Also Integrates with Gnome and KDE to let you transparently open any Word, Excel or PowerPoint files. But even better, you can open attachments These types Directly from any mail client.

I must admit, I have a particular affection for CXLinux, since for several years running on my Linux box (once called Crossover Office, aka: CXOffice) and often gives me enormous satisfaction.

The second solution is not at all be underestimated: just as CXLinux, the script uses IEs4Linux `` wine to simulate the functionality of a system of Redmond and makes us turn over a good number of applications.

Here's how to install Debian Etch IEs4Linux:

1. download and install (as root) the minimum dependencies:
   # apt-get install wine cabextract binfmt-support
2. download (as a normal user) the latest version of the installer script:
   ~ wget http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/downloads/ies4linux-latest.tar.gz
3. extract it with the usual command `tar`:
   ~ tar xvfz ies4linux-latest.tar.gz
4. navigate to the directory thus created:
   ~ cd ies4linux-*
5. run the script:
   ~ ./ies4linux

At this point you're done! You will see a gui where you can select a few simple parameters to pass to the script installation. Council to select only versions 6.0, 5.5 and 5.0 of Internet Explorer: While in the advanced options are given the opportunity to install version 7.0, this is a beta still very unstable and not recommended by the Sérgio.

I recommend to anyone who has benefited from the script Sérgio Luís Lopes Júnior made by pouring the appropriate handout, just a single euro with PayPal. Here is the address where to find more information about contributing to his great project:

http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/page/Contribute