From WineHQ "What is Wine?" 1.2. What is Wine? 1.2.1. Windows and Linux Different software programs are designed for different operating systems, and most won't work on systems that they weren't designed for. Windows programs, for example, won't run in Linux because they contain instructions that the system can't understand until they're translated by the Windows environment. Linux programs, likewise, won't run under the Windows operating system because Windows is unable to interpret all of their instructions. This situation presents a fundamental problem for anyone who wants to run software for both Windows and Linux. A common solution ...