CodeWeavers bring Chrome to Mac and Linux

CodeWeavers has released CrossOver Chromium for Mac and Linux, allowing the Google-developed open source browser to run on Intel-based Mac OS X and Linux. CrossOver Chromium is available to download for free.

CodeWeavers, which specialises in commercialising the Wine Project, a Windows compatibility layer for Mac and Linux, has released CrossOver Chromium as a proof of concept to demonstrate that the CrossOver software can allow Windows application developers to make their applications available on Mac OS X and Linux, without porting the code to new APIs.

CrossOver Chromium should allow Mac OS X and Linux users access to the Chromium without running a virtual machine and the expense of a Windows licence for that virtual machine. CrossOver Chromium is still a proof of concept though. "Users shouldn't view this as a production release. It may be buggy, and they should use it with caution" said Jeremy White, CodeWeavers' CEO, "Nevertheless, it is as fully functional as the Windows beta, and we think that sends an important message."

In a brief test, heise online UK found that CrossOver Chromium seems to work reasonably well. On Mac OS X, the installation process was simply to drag the program to the applications folder and run it, and up came the Chromium browser window, complete with Windows border and resizing controls. We noted some flickering when windows were resized, but apart from that, it appeared fast and functional. Plug-ins seemed to be a problem though, as we were unable to get YouTube's Flash player to operate. Fonts also seemed to be rendered differently, making the Chromium window stand out on the desktop.

(djwm)