Windows-Ubuntu dual-booting question?

Question

I heard that if you have a dual-boot for windows and ubuntu set up there is a way to make ubuntu run windows programs through the other operating system. Is this true or just wishful thinking?

Answer 1

Dual booting will not allow Ubuntu programs run under windows environment.

If you want to run Ubuntu in windows, I'll recommend you to use Vmware that can be used to run ubuntu in windows environment. Vmware will emulate your hardware that will allow the ubuntu OS in run in your PC virtually in Windows.

Answer 2

It's not really "through the other operating system". It's within Ubuntu (or whatever other linux distro one may be using).  Called WINE.

http://winehq.org

Answer 3

Yes, you can run SOME windows programs/games in Wine.

Wine can run only few programs which are in this database:

http://appdb.winehq.org/

Personally, I never felt the need to use Wine as I also have windows on another partition. Once I tried to install Photoshop in wine but it didn't work for me. Maybe I should try harder.

Also, there is Virtual Box

http://virtualbox.org/