My test machine was a "Book PC," a complete PC built in an 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch by 2 inch box. It has a 533-MHz Celeron processor (Pentium compatible) and 128 megabytes of memory. It has the Mandrake 8.1 distribution of Linux installed as the operating system, along with Win4Lin as described in my earlier article.

I launched Win4Lin and then it loaded Windows 98 inside an X-Window on Linux. I inserted the CD-ROM containing The Master Genealogist installation package. I happened to be using TMG Gold Edition although I suspect the Silver Edition’s installation and operation would be the same. I double-clicked on "My Computer" and then on the CD-ROM drive and then on SETUP.EXE. In other words, I followed the instructions in the TMG installation guide.

The installation proceeded normally. The only thing unusual was the on-screen appearance: I was watching a program written for Microsoft Windows as it installed inside an X-Window with the Linux KDE desktop in the background.

At the end of the installation, TMG gave the same statement that many other Windows programs give: "Before you can use the program, you must restart Windows or your computer." This is hilarious to a Linux user, as Linux programs almost never require a restart of the operating system. Well, in this case Windows is a "slave" of Linux so I did restart Windows. That is, I shut down Windows and Win4Lin but not the entire Linux operating system. The Linux e-mail program and the Linux word processor I used to write this article continued running while Windows was shut down and restarted.

The TMG CD-ROM that I purchased some time ago is not quite the latest version available. Luckily, Wholly Genes Software provides free updates on their Web site. I opened up Konquerer (a Linux Web browser), went to www.whollygenes.com and downloaded the latest update to version 4.0d. I installed it in the same manner as anyone using a regular Windows installation. I then opened up my existing TMG database that was stored on another hard drive. Again, everything proceeded normally.

I will skip over all the details of the different things I tried with TMG. In summary, I will simply say that everything worked well. I was able to open a TMG database, import GEDCOM files, enter data, and generate reports. I never saw anything unusual; everything worked the same under Linux and Win4Lin as it does on my Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems.

I did not directly print any of the reports, however. I do not have a printer installed on my Linux system yet and I have not been able to connect across the network to a printer on a Windows system. This lack of printing capability was my problem with Linux, not a problem with The Master Genealogist. However, I feel that I should point out that I didn’t test printing.

I did, however, create reports in TMG and save them as disk files in Microsoft Word format. I then opened the files with the StarOffice word processor on the Linux system. I also copied the files to a Windows system and opened them in Microsoft Word. Of course, I could print the reports from my Windows system even if I could not from Linux. Again, this is all unique to my Linux system. I do plan to get printing working on Linux one of these days. I do have to first stop playing with genealogy software, however.

Operation of any large Windows program under an emulator, such as Win4Lin, should be slower than it is on an equivalent system running the same program in native Windows. I am sure that TMG probably was running a bit slower than it would on my Windows systems. However, the difference was minor. I didn’t make any precise timing but my "gut feel" is that the combination of TMG, Win4Lin, and Linux on a 533-MHz processor was probably about as fast as TMG on a 400-MHz Windows system running Windows 98. It all looked fine to me.

In summation, the purpose of this little experiment was to see if a Linux user could use state-of-the art Windows genealogy software. If that is possible, the result should be the best of both worlds: a stable operating system that never crashes coupled with a wide selection of free software plus the capability to use popular, commercial Windows software when the free programs aren’t up to the task. The test was successful; everything operated exactly as I hoped it would. I do believe that I now have the best of both worlds. You can do the same, if you wish.

Disclaimer: Please realize that the results described in this article are those of one person who is "pushing the envelope" beyond Wholly Genes’ specifications. Wholly Genes Software specifically states that The Master Genealogist is designed for operation on Windows 3.x, 95, 98 and NT. The company makes no claims for operation on a Windows emulator under Linux or other operating systems. If you attempt to use The Master Genealogist under Win4Lin and Linux and then encounter difficulties, please do not contact Wholly Genes Software for support. Anytime you use a piece of software outside of its intended environment, you are on your own.

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