“[Google] has sponsored developers from Codeweavers to make Photoshop CS and CS2 work better under Wine,” according to a computerworld article. CodeWeavers is a company that sells a proprietary version of Wine known as CrossOver, which allows the execution of Windows applications on Linux, Mac, and Solaris. Photoshop is one of the most highly desired applications on Linux; for many would-be Linux users, it might be the one reason they haven't taken the plunge to the open source operating system. This might just be one more way for Google to undermine Microsoft by potentially giving Windows users the leverage to make the switch to Linux. Since Adobe has been reluctant to port many of their applications to Linux, funding Wine and its counterparts to make porting of Windows applications to Linux smoother might be the only way to get people off the Windows bandwagon.

Some argue that software like Wine removes the need for software companies to make their products available natively on Linux. However, if Wine brings more individuals away from Windows to Linux, eventually these software companies will look at Linux and begin making more or all of their applications directly for Linux. It's difficult for software developers to see the need in porting their applications to Linux because of the under reported usage of Linux and the varying statistics concerning its market share. If more companies begin investing in Wine, companies like Google, it won't be long before the world takes notice.

And in the short term, this benefits Linux users everywhere; by funding companies like CrossOver, which give back to the open source community, Linux users will benefit by having available better software.

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