[Radiance-general] coherent advice on running Radiance on win32

[Gregory J. Ward]

Without debating the merits or drawbacks of Windows vs. Unix, let me  
just speculate that a reasonable Windows environment (e.g., VirtualPC  
or similar) will probably be available for Intel-based Apple hardware  
soon, allowing one to run most Windows applications at native speed  
and sending files directly to Radiance running under OS X.  Since a  
decent dual-core Mac mini can be had for less than $800 US, a  
fraction of the cost of most of the CAD systems we're discussing,  
this may be a reasonable solution for some, and Radiance runs quite  
fast on that platform.  The current "Boot Camp" approach requires  
radical switching between systems, which is no fun in my opinion.   
This situation is bound to improve since the hardware is capable --  
probably before the year is out.

Has anyone tried "Wine Doors" or found a convenient way to run  
Windows under a running Linux system, allowing files to be passed  
between?  This might also be a reasonable solution for those needing  
the latest bits of Radiance.

Native Windows binaries of Radiance are great, and it's wonderful  
that Francesco has provided these to the community for free, and  
kudos as well to Ignacio for nrv!  From my limited experience with  
Cygwin, I tend to agree with Jelle that this approach leaves much to  
be desired.  It's much better to do away with the middleman,  
especially when it keeps munging process memory.

Multiprocessing and advanced Radiance features are going to be  
lacking or lagging on Windows for the indefinite future, since most  
development happens under Unix, and that's just the way it is.  Even  
so, being a year behind is better than being 8 years behind and  
growing, which is where Desktop Radiance is regrettably stuck.

-Greg