Internet Explorer with Ubuntu 11.

04
First you need to install wine to get it through: sudo apt-get install wine Steps to get Internet Explorer are: 1. Open winetricks (Applications->wine->Winetricks) 2. Choose the option, "Select the default wine prefix" (confusing to me since I don't know what a prefix is and it sounds like I'm doing something that will be the default for everything in wine) 3. Click "OK" 4. Choose option, "Install a Windows DLL or component" 5. Click "OK" 6. Now choose IE6, 7, or 8 from the list and check the checkbox Note: Choose one option at a time as wine need to restart after each install. 7. Click "OK" After installation it will ask for "restart", this will not restart your system but restart the "wine". You also get some error messages, just click on OK. From now on, if you need to run the installed program then go to Applications -> wine -> Browse C: Drive -> Program Files -> Internet Explorer -> Run "iexplore.exe" with "wine" So, would you ever say that you can not run Internet Explorer on Linux? :) To Start:>>>>> type C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore

Howto: Run Internet Explorer 7 within Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

30-05-'10 As a webdeveloper, I am obviously required to test the websites I create in the most common A-grade browsers to ensure that they are usable and functional for the majority of the visitors. After switching from Windows to Ubuntu, I soon recognized the need for an Internet Explorer clone to test website for malfunctions. Having a dualboot (Windows and Ubuntu installed on one system) did work for some time, but last week I started looking for a better and faster solution. First I ran into a IEs4Linux, a software package enabling the use of Internet Explorer 5, 5.5 and 6 on Linux (with partial support for Internet Explorer 7 in a two year old beta). While this package might be handy for webdevelopers still supporting antique browsers, I searched further and ran into a Spanish tutorial that enabled me to install Internet Explorer 7 within Ubuntu. Unable to find a good English tutorial, I decided to write my own tutorial using the knowledge from the Spanish version and my installation experiences. By following the steps below, you should be able to run Internet Explorer 7 within Ubuntu without much trouble. 1. Open the Ubuntu Software Center by going to Applications Ubuntu Software Center. In the new

screen, search for PlayOnLinux using the searchbox in the upper right corner. 3. InstallPlayOnLinux by clicking on Install in the list. Depending on your security settings, your root password might be requested in order to continue. After the PlayOnLinux installation has been completed, you can exit the Ubuntu Software Center (File Close). 4. Open PlayOnLinux through the menu by going to Applications Games PlayOnLinux. In the new screen you should pick the option Install to start adding new programs to PlayOnLinux. 5. Select Internet Explorer 7 in the category Internet. Note that you can also install Internet Explorer 6 if you prefer to do so. Click Apply to continue the installation. 6. A new screen will pop up which will show some general information about the software you are about to install. Click Forward to continue. 7. In the next screen, you will get a notice that the software will prepare the required packages. Click Forward to continue and wait for the screen from step 8 to appear. 8. Once preparations have been made, the program informs you that it will download Internet Explorer 7 for you. Again click Forward. 9. In the new screen you can select the language you want to use within Internet Explorer 7. Select the language you want to use (e.g. English) and click Forward to start the download and installation. 10. The program will now download Internet Explorer 7 and start the installation. This new installation wizard will guide you through the setup of Internet Explorer 7. Follow the wizard until the installation is complete; then continue with step 11. 11. When completed, the installation wizard will ask you to reboot your system. You must select Restart now (Recommended) here in order to continue, but your system will not reboot (the reboot is only required in Windows). 12. The wizard will be replaced with a new screen in which you can choose the location of Internet Explorer. For this tutorial, I have selected a desktop icon which allows me to open Internet Explorer 7 from an icon on the desktop. 13. Depending on your choice, a menu item or desktop item will be created and you can click Forward to complete the installation. 14. Internet Explorer 7 is now installed and you can close the main window of PlayOnLinux (File > Exit). Installation completed You can now open Internet Explorer 7 using the new menu item or desktop item and start browsing. Note that the menu item has been created in the submenu Applications > Other. You can of course always change this using the Main Menu Manager (System > Preferences > Main Menu). Update 23/08/2011: As the PlayOnLinux package seems to be broken every now and then, I had to search for a more reliable method to test my creations in Internet Explorer. Having found one, I just wrote a new blog that explains how you can run Internet Explorer 8 under Ubuntu 11.04 (more stable and reliable than the above method). You can find it here.

Howto: Run Internet Explorer 8 under Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) in VirtualBox
23-08-'11 As a web developer, I am constantly aware of the problem that every browser seems to have a mind of its own when rendering a webpage. Especially earlier versions of Internet Explorer are a big problem for a lot of developers as these browsers were not updated with new options and/or visual fixes (only security updates). As a result, most web developers want to test their creations in various versions of Internet Explorer to make sure that everyone can experience their website as intended. Earlier, I wrote an article that explained how you can run Internet Explorer 7 under Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx. However, the package provided by PlayForLinux seems to be broken now and I had to find a new way to test websites before putting them online. In this blog I will explain a new method that actually runs Windows within Ubuntu enabling developers to exactly mimic the conditions of real users. Before starting, I should note that the files required for this method are somewhat large (3x 700Mb & 1x 553Mb), so you might want to download the files first (step 1) before continuing with the rest of these steps. 1. For this method, you need to download a Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image provided by Microsoft. You can pick any VPC image you like, but in this blog I will make use of the Windows 7 Internet Explorer 8 image which consists out of four files. You can download your image of preference directly from the Microsoft website. 2. We need two pieces of software from the Ubuntu Software Center before we continue. Open the Ubuntu Software Center and search for the package VirtualBox OSE. Install it and search for the package Wine Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer. Also install this package before you continue. 3. We will use the WinRAR archiving tool from RARLAB to extract the images from the first step. You should download the Windows (32-bit) trial version from the RARLAB website. 4. Navigate to the directory containing your WinRAR download and select WinRAR. Now righclick on the icon and pick the option Properties from the menu. In the new Windows make sure that the file is set to be executable (third tab Permissions, as shown below). Click Close when you are done to close the window. 5. Now rightclick again on the icon and pick the option Open with Wine Windows Program Loader to start the installation process of WinRAR. You can now install WinRAR by following the wizard and using the default options. 5. After installation, you can start WinRAR as a normal program. Once started, click File -> Open archive (Ctrl + O) and select one of the image files you downloaded in first step (note that one of the downloaded files will not show up; this is expected behavior from WinRAR). Click Ok to open the archive in WinRAR. 6. Once opened, click the Extract to-button and select a location where you want to save the extracted image. Now click Ok to start the extraction process. Once done, you can close WinRAR. 7. Now start VirtualBox OSE and click New within this program to create a new environment for your image. A wizard should appear to create your new environment.

8. Click Next in the wizard to continue to the second page. On the new page you can give your test environment a name and you have to select the type of environment that you want to set up (this of course depends on your image of choice from the first step). Afterwards, click Next to continue. 9. The third page allows you to allocate working memory (or RAM) to your environment. I usually allocate 1024Mb of RAM to my test environment as this allows me to run more programs in it and I have enough spare memory to continue my normal work while my test environment is active (NOTE: it is recommend to not dedicate more than half your total working memory to an environment). After you have allocated your working memory, click Next to continue. 10. The next page allows you to either create a new empty environment or create an environment using an existing image. Select the second option which will enable you to select your downloaded VPC image. After you have selected your image you can click Next to review your choices. Finally, click Finish to create your new test environment. 11. Your new environment is now almost ready for you to use! However, due to a configuration error made by VirtualBox your environment needs one more change in order to work. In the VirtualBox window select your new environment (left click on it) and click the button Settings. A new window should appear that looks like the one shown below. 12. Navigate to your Storage devices in the list on the left. You should now see a screen similar to the first screenshot below. Select the SATA Controller and hit your [Delete]-key to remove this item from the list. Now click on the small Add Hard Disk-icon next to the IDE Controller (its the second icon) and add your hard disk again like you have done in step 10. The final result should look like the second screenshot below. 12. Click Ok to close the Settings-window. Your new environment is now ready to be used for the first time! Select it (left click) and click the Run-button to start up your Windows test environment with Internet Explorer. Remarks Your test environment will have Password1 as a default password for all accounts available. If you use the administrator account, you can temporarily activate your test environment for 30 days using the command slmgr rearm. More information on this is also available on the Microsoft website.