When Apple migrated to the Intel platform, it opened up a lot of
possibilities for Mac users - at least those with Intel-based Macs - to
run Windows programs. Best known are the various ways to run Windows
directly, whether dual-booting using Apple's Boot Camp or using one of
several virtualization programs (all of which I've covered on LEM):
Parallels, VMWare Fusion, and the free VirtualBox
(http://lowendmac.com).
But there's another way. The WINE project provides Unix-family
operating systems, including Linux and Mac OS X, with the
capability to run at least some Windows applications without having
Windows installed. It works - sometimes - but can take a lot of
fussing. CodeWeavers offers a commercial version of WINE, CrossOver,
which makes it much easier to install and use.
I've written about CrossOver a couple of times on LowEndMac - a
general review in 2007 and more
recently a review when Codeweavers released a free version of it
customized to allow
Google's Windows-only Chrome browser to run on Macs or Linux.
Now, for one day only, CrossOver has another freebie: On October
28th, users going to the
company's website are being promised a code that can be used to
download either a Linux or Mac OS X copy of the $40 CrossOver Pro,
complete with a year's support. (Support can be extended for
$35/yr.)
The company claims that the freebie is the result of a Lame Duck challenge, offered
three months ago by CodeWeavers' CEO Jeremy White to US president Bush.
In it, he challenged Bush to achieve any of six goals during the last
"lame duck" days of his administration. The goals ranged from capturing
Osama Bin Laden to returning the stock market to its 2008 high. For
each goal met, White promised to give his company's product away for a
day.
One of the challenges was to bring the average price of gasoline
sold in CodeWeavers' home base of Minnesota's Twin Cities to US$2.79.
Falling petroleum prices have done that - the result: one day of free
CrossOver.
Get it while you can. 
