In a world where most end users only know about or are familiar with Microsoft Windows, it's easy to forget that there are alternative operating systems out there, right? For those of you who aren't using Windows, it's still possible to run µTorrent in your operating system, it just takes a bit more fussing around to get it running more nicely (though there might still be residual problems in functionality due to operating system limitations).

Running on Wine (*BSD, GNU/Linux)

Wine is an open source project that aims to implement the Windows API on Unix-like operating systems. In simpler terms, it is an attempt to allow users running a Unix-like operating system (such as *BSD or GNU/Linux) to execute applications that normally run only on Windows. The first step in running µTorrent on Wine would, naturally, be to download and install the latest version of Wine from WineHQ.org if you haven't already done so.

When Wine is installed, the only thing you need to do is run µTorrent by using the wine command in a terminal window. Wherever you have your µTorrent executable located at on your filesystem, you simply run µTorrent with the command wine FULL_PATH (where FULL_PATH is the full path to the µTorrent executable) in in the terminal window. Naturally, there are many different (and easier) ways to execute µTorrent through Wine, but because there are infinitely many combinations of softwares available for use on the Unix-like operating systems, the most generic way will have to suffice.

So where exactly is the hard part in using µTorrent on Wine? It's in the limitations that come with using Wine and its incomplete implementation of the Windows API. Because of this, and the fact that Wine is unable to integrate too deeply with its host operating system, there are several known issues you should be aware of:

Running on Darwine (Mac OS X)

Darwine is a port of Wine for use on Darwin and Darwin-based operating systems, such as Apple's Mac OS X. Darwine requires an X server to work, so if you don't already have it installed, you can find the installer in the Apple Restore DVD, or by downloading it along with Apple's XCode.

Installing Darwine should be a cinch. Just as with Wine, it's generally best to download and install the latest version of Darwine. After installed, you should be able to simply double-click µTorrent's executable file, and Darwine should automatically run the application. If not, then run WineHelper.app (which should be located in the installed Darwine directory) then open µTorrent's executable file. That's all!

Not unlike Wine, there are several known issues in using µTorrent with Darwine that you should be aware of: