The Discussion:
After a few minutes of idle chit-chat, Gib asked the group “What’s new?” Keith said he just installed WinBoat and is quite impressed, both by the ease of installation and the features. WinBoat provides a way to seamlessly access Windows apps in a Linux desktop. Installation is very simple in a docker environment–just prepare the prerequisites and run the docker image.
Although the project is still in beta, it includes some very nice features:
- Elegant Interface: Sleek and intuitive interface that seamlessly integrates Windows into your Linux desktop environment, making it feel like a native experience
- Automated Installs: Simple installation process through our interface – pick your preferences & specs and let us handle the rest
- Run Any App: If it runs on Windows, it can run on WinBoat. Enjoy the full range of Windows applications as native OS-level windows in your Linux environment
- Full Windows Desktop: Access the complete Windows desktop experience when you need it, or run individual apps seamlessly integrated into your Linux workflow
- Filesystem Integration: Your home directory is mounted in Windows, allowing easy file sharing between the two systems without any hassle
- And many more: Smartcard passthrough, resource monitoring, and more features being added regularly
Keith also talked about Starship, which provides custom prompts for shells. See the website for example prompts.
We then turned to various cloud storage options., including Mega and Salt Typhon. Pat advised us about security concerns, especially encryption and the services’ ability to decrypt files. He then referred us to the Privacy Tools list of Best Encrypted Cloud Storage in 2025. We talked about several of the providers, and filen caught Carl’s attention. We then decided cloud storage in general and filen in particular will be the topic of the next meeting.