Wine, undoubtedly the most popular solutions for running Windows applications on Linux and Unix operating systems, is making its way to Android. The open-source software is currently being tweaked for ARM-based processors, but it is still in the early stages of development, so it’ll be some time before it’s ready for public release.

When that time comes, however, you’ll be able to run Windows applications on an Android device. I have no idea why you would want to do such a thing, but each to their own. To prove it works, Wine creator Alexandre Julliard provided a brief demo of Wine running on Android at the Free and Open Source Software Developer’s European Meeting (FOSDEM) in Brussels this week.

Because it’s still in the early stages of development, the demonstration wasn’t all that spectacular. Julliard did get at least one Windows app running, according to Android Police, but it was said to be “far from practical.” It’s thought, however, that performance would have been smoother on a real Android device; Julliard was actually running an Android emulator on a Mac.

There’s no time frame for Wine’s release on Android as yet, but Julliard said that if Intel’s x86 chips can gain more traction in the Android tablet market, it’s possibly Wine’s corporate sponsor CodeWeavers could be persuaded to commit more resources to the project.

In the meantime, you’ll have to find another solution for your Minesweeper fix.

• SourceAndroid Police