I missed the first of those links and read a different one. The
following sentence is obviously the glue
" Wine runs on top of the X Window System and Linux or Unix. But it's
not a Windows emulator; instead, it provides a Windows API middleware
layer that enables Windows programs to run on Linux without the
slowing effects of OS emulation or a virtual machine."

I am quite happy with gThumb and Gimp for my uses but my brother has
done more digital photography and rates Picassa highly. So i'll have a
go over the next few months and let folk know how i get on.