wine or VM

["Bernd.Kloss" <bernd.kloss@web.de>]

Etch
2.6.18-3-k7
KDE 3.5

Hello,

we used to run programs on WIN98SE, Win2000 and XP using for instance 
QUICKTIME or being programmed in Pascal using graphics.
Some people are using powerpoint-presentations and WINWORD-Textfiles. Both 
with problems since StarOffice 8 PP5 is not transferring everything exactly. 
So some of those people don't want to take Staroffice or whatever. If it is 
not working the way they did it, forget it.

I made a few experiments with wine, but had problems with charactersizes in 
graphics, if it was running at all.

Is a virtual machine a better alternative to wine?

Which vm is a good advice on a 1,8-GHz computer with 500MB? How much memory is 
minimum?

We just need an environment for MS-Office, some special-programs and 
shockwave-applets.

Do you need updating Windows once it is running in an VM without internet?
 
1. Wine or vm?
2. Best choice for ETCH?
3. A good list or forum to ask further questions?

Thankyou
Bernd Kloss