Linux Gaming

Though most of the latest 3D games are released in Windows only, it does not mean Linux has to be boring...

Some of your favorite online games come with native Linux clients such as Second Life, Dofus, and EVE online. Others such as World of Warcraft can be played via emulators in Linux.

If you prefer LAN and offline games, some games such as Counterstrike, DOOM, and Quake is known to work on either natively or through emulators, and you may or may not know that there are open source Linux games around too. You can try some of these games without installing Linux to your computer, they run from the DVD directly:

linuX-gamers.net


Here is a link to Linux games and how do you play some of your favorite games such as Never Winter Nights on Linux.

Here is a link to tuxgames online store selling native Linux games, and here is a review of some free Linux games, enjoy!

Leave no prisoners!

I will stop writing about Linux today and talk about Apple.

Microsoft Zune is still getting a slow start despite the release of version 2, you know what? It will still dominate the market no matter how badly it is doing today. No doubt about it. Apple supporters beware, iPod is going to face a tough battle.

When Xbox was launched, I sighed, the "dawn" of a new era...

If MS couldn't succeed by slashing prices and losing money, they WILL somehow sweeten the deals with the studios or even investing in a couple, "inconveniencing " iPod... Don't believe me? Look at the current state of the gaming industry.

What can we do to stop the MS machine?

P/S Be wary of its successors, the Zune 360 and Zune Live!

You have been using Linux!

What? I have never seen Linux in my life! But do you access to your company's file server? Have you Googled? Or play an on-line game?

When a web page arrives onto your web browser, there is a high chance that it came from a Linux web server.

Linux is also embedded into many smaller devices like phones, PDAs, and even your household appliances.

When you step on the accelerator of a Sega arcade game machine, you are very likely to be interacting with Linux too!

Did you know that Sony originally planned to have Linux in PS3? In fact you can install Linux to it now if you want, and turn it into a console to play games, watch movies, surf net, and do some of your work!

Did you know Linux can even run on Xbox?

You sure this is Linux??

Linux Desktop (Ubuntu):
















How about effects which make Vista Aero looks primitive?

Click here and here for some video clips from Youtube.

It takes a geek to install...

Windows. Yes, you heard (or read?) me right, it takes a geek to install Windows.

Don't believe me? Read on.

Windows Vista vs Ubuntu 7.10 on my Dell 1420 laptop
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 Ghz processor
- 2 GB RAM
- Intel wifi adapter
- Dell 355 bluetooth adpater
- nVidia 8400M graphics with 128MB RAM
- Integrated sound

1.) Installing Vista
The installation process is smooth as per all of my Windows installation experiences so far, and it took about 30 mins or less to complete the installation. After the installation, I loaded about 5-6 drivers drivers from the driver CD, and had to download the Bluetooth adapter and sound drivers from Dell website.

I suspect the Dell CD is a generic one for all 1420s, and it contains a few drivers for the same device. You have to know your hardware well in order to load the correct one.

The whole process including the OS installation took about 1 1/2 hour and I have a ready system.

2.) Installing Ubuntu
The installation process took about the same amount of time as Vista. After the installation, the system boots up and asked whether I want to enable 2 "restricted drivers"*-- one for the Intel wifi, and the other for the nVidia card. Clicked "enable" and reboot, and I have a fully functional laptop.

Note the words I used for both setup: Vista-- "ready system"; Ubuntu -- "fully functional"
By fully functional I mean this: all drivers are up, security up, and common applications are installed. In Vista, one have to first install all the necessary firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, update all the definitions, then install the Office 2003/2007.

Verdict: Your grandma can probably install Ubuntu and starts using it immediately; whereas in Vista case, you will probably have to spend half a day to set up a fully functional Windows Vista system for her.

Not convinced yet? Here's another installation that I have done recently.

Windows XP vs PCLinuxOS 2007 on my daughter's Dell Desktop

- P4 2.8 GHz
- 512 MB RAM
- Integrated graphics and sound
- External USB wireless adapter

1.) Windows XP
Windows XP took quite awhile to install on this computer, I lost track of the time taken, because while it was installing, I changed my son's diapper, cleaned his bum, turned on another computer and customized the Ubuntu desktop... All in all probably about 45 minutes?

Here comes the trouble-- I do not have the original Dell driver CD anymore, and without the driver, I could only get 640 x 480 screen resolution, luckily, being a computer geek, I went into "Device Manager", forced the hardware detection for graphics from there, and Windows found a driver for it, and I can finally get an acceptable 1024 x 768 resolution.

While at the device manager, I saw quite a number of "?" on the devices. Darn! I either have to repeat the process, or I have to visit Dell website and download the drivers. Skip that for now, because I have to install the driver for the external USB wireless adapter before I can connect to internet, and before I can connect to internet, I have to install firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware...

2.) PCLinuxOS 2007
Boot up the Live CD, it asked whether I want to enable network, clicked "yes", select "wirelss", select "network", key-in the WEP code, and when Live CD was up and running, I have an Internet connection!

Click install, and 15 minutes later, I have a fully functional system with 1024 x 768 resolution! It even copied the WEP code I entered while in Live CD session, and configured the wireless connection for me automatically in hard drive installation! Now that's call impressive!

Verdict: Your grandma will make you her favourite for giving her PCLinuxOS; on the other hand, she will probably leave you out of her will if you pass her a copy of Windows XP for her old PC.


Final note

The above examples are my real life experiences with installing Linux (Ubuntu & PCLinuxOS) and Windows onto my home PCs and laptops. While the results are a little too good to be true, Windows installation, in all fairness, is pretty consistent. That is to say, as long as you know how to install drivers & applications, and armed with some basic troubleshooting skills, you can replicate the experience on "n" numbers of computers that meet the installation requirements.

On the other hand, Linux installation experience can vary depending on the distro and hardware specifications, and some can be a nightmare due to the drivers support especially the wireless, webcams, and graphics drivers. I have used 2 of the easiest Linux distros as demonstration, therefore, the installation process is pretty out of the box.

The purpose of this post is to eradicate the myth and FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) that Linux is difficult to install, and it takes a geek to do it. In reality, Linux has come a long way since the day Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, released it to public in the 90s, and it has caught up with Windows in many areas and surpassed it on some.

*restricted driver is the term Linux used for drivers that are non opened source. There are different camps in Linux, some will not install non-opened source drivers in fear of breach of security. In the middle ground, such as Ubuntu, it will have the restricted drivers for you but not installed by default, you will need to activate it by clicking "enable". On the other end of the scale, there are distros such as PCLinuxOS, where restricted drivers are used more liberally, and hence the system will auto configure everything for you.

Hello & Welcome

A very warm welcome!

If you happen to drop by, it means that you are probably a Linux user or interested in Linux :-) Well, hmmm... maybe, or are you a staunch Microsoft supporter who can't wait for any opportunity to bash Linux, and label Linux users as geeks?

Anyway, welcome.

Linux is not for everyone, you must be curious, you must be determined, you must be adventurous, you must NOT be afraid to blow things up, and last but not least you must NOT be afraid to be different! If you do not possess one or more of these characteristics, go back and continue to pay the Microsoft Tax. Just kidding.

I started exploring Linux about 4 months ago with absolutely no idea what I am getting into, today, I would say if I can install Linux onto my office computer, I will probably be a 95% Linux user, with the remaining 5% computer time helping Windows users to clear virus and spywares :-D

On a more serious note, unless you are using your computer only for internet surfing, emails, and document editing, and do not play with hardware much, it is not going to be smooth sail all the way.

I have to refer to the forums and websites for a lot of help and tips, and unfortunately I am a pretty forgetful person nor can I understand much of the Linux command syntax, so I would just copy the commands and instructions blindly from forum and websites, and I do write down a whole list of instructions & site addresses so that I can refer to them if I need to.

After some thoughts on how to organize those notes for easy reference, I thought why not create a blog so that I can have an easy access anywhere and at the same time share with fellow new users or would be convert, and so here I am!

Before I go further, here are two interesting links to read:

1.) A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection by Peter Gutmann. Long article but very insightful read.

2.) An article on a patent that Microsoft applied, and may reveal the future of MS Operating Systems. Basically just pay and pay!

Hope you enjoy these articles. Cheers!