Moving over to Fedora

[Hudson]

Kicking Windows to the curb.

The good news is Steam and many of the games we play (Sins, Supreme Commander 2, etc.) work very well with WINE, so I may just be around yet. I don't have much faith for the DCS line, but I might just have to give that up. If it works it works and great. If not, sadness, but I expect that.

We'll see how this science experiment goes. I have a good Windows Backup so if worst comes to worse I can restore.

But anyway, if you don't see me around for a bit, I'm still working on getting things rockin'

[VEGETA]

dual boot

When I run linux I do a dual boot as some thing just don't like wine.

[PanzerMeyer]

I guess my first question is why the switch?

My second question is if going to Fedora is going to prevent you from playing some games and especially some excellent sims like A-10, is that worth the sacrifice?

I guess I just don't get the impluse to make the change unless you were completely dumping PC gaming.

[Hudson]

I am noticing a continuing trend of both Microsoft and Apple to bring their interfaces down to a base level that makes me want to scream. I could still live with that if it weren't for both also edging toward the point where you won't be able to use any software not downloaded from one of their stores either. In both Windows 8 and OS X by default you will only be able to download and install apps from their respective stores. If you want to install your own apps it will require you to disable these new 'features'

Add to that Microsoft's secure boot requirements for Windows 8, especially as it exists on ARM tablets/computers (i.e. it cannot be turned off) which makes it impossible to boot Linux if hardware manufacturers can't/don't provide the means to disable it and I see a lot of things I don't like.

I work for Red Hat. I don't consider myself an Open Source zealot, but I do consider myself passionate. That being said I don't like the things I see coming down the road from either company. I want to use my computer how I want to use it. I'd rather get off the crack. Also, Fedora is free and runs very well on all my computers. So it has the added bonus of letting me use my computer how I want to at a low low discount rate compared to the other two.

[PanzerMeyer]

In both Windows 8 and OS X by default you will only be able to download and install apps from their respective stores. If you want to install your own apps it will require you to disable these new 'features'

Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly. If I have Windows 8 and I want to install a PC game, I won't be able to unless I disable certain features in the OS?

[Hudson]

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/win ... iew-142360

It's hard to say what the final picture will be since it's only Consumer Preview at present, but the writing is on the wall. Soon Metro Apps only. And only from the MS store.

This is the same way Apple is pushing with OS X
http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/16/os- ... y-default/

Now, you can disable it. And as soon as they think they can get away with it, you can't.

So I'll run Linux. I am not able to play those flight sims because they don't work on Linux, but if the vendors fix their software no one is going to tell them they can't sell it to me.

You think you're going to have DCS style games for very long either the rate things are going? You can swap it in for Angry Birds. That's all the flying you'll be doing by Windows 10 or so.

Also the most vexxing:
http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/5850.html

I'm voting with my wallet as they say.

[PanzerMeyer]

You think you're going to have DCS style games for very long either the rate things are going? You can swap it in for Angry Birds. That's all the flying you'll be doing by Windows 10 or so.

Looks like I'll be keeping Windows 7 for a long time.

[Hammer]

i don't think it is all doom and gloom. i also think that if it ends up like that games will be ported to linux or be made to run on wine, if nothing else than by modders. but it is going to take a while for that to happen. imagine if the freefalcon and other falcon modders put their efforts into porting to linux, or at least wine? what about other games? i bet battlefield3 does not run on wine? what about controllers in that wine mode? do they work? what about in a virtual machine? does directx/3d acceleration work in that yet?

it does really suck, but i am guessing there will be a solution - what would happen to steam for instance?

[Hammer]

what is this Metro thing? Metro style, Metro apps, etc.?

it seems they are controlling Metro apps, not apps. at least that is what i get out of the article. is there more to it?

[Hammer]

also what will they be doing about apps like the adobe suites, cad/cam software, network administration software tools, etc?

[Hudson]

Today, you just get out of the horrible metro interface and install them. In the future? They'll probably have to be a metro app. That's just conjecture on my part. But seeing what both Apple and MS are doing, I don't like where it looks like this is going.

[Hudson]

I'll try to be around next week. As of right now all I can do is SC2 and TF2. I figured out why I haven't been able to run anything while looking at the debugs for TF2 tonight, and lo' and behold the same thing fixed the botched fonts in SC2. Both seem fully playable now. I imagine that by next Friday I can add IL2: 1946, COH, L4D(2), and maybe some others to the list. Those are all high on the compatibility list. I will try Men of War as well. There is a TeamSpeak for Linux as well, so no issue with voice.

SoaSE is a no go because of the DRM. DCS explodes helplessly on start up, and I don't think it will be fixable.

[Hudson]

COH is working. Men of War is actually listed as 'platinum' on winehq.com as well so It should also be a no brainer. Here's hoping

[Hudson]

Supreme Commander 2, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Men of War: Assault Squad, Company of Heroes all working. That's a good chunk of what 'we' play. I also got Team Fortress 2, Unreal Tournament 3, and Dawn of War 2: Retribution working, which are some of my favorites. All are pretty flawless aside from DOW2, though that's just got an annoying, but easily worked around issue; just have to verify the game cache between every run. Stupid, but that's the worst of all my troubles.

I'm going to plug at SoaSE and see what I can do. Maybe I can get it working... somehow...

[Falker]

Sounds very interesting.. I’ll look it up and install in on one of my computers to get the feel for it. Although , when they get more popular , what’s to stop them from being more like Microsoft? Dumb question right?

This is the link?
http://fedoraproject.org/


I noticed that “Windows 7” won’t play some of my older PC games as well.. And that Windows XP SP3 is loaded with several bugs to make you want to upgrade. So here I am , also tired of Windows as well. I believe they’re sending spyware to my computer and trying to manipulate the users with subliminal adds and updates that are in ” Their “ best interest. It’s a Monopoly that puts them in control of what you see and what you should think.

It’s actually not much different than watching California Television.. Most everyone here wants to be a movie star and live in the lime light. Try my product on your way to success!! Live like a movie star! Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.. That’s what I believe MS has been trying to do with its users in a similar way. Draw them in little by little , and change the way they use their computer for their own benefit.


oops edit:

[Hudson]

It's a fair question, but there is a pretty simple answer. Linux is open source. That means the source must be made available. That is a mandate of the GPL, LGPL, and many of the copyright licenses, under which the software is distributed. If they became tyrants a whole people would get up, walk away, and create a new project/fork. This is why there are umpteen Linux distributions even now. Fedora/RHEL, SuSE, Ubuntu, Mint, Slackware, etc. etc. If people don't like something, they go and do it themselves 'better'.

Look no further than when Oracle bought Sun. Sun was the primary contributor to OpenOffice.org, an open source office suite. Oracle, after making the acquisition, tried to do a lot of nasty business, and so the Libre Office fork was born. Fedora and most others now use Libre Office instead of OpenOffice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software

Any company 'selling' Open Source software is actually still distributing the software freely and instead selling support. This is Red Hat's model for instance.
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/a ... _club.html

They can't hide the source. It's not legal.

[Hudson]

I got A-10C starting, however, when I go to launch a game, it goes out to run the Starforce DRM crap. I am not hopeful about this in the least. Does anyone recall if the Steam version does this?

[Hammer]

Falker,
what makes you say that cp sp3 is full of bugs to make you want to upgrade?

Hudson,
I think the DRM stuff will kill it for linux. can you run a VM to play the games in? i am not sure if 3d acceleration is working in virtual machines yet.

[Hudson]

You all were saying:
http://www.osnews.com/story/25977/Visua ... Metro-only

The beginning of the end for Desktop Applications... (granted this is only Express Editions, but the writing is on the wall)

[VEGETA]

http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... windows-8/
article on the same thing but with more detail