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Games Entertainment

Playstation on Linux UPDATED 105

Posted by CmdrTaco from the oh-this-looks-cool dept.
Namaste writes, "As reported on MacNN. Connectix who after a recent legal victory over Sony has signed an OEM agreement with Red Hat in which Connectix Virtual Game Station (VGS) will ship bundled with Red Hat Linux. The press release can be found here. The Macintosh version has been out for a while and seems to be quite a hit. Both the Linux and Win2k versions with be shipping in March. " Update: 02/16 03:21 by H :OK, this issue got confused: Red Hat won't be bundling VGS with Red Hat. Instead, Connectix will be bundling Red Hat with their Virtual PC emulator. VPC is not released for Linux at this time. I'll make sure Rob gets some more coffee before posting again. *grin*
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Playstation on Linux UPDATED More

Playstation on Linux UPDATED

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  • First of all, this explains the odd news I read yesterday that Connectix is going to ship a copy of RH with VirtualPC for Mac. That just seemed weird, now I see that it was a bastard child of this slightly more rational deal.

    Secondly, what's the deal with RedHat including more and more non-OS software on their CDs?
    --
  • Isn't there a difference between the Virtual PC and the Virtual Game Station? As far as I can tell, this won't let you play Playstation games under Linux... it'll just let you run x86 Linux on a Macintosh... for which you can use Mac PPC and get better performance...

    Of course, I could be wrong. :)

  • What is the license? What is the cost? What are the required system specs (speed)? Will I be able to get this is Debian/other distribution, or do I have to buy the offical redHad? Will it work in FreeBSD linux emullation? Will it take advantage of SMP to allow two slower (not half speed) CPUs to do the same work?

    I can make some guesses: Not open source, $40, PII-250 with 32 meg of ram, Yes, Yes, NO. Those are guesses, but they seem reasonable. I'd say that at least one is wrong though.

    Too bad I couldn't find any of that information in the press release.

  • According to the press release, this is Virtual PC (PC Emulator for the Mac) that then comes bundled with either RedHat or W2k as the base OS

    Chris
  • The poster said that the Virtual Game Station was coming for Linux, but the press release linked to only mentins VirtualPC. Did I miss something?

  • Secondly, what's the deal with RedHat including more and more non-OS software on their CDs?

    Quite simply the fact that there is some none open source software available.
  • What does "VGS ship bundled with RedHat" mean? That RedHat Linux is included in the VGS package, or vice versa?
    --
  • Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't PSX 5 years old? I've tried playing some games on the Playstation, but the graphics are horrible. Even on a 32-inch TV, you can barely see what you're doing. Some games don't even come close to PC quality: Quake 2, NFS and MotoRacer come to mind.

    Can these "emulators" render the graphics any better?
  • Yes I can finally stop booting into windows to use Bleem!
  • Why couldn't someone port this, or Bleem to the x-box...or hell to the dreamcast ( which uses a WindowsCE developement environment ) and actually make a Playstation emulator for another console...how would that change things? is it even possible, could a regular CD hold the emulator and the game? Just a crazy off the cuff thought...
  • Does the subject give a clue ... What the fork did I hear you say?
  • The press release says that Virtual PC 3.0 will be available with Red Hat Linux as an installable option, not that their porting Virtual Game Station to Linux.

    --Kidd
  • The press release refers to virtual PCV, which apparently allows you to run your Mac stuff on Linux and PCs. Is there a correct link out there ?
  • Um, I think CmdrTaco is confusing two products.

    Connectix has Virtual PC and Virtual GameStation.

    This press release is about Virtual PC (and makes mention of VPC for Linux). It allows you to run Windows on Linux.

    This is entirely different than VGS.

    Now, they may well be shipping VGS with VPC, but this press release says nothing about tha

  • This isn't actually true. (Score:4)

    by Simes ( 11695 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2000 @05:55AM (#1268338) Homepage
    The press release doesn't mention VGS at all. Could we possibly check for editorial accuracy before posting these, please?

    --
  • Nowhere in these links is there ANY mention of VGS running on Linux. All it is VirtualPC, FOR THE MAC, will now ship with RedHat bundled. In other words, Rob didn't do any fact checking... again.
  • The press release is correct. The poster is incorrect. What the various sites posted on agrees with the press release:

    Connectix is NOT shipping Red Hat Linux with Virtual Game Station, they are shipping it with VirtualPC, a program that emulates x86 on PowerMacs.
  • Yep, someone really fscked the hampster on this one.

    - Jeff A. Campbell
    - VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com [velocinews.com])
  • Virtual PC (which is what's getting shipped here) and Virtual Game Station are two completely different pieces of software. The latter just lets you run playstation games on your computer (mac). The former will let you run x86 operating systems, usually MS Windows, under emulation on the mac. The part where you're wrong is that although you're running it on a ppc chip which is comparatively faster than the equivalent-mhz intel chip, it's not nearly enough to make up for the speed hit you're taking with all the emulation. You can turn a first generation mac into a second generation.

    None of this has to do with RedHat, except that Redhat linux is getting bundled with the linux version of Virtual PC.
  • How is the program going to read the games? I would guess that you could just stick the playstation games into your cdrom drive and it would read it that way but that sounds way to easy. I couldn't find anything about it on the webpage. I was also wondering if you would be able to somehow copy the cd's onto your hard disk even though that would probably take up alot of space.
  • The press release states that Connectix will be releasing two new versions of its Virtual PC (x86 emulator) software for Mac, one with Win2K preinstalled and one with Red Hat preinstalled.
    Nothing about software for Linux, nothing about VGS.

    (To be fair, it took a couple of read-throughs to figure out what the hell they were trying to say...)

  • Actually the PlayStation 2 (due out in March 4th, 2000) will emulate the Playstation 1.

  • Of course, I meant 'Linux PPC', not 'Mac PPC'.

    Dammit, it's been a long day.
  • Unless I really missed something here, this Slashdot story is totally wrong. Connectix is NOT shipping Virtual Game Station for Linux.

    However, Connectix is bundling Red Hat Linux 6.x with their Virtual PC software. Virtual PC lets you run PC operating systems within an environment on your Mac.

    Virtual Game Station lets you play Sony Playstation games on your Mac. Not Linux.

    That's it. No big news here. Move along.

    Ben
  • Connectix makes Virtual PC and Virtual Game Station for Mac. The announcement yesterday is about Virtual PC Linux version. Instead of your simulated PC booting into Windoze, now they sell a package that let your Mac run a simulated PC running Red Hat. But it would be real sweet if they port VGS to linux. Then again, doesn't the PS2 TOOL SDK run linux? Makes me wonder if the PS2's PSX backward compatibility is just an emulator running on linux...

  • Software made for the PSX/N64/Dreamcast has to be licensed by their respective manufacturers.. well approved in some fashion (or else the manufacturer gets pissed off and, well, no publisher wants that, so they always submit games for approval.)

    so,.. if one were to make a playstation emulator for the Dreamcast,.. Sega would have to approve it first, and they're not going to do that. so they would have to distribute it without Sega's approval.. now they have Sony AND Sega on their ass...

    then you think about the fact that if someone owns a Dreamcast/N64/whatever they very well might own a PSX anyway,.. so really it's better to just target the PC market.

    but what i want to know is, does anybody have a hack to get a Dual Shock working on a PC and will this emulator make use of it?
    ...dave
  • I've always thought the biggest problem with graphics on a console is not the console itself. It it the TV on which the games are played. Most TVs simply don't have the resolution/refresh rate of even a cheap 15" monitor. Also, Sony, Sega et al have no control over (or even idea of) what kind of TV you will be using. It could be a $199 TV/VCR Combo you got from the markdown table at BestBuy, or it could be one of the $4k rear projection jobs. Therefore they have to make something that will work reasonably well on any TV.
    When HDTV becomes more widely available (and cheaper) and the consoles start supporting it, you will see a dramatic improvment in graphics quality from your PSX.

    Hooptie

  • Can these "emulators" render the graphics any better?

    Yes. Unless I'm very much mistaken, the Playstation renders graphics at a higher than TV resolution and then reduces the size. Anyway, even if this is wrong, Bleem can go up to 800 x 600, so theres no reason that this can't.
  • Some games don't even come close to PC quality

    Most games don't even come close to PC qualitity if you look at the resolution. However, if you compare what they get done in their lower resolution (Gran Turismo II looks great in crappy resolution).

    But the games graphics quality is not that important compared with actual gameplay.

    Can these "emulators" render the graphics any better?

    The PSX emulator Bleem! can display the games in higher resolution and they look slightly better (this is in large letters on the box in fact, www.bleem.com [bleem.com]), but the graphics source it is based on is not made for these higher resolutions so don't expect miracles.

  • Microsoft creates and has *full control* over all the software they package and ship with their OS. Not true with RedHat. RedHats entire business is built around packaging and marketing linux based products. If they can make this model work, more power to them! They can *NOT* violate the GPL so any fear of embrace and extend from RedHat is fairly benign.
  • Playstation CDs use a regular iso9660 filesystem. Try grabbing a PSX disc and sticking it in your CDROM drive... you'll be able to see all the files that make up the game.

    The only real difference is the PSX CD has a certain area of the disc that usually cannot be accessed by normal CDROM drives, and this is used for a (weak) copy protection and regioning system. I'm not sure of the entire details on this since it's been a while since I read anything about it, but I think I'm close.

  • The actual post on MacNN -

    Connectix has signed an OEM agreement with Red Hat in which Connectix will ship a new version of Virtual PC with Red Hat Linux preinstalled. Both new versions of Virtual PC -- Red Hat Linux and Windows 2000 -- will begin shipping in March. [site not updated]

    There's nothing about the Virtual Game Station on their site that I can see, at least, relating to this story..

    Has someone gotten confused? :)

  • Why? (Score:3)

    by / ( 33804 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2000 @06:09AM (#1268359)
    Why would Connectix sell a version of Virtual PC that runs an x86 Linux (besides that they can at little cost)? You can already run LinuxPPC or YellowDog on ppc, and while there are some occasional hardware issues and there's no binary compatibility with x86, it's much MUCH faster not to do the bloody emulation. Is it so we can all run the latest Corel WordPerfect binaries? Does anyone really want this?

    And why the heck would you spend $100 on the linux version when you can just spend $50 get the DOS version, wipe the virtual hard disk and install your own version of linux? Once you do that and burn your own cd with it, there's even no hit for doing reinstalls. I suppose there's always a market for people who want to waste money, but this is silly.
  • Hey, that's not fair. These guys are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. You can't blame them if they're no editorially accurate... Oh wait, nevermind.

    -----------

    "You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."

  • Did you notice the price difference between the ones shopping with Win2k, and ones shipping with linux? With Win2k it's $329, and with Linux it's $99

    Most mac users will jump on the linux version for no other purpose then to not pay the $229 Microsoft tax. Maybe they will actually try linux and like it, and maybe install a native Linux like LinuxPPC 2000.

    But when the sales figures go though the roof on the linux versions compared to the Win2k version, I'd like to see if it's becasue they want to avoid the Mircosoft tax and they are just using Windows licenses they already own, or if they actually want to run a x86 linux on their machine.
  • It's known to you what we need; we want to slurp strong drinks.

    It's never been more true than today. how appropriate. guess I'll have to wait getting completely pissed out of my skull til friday. bloody thieving bank...

    //rdj
    PS becannt is with a k
  • It _would_ be possible, and something like that has been Bleem LLC's goal for a while. bleem! is only a few hundred kb. They wanted to convince PSX developers to put bleem! on their game CD's, enabling any (reasonably equipped) PC to run such a PSX game right out of the box. The same could be done on something like the Dreamcast.. But wouldn't that mean a major rewrite? I thought most of bleem!'s processor-intensive code was written in assembly. Nevertheless, I'm sure it could be done.
  • Yep - The whole story is confused.

    1. Connectix is releasing a version of Virtual PC, their PC emulator, with a bundled RedHat install.
    2. Connectix have just won a court case allowing them to sell Virtual Game Station, a PSX emulator. This is currently available on the Mac and will be released for Windows soon.
    3. VPC is NOT available, and has not been announced for Linux on any platform.
    4. Sony are now suing Connectix for voilation of 11 patents.



    Troc
  • Will it be emulation or hardware compatibility? I am under the impression it was the latter, but its been a while since Ive looked up anything about the psx2, so my memory could be failing me...

    Dave

  • What is the license?
    The liscense is the typical "Give us $100 and we'll let you have one copy".

    What is the cost?
    $100. See above.

    If it's like the Windows98 version, it'll be a G3, MacOS8, half a gig of hard disk space, 64 megs of ram, and a cd rom [connectix.com].

    Will I be able to get this is Debian/other distribution, or do I have to buy the offical redHad?
    It only comes with RedHat. If you want Debian, then you have to erase RedHat and install Debian instead.

    Will it work in FreeBSD linux emullation?
    No, it only works in MacOS.

    Will it take advantage of SMP to allow two slower (not half speed) CPUs to do the same work?
    Not until Apple fully supports SMP at the system level.

    I can make some guesses: Not open source, $40, PII-250 with 32 meg of ram, Yes, Yes, NO. Those are guesses, but they seem reasonable. I'd say that at least one is wrong though.
    Nope, wrong on all counts.

    Too bad I couldn't find any of that information in the press release.
    It's too bad CmdrTaco mislead you by saying this is the Virtual Game Station, instead of Virtual PC. At least we know the stellar fact-checking journalism we've come to expect from Slashdot hasn't changed with the recent mergers/acquisitions, right? ;-)

  • Here is the press release about their victory in the court case against Sony. [connectix.com]

    It only mentions plans for a Windows version and the continued sale of the already existing Macintosh version.

  • Not only does Microsoft have full control over what goes on their CD, and Redhat adds these components as "value added" features, as you said, but I'm pretty sure that Redhat would make sure they have rights to distribute these components unlike certain other features: *cough*Stacker-- I mean Doublespace and *cough*SpeedDisk-- I mean 'defrag'.

    Sorry for the coughing. I have a cold (-;
  • First of all, this explains the odd news I read yesterday that Connectix is going to ship a copy of RH with VirtualPC for Mac. That just seemed weird, now I see that it was a bastard child of this slightly more rational deal.

    Homer: Flanders your the devil?
    Flamers: Always the people you least suspect.

    Usually people do things in secret for quite a while and then only make their intentions known.

    Secondly, what's the deal with RedHat including more and more non-OS software on their CDs?

    The definition of the OS differs in linux than in any other OS that is usually out there. Generally I can't do anything really cool with just the starndard Win98 install. That would necessitate my purthcess of other apps and such. Now consider what happens with linux. Theoretically you don't need to install one more thing with a recent distribution because everything's there. Oftentimes I have just given up on opensource that isn't part of the distribution because I have spend far, far, far, far too many hours of my life banging my head against the wall trying to get it configured on my distro. Generally with something like debian almost anything you want is there anyway so you can just avoid this problem.

    This would be going on their CDs to paying customers to add value to the mix. Now if you really want a playstation emulator in the GPL cd perhaps you can start working on it or help someone who is doing something. MAME springs to mind; although I doubt that anything definitive is actually going on.
  • I still pay the Microsoft Tax so I can play the games I like that are not now nor are they every likely to be available under Linux by any other means. I don't like it, but it's faster than finishing off WINE to the point where it works for me.

    Is this the wrong reason to use Windows? BillyG still gets my $$. I'm still counted as a 'Windows Customer'. With that in mind, is getting to play the games you want CHEAPLY AND LEGALLY the 'wrong reason' to install Linux?

    Don't think so.
  • Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't PSX 5 years old? I've tried playing some games on the Playstation, but the graphics are horrible. Even on a 32-inch TV, you can barely see what you're doing. Some games don't even come close to
    PC quality: Quake 2, NFS and MotoRacer come to mind.

    I buy console systems because it's often cheaper to get a console system than a full fledged PC to do the same things. I really don't need super realistic 3d immersive raytraced 32bpp colors when I am trying to shoot everything that moves.

    Can these "emulators" render the graphics any better?

    Well with things like WINE they use the native access of the OS to do all the cool stuff. Theoretically if they are just emulating the base stuff then perhaps it will look the same.
  • The Sega Dreamcast is coming out with a VGA adapter that allows you to play your dreamcast through a VGA monitor, instead of your TV to get a higher resolution. I haven't seen this product in stores yet, but certain games you can already buy list themselves as compatible with the adapter.
  • Yes I can finally stop booting into windows to use Bleem!

    Does Bleem run under WINE?
  • Let's see. $329 for a piece of software or $99 for a playstation. Hell, for that price, I can afford to buy a TV to go with the playstation and still have it cost less than the Windows version of the software.

    kwsNI
  • IIR, the playstation 2 uses, for sound processing, the same chip that the orignal playstation uses for everything --so it just runs old playstation games off of the sound chip

  • Hemos (Score:4)

    by Duxup ( 72775 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2000 @06:34AM (#1268377) Homepage
    Hemos
    The firewall between the world, Rob's posts, and total chaos.
  • Sorry, I posted that before they updated the story with the real message. I've gotten less sleep than Rob lately.

    But the point stands. I install Windows to get something I want, no matter how much it galls me. If someone buys Linux, even if it's only to run this one particular program, it's no different. It may not apply in this case; I guess it depends on how the licenses for the VGS to shake out.
  • I know what an Operating System is. My quesiton was "Has RedHat dropped their committment (?) to include only Open Source software on their CDs"?
    --
  • Nope! Didn't miss a thing. Only thing is that you actually read the link, unlike the Slashdot editor who posted this...

    I'm all for 0-day articlez, d00dz, but let's try and get this stuff right, okay? This is really gonna piss a lotta people off if slashdot keeps it up. (I'll betcha anything that someone already submitted this article earlier, with the facts straight, and it was rejected.) I can tell you all that a few trends are going to develop if the editors don't smarten up:

    Inaccurate article info posted about previously-submitted material ----> people who actually make an effort to be accurate stop submitting articles to Slashdot

    Old articles reposted ----> readership declines. (oh, is today a repeat?)

    Andover.Net buys Slashdot ----> slashdot editors spend more time "networking," writing code, less time maintaining site.

    More moderator controls ----> people pour red hot grits all over Natalie Portman.

    Suggestion: send all articles through a filter, whereby all links in the article are checked against those that have already been posted on slashdot in the past. Then you can colour code 'em so that the slashdot editors know which have already been posted about, and which haven't.

    Additionally, I'd recommend actually following the link, and totally ignoring what the original person posted. After following the link, if you think you're going to post it on Slashdot, come back and check what they wrote. If they got it wrong, write something else but give them kudos for finding the link.

    Another suggestion I've heard several people mention is a seperate slashdot page that lists every possible submission in the submission queue. Let people with moderation points go in there and moderate up or down the articles themselves. (This doesn't mean that the higher-karmaed articles necessarily have to be added; just that they'd be more likely to be looked at by the editors.)

    Also, I know it's been said many a time before, but I'd just like to repeat that getting people from other time zones to be editors would be a good thing. Weekends are pretty slow otherwise.

    One last wee little suggestion; give any "extra" editors a posting limit for the day. This way, they'll be more inclined to weed through the crap, rather than just posting the crap along with the good.

    Comments?

    James
    --
    http://chat.carleton.ca/~jhelfert
  • The reasoning would go that if Redhat is allowed to do it, Apple is allowed to do it, then basically anyone can do it, which means why can't Microsoft do it?

    It's appearing to be the norm of the industry...
  • Actually, it's already out (P/N HKT-8100). Nothing short of amazing. Mmmm, Soul Calibur on a monitor.

    On one end it's got RCA A/V ports and an S-Video port, and on the other side it's got an SVGA video port and stereo audio jack. There's a small toggle switch on the front of the box to select PC or TV.

  • To further clarify: (What the hell does:
    VPC is not be released for Linux at this time
    mean anyway?)

    There is no program FOR Linux being released
    here. They are releasing a Mac program that
    emulates a PC and including Linux WITH it.
  • No.

    Bleem fakes windows out to get 'ring-0' access via an 'exploit' of a core dll.

    All you gotta do is make windows slightly more secure and bleem will need to recode.
  • I know what an Operating System is. My quesiton was "Has RedHat dropped their committment (?) to include only Open Source software on their CDs"?

    I think that there are some things by default that cannot go into all CDs. I know that when I tried to order a Red Hat CD there were two versions. One was the "GPL" cd the other was the standard version. The starndard version contains a number of other goodies that you have to pay for because otherwise Red Hat would violate liscencing term.

    Debian dosn't distribute the non-free or other restricted directores in their CDs because that would violate some liscencing. If you want those programs you have to download the additional .debs.
  • Virtual PC is not the same as Virtual GameStation. Think before ya post.

  • I can play GameBoy games on my Super Nintendo (remember Super Game Boy?).

    Better color, too.
  • Hemos wrote:

    OK, this issue got confused: Red Hat won't be bundling VGS with Red Hat. Instead, Connectix will be bundling Red Hat with their Virtual PC emulator. VPC is not released for Linux at this time. I'll make sure Rob gets some more coffee before posting again. *grin*

    The second to last sentence should say:

    VGS (Virtual Game Station) is not released for Linux at this time.

    Having Virtual PC for Linux wouldn't make much sense . A PC emulating a PC? Riiiight.

    Ben
  • This does raise a question that Tux Games [tuxgames.com] has been debating for a while now.

    Do people think that a company that JUST sells Linux Games should also sell games known to work under emulation, such as WINE, or this virtual playstation?

    Sure, we would make more money, but does this hurt the cause of Linux as a gaming platform in itsown right?

    We are leaning on the side of 'yes, it hurts the cause and so we will not stock these games', but what do others think?

  • Just incase you want to run Civ:CTP networked. Silly, yes, but I've actually had to do this.

  • duh,... (Score:1)

    by ebbv ( 34786 )

    both are owned by nintendo,... hell-o. :)
    ...dave
  • I haven't tried it, but from what I understand the answer is a no. Bleem runs too close to the bleeding edge of directX (they want you to have 7.0). You might be able to run it in SW emulation mode, but I doubt it.
  • Makes any Playstation game look PC quality.

    Since games like Boulderdash and Indy 500 are PC games too you are right, but Q3A it ain't.

  • Well, for one, there are some binaries out there than are only compiled for x86... so if you just wanted to test the apps out, Mac users would have to spring for a PC.

    For two, Mac's are fast enough to emulate x86's at reasonable speeds... So if you're not dying for the best performance possible, this would be okay.

    And for three... It's much more convenient to just have to launch an application happens to be Linux, then to reformat and repartition your hard drive, install linux, and then have to reboot whenever you want to use your other operating system.

    I think it'd be awesome for web developers, some who use mac's for graphics... You could do your graphics in photoshop or flash, transfer them to VPC, which would be running Apache and Perl, and you could get a genuine feel to how your site would work...

    I'm still waiting for a PowerPC emulator for PowerPC's.... Like VMware. Mac users now have a few choices in OSes: OS 8.x, OS 9, OS X Server, OS X Consumer (soon), Linux PPC, MkLinux, MacBSD... It'd be nice to have a way to run them all without having to repartition drives....

    Then again, it'd be nice if every OS vendor would be so kind as to let the user choose from among a variety of filesystems... But that's probably a pipedream.
  • Why would people want to get VPC w/ Red Hat? I can think of a few reasons...

    1) Red Hat is not available for Macs at all. Yes you can get LinuxPPC, but Red Hat is pretty much the "corporate" distro. You know, the one your PHB has heard of...

    2) To install LinuxPPC you need to repartition the hard drive. For VPC, just create a new HD image file, and you can format it till the sun don't shine, while your files stay safe. Great for people who "just wanna have a look at that linux thing."

    And Connectix includes customized drivers for video and NIC (at least for VPC w/ Windows) which make the simulated PC box run at reasonable speed. What Connectix should do now is to make whatever drivers they make for VPC w/ RH available for other VPC owners so we can go install RH ourselves.

  • Hooray! (Score:1)

    by bmetz ( 523 )
    It's good to see them come right out and say
    "oops we goofed!"

    Maybe I'm not following closely enough, but it seems like ./ tries to keep their apologies for
    major inaccuracies like that to a minimum.
  • Having Virtual PC for Linux wouldn't make much sense. A PC emulating a PC? Riiiight.

    ...you mean like what VMWare does?

    I have been playing with VMWare and it is quite useful, my main platform is Linux but am sometimes forced to run other OS' VMWare allows me to run NT, 9x, BSD, etc.and with the newest Beta, even OS/2 without re-booting. so Yes it WOULD make sense.

    Chris
  • A lot if it is both non-OS and non-OS

    Damn these acronyms!
  • I'm still waiting for a PowerPC emulator for PowerPC's.... Like VMware. Mac users now have a few choices in OSes: OS 8.x, OS 9, OS X Server, OS X Consumer (soon), Linux PPC, MkLinux, MacBSD... It'd be nice to have a way to run them all without having to repartition drives....
    It's called Mac-on-Linux, it's available at http://www.ibrium.se/linux [ibrium.se], and it's GPL'ed. What more could you want? I use it all the time, my only complaint is slightly slow video unless I'm running it fullscreen on it's own VT.
  • A) It would just be a competitor to VmWare then... obviously a market for such a product must exist.

    B)I wouldn't mind having Virtual PC ported to my non-x86 Linux machine. They do exist, ya know.

    Besides, the entire article is about virtual PC, nothing mentioned VGS except Hemos...

  • At the risk of breaking with the 'ethos' of open source, Yes. Games SHOULD be sold that work under multiple platorms/emulations. The answer is to make the games widely available and open source themselves. It may slightly marginalize the Linux platform as a gaming OS, but I don't think that's a big loss in the name of greater availability of content (OPEN content). This isn't an OS issue really. All games should be developed as open source. Everyone could port to their console/system of choice. You simply buy the source (don't get me into the copyright issues, you guys sell them, you figure out a way to protect the investment, it's not our job as consumers). In the case of Sony suing the emulator companies, or Microsoft chosing to be console specific w/the hypothetical X-Box..well..they're losing out. Microsoft could wipe the floor with Sony the they made and SOLD an emulator for the X-Box that ran on a suffiently powerful PC. Additionally if they opened up the OS for the X-Box people should be able to port Win32 games to the X-Box. It would make Microsoft a mint (well another one). Additionally some of the focus would shift to increasing hardware returns as platforms vied for your dollars. (Free X-Box with MSN and the purchase of a 'hit/gotta have' game). So not only should you stock the games, you should start writing them!!! Get with it =) Linux could kick ass running on a console but we need more open markets to enable this. And the answer is to let consumers make choices about their platform. Well.. that's it..sorry you asked? **Disclaimer: I work for one of the companies above**
  • I have been playing with VMWare and it is quite useful, my main platform is Linux but am sometimes forced to run other OS' VMWare allows me to run NT, 9x, BSD, etc.and with the newest Beta, even OS/2 without re-booting. so Yes it WOULD make sense.

    But is that emulation or just a virtual machine?

    Ben

  • UPDATE - Sony sues Connectix... again... (Score:3)

    by gsfprez ( 27403 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2000 @10:03AM (#1268406)
    http://macnn.com/features/sony-pat ent-suit.shtml [macnn.com]

    It seems like Sony just won't be an IBM-ish pansy when it comes to others reverse engineering their gear... So instead, they are going to Johnny Cochran Connectix out of existence (sue them till they run out of money) even if they have to use the Chewbacca offense...

    South Park Johnny Cochran: Chewbacca is a Wookie.. who lives on Kashyykk... with Ewoks.. now does that make any sense?!?!?!

    Then you must aquit.

    Sony - get a life - make PlayStation 2 and don't worry! Your stuff is going to get legally REd eventually.. sorry to break it to you. Call IBM and cry on their fuckin shoulder.

  • Dear Jerry Normandin Thank you for contacting Connectix Corporation. No, that is a rumor. Thanks for letting us know. We may look into it in the future though. Tracking Number: 26848 Agent: Dennis Dubinsky I read on slashdot that you have the Virtual Gamestyation for Linux. Where can I buy it? I've got my own Linux development stations so I won't want to load a new OS. I am running a current OS right now (Mandrake 6.2). Also can you recompile the code so it will run on the linuxPPC machines. I have a G3 with 256MB of ram that I also use to develop code for Linux. What's the reality on this, is this dude right or is he in the dark?
  • Does anyone know if the psx2 is going to be able to
    render the 3d images of psx1 games better?
    would it be like playing on un-accelerated pc and
    a pc with a voodoo3? Just wondering if that is a possibility.

    ArsonSmith
  • uh the PII 250 might be a problem can we use a 266 insted
  • when judging the quality you need to keep in mind that most tv's even farly new high dollar ones only have between 500 and 800 lines of resolution not to metion the fact that the dp is something silly like .45 and oposed to .28 the next time you get the chance get close to your tv like 6 to 8 inches and see how much space there is between pixels then do the sam with a monitor remember if your in the US the specs for you tv where set in the 60's when then first introduced color television
  • http://www.latimes.com/bus iness/20000211/t000013497.html [latimes.com]

    (I submitted this as an article a while ago, but it was rejected)

    --

  • Mac stuff on Linux and PCs well you where closer that cmdrtaco but what i think you ment to say is it will let you run your linux/win stuff on a mac it sounds like id just sets up a virtual machine and lets you run a copy of another OS

  • Re:Why? (Score:2)

    by GoRK ( 10018 )
    Someone already mentioned Mac-On-Linux. There are a couple more Mac emu's for LinuxPPC in development, though. SheepShaver [sheepshaver.com] is working on a Linux/PPC port of their popular BeOS/PPC product. And ARDI [ardi.com] has just released a version of their Executor product for Linux/PPC. Executor doesn't emulate PowerPC, but it does emulate a 68040 quite well, and it doesnt require Macintosh ROM's, a real Macintosh, or MacOS to run Mac software.

    ~GoRK
  • this is completly of topic but I wander if they use the native PPC version of NT 4 in their VPC NT version? since it's the only one that would run on a PPC natively. It would probably be the only one that would run halfway decent since all the others not only have to run in a virtual machine but also have to emulate a completely different processor architecture
  • Instead of worrying about whether someone will buy products for "the wrong reasons," it seems more sensible to help them see that there are *multiple* reasons to buy products that are flexible and have good licenses, and that price is just one of them.

    For instance, if you have three computers at home (and there surely are quite a few of both the Free and non-free types who do), you can morally / legally install GPLed software on all of them. I'll put that in the "better" category.

    If you can purchase it for less in the first place, so much the better -- that's what I'll put in the "good" category.

    And in the "best" category in my view is that Free licenses (pick yor favorite) allow code to improve and evolve. Elements can be combined, value added, new uses found ...

    None are bad, all are good. :)

    Tim

  • Yes, Sony just turned around and sued Connectix again, this time on grounds that Virtual GameStation infringes on eleven Sony patents. MacNN has the story at http://www.macnn.com/features/ sony-patent-suit.shtml [macnn.com]. (I submitted it last night, but it got rejected. Who's editing this stuff, anyway?)

    Connectix won in the 9th Circuit court last week, but that was a copyright infringement case. Sony is trying a new tactic now.

  • If you take the virtual tour of Virtual PC on their main web site they pronounce Linux the BAAAADDD!!!! WAY!!! NoooooOOOOOooooOOOOOO!!!

  • Tennon MachTen runs BSD Unix on top of MacOS. [tenon.com]

    In addition, MacOS X server does run a 'virtual machine' to boot the classic MacOS environment. A/UX did something similar.


    --
  • Actually Bleem! will do any resolution your D3D card and monitor will support. PSX games start looking PRETTY good at 1600x1200x32 on my computer........
  • Spoken like a proper AC
  • Or perhaps One Of No Name, many of our readers don't have a clue. Slashdot isn't the place that it used to be just. It's more like the out of the way club that's been discovered by the mainstream. The population is larger, it's different and the rules change.

    Slashdot still is a place for and about geeks. But to paraphrase Pope. I think we can get out of the "Proper Study of Geeks is...." debate.

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