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Winex 3.0 Released

syntaxman writes "You'll find the information thread here, or see the release notes. The pre-packaged files (rpms,debs,tarballs) are available only for subscribers."

17 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. A full DirectX Win32 wrapper? by 1337_h4x0r · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The day when it doesn't matter what kind of application you run under linux, all win32/directx apps are supported - is the day this will really take off. While I'm sure alot of these games will work under linux, the day when you can just install and play is when it'll make it to the big time.

    1. Re:A full DirectX Win32 wrapper? by Catiline · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't subscribe because I feel that WINE is holding back the state of native application ports. After all, if Linux has "perfect" emulation of Windows there is no practical reason for developers to port their code to be platform independent. Without a visible need to port to Linux, developers will continue to release games that only support Windows.

      You have a choice: emulate Windows (forever), or seek native software ports. I've chosen native ports, because I think that is the better long-term solution. But if you just can't stand to give over your EverCrack until they provide a Linux client... that is your choice. Just be aware I won't be sympathetic to complaints about the dearth of Linux game ports.

    2. Re:A full DirectX Win32 wrapper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      WineX tackles the chicken and egg problem linux has been experiencing, if you cant grasp that...dont use it..stick with your few ported games.

    3. Re:A full DirectX Win32 wrapper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I don't subscribe because I feel that WINE is holding back the state of native application ports. ... You have a choice: emulate Windows ...

      Do you even know what the acronym Wine stands for?

    4. Re:A full DirectX Win32 wrapper? by alienw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It doesn't have PERFECT application support. That's why you want native ports. Besides, you are probably the only person who is willing to switch to another OS and throw away the thousands of dollars invested in software for win32. Your argument is like saying that dos support in win95 held back native win32 apps. Bullshit, ain't it?

    5. Re:A full DirectX Win32 wrapper? by cdemon6 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Think about that again - let software developers the freedom to choose to add a linux port wheter they need one or not!

      If we have binary emulation of windows apps more people will use linux, and if more people use linux more companies will port their product to native linux. but for the user winex is a really good thing, some companies just can't spend money on a linux port for this few thousand sales atm.

  2. Comment Summary by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Insightful


    30% Why would I want to run windows anyway ?
    20% Its dreadful they limit it to subscribers for the RPMs
    20% This great news, it means I can run X, Y but not Z
    10% It sucks because Z doesn't work
    10% If you want to run Windows you should install windows.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
    1. Re:Comment Summary by autocracy · · Score: 5, Funny

      5% An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi... and they should give it away entirely at their own expense
      5% Complaining about how your numbers didn't add up to 100% (even though it doesn't matter).

      --
      SIG: HUP
  3. good or bad? by fine09 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am so close to switching over to linux, since the work that I do is mostly java programming and web design. Just the fact that I really like to play a couple games now and again.

    I am just wondering if we will ever get the performance we get with games under windows. I know that they have a couple games ported, but in games like FPS where framerates are so important. I think that if Wine can perform in this area, we would see a lot more conversions to linux. Games sell computers, think of the first application that you baught, I know I didn't buy a word processor first(Links386 to be exact).

    Now flame me if i am wrong, but doesn't wine work on some sort of Virtual Machine, thus adding an extra layer between the hardware and the code?

    1. Re:good or bad? by yelvington · · Score: 4, Informative

      "doesn't wine work on some sort of Virtual Machine"

      No.

      http://www.winehq.com/?page=myths

  4. In related news by guacamole · · Score: 4, Interesting

    .. the Wine package for some reason has been removed from the RedHat Linux 9 distribution according to release notes..

    1. Re:In related news by Ed+Avis · · Score: 5, Informative

      Wine was probably removed from Red Hat 9 because it is incompatible with the new threading library (NPTL or whatever it's called). The Wine people have now come up with a workaround, but a real 'port' to the new thread system isn't done yet.

      --
      -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
  5. Nothing happened to OS/2 by HanzoSan · · Score: 4, Interesting



    OS/2 only lost because they didnt try. I didnt see a single OS/2 on any computer except for maybe IBMs computers and eventually IBM even took it off their own computers.

    So if OS/2 did bad it was because of IBM, I had wanted to get OS/2 Warp and an IBM but the cost was ridiculous, this is why I never purchased it and its the same reason I never owned a mac.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
  6. Native ports wont happen until by HanzoSan · · Score: 4, Interesting


    Theres enough Windows users to buy those Native ports using linux.

    How do you attract Windows users? With games. You have to start somewhere, you need a market of gamers before you can sell games. Heres how it can work, use WineX to bring tons of new games, get maybe a million gamers to switch to Linux.

    Now you have a million linux gamers, little independent Linux development companies can sell games, let the big companies sit on the fence while the little linux companies make plenty of money selling games, and suddenly the big companies will see how much money they could be making and start to port.

    This is the only way, you need games to attract gamers, and you need gamers to attract games. So bring games, increased gamers = increased games.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
  7. Re:Great news! by molarmass192 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, WineX didn't do it alone. The majority of the infrastructure is based on WINE so they deserve as much credit for WineX being where it is. WineX did add copy protection support and some impressive performance improvements in the rendering code. WineX does contribute back to the WINE project so they do do the respectable thing.

    --

    Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
  8. WineX - Not as evil as you think. by Karn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anti-Wine claim #1:

    If a company can use WineX for their game, they won't bother making a true native port.

    Here's the deal: If a company cares about it's audience, and a significant number of it's audience are running Linux, they are not going to want to use WineX. Why? Performance. Higher hardware requirements on games means you lessen your audience, so it's in a game developer's best interest to make the game as fast as possible, which means NOT using WineX. In addition to a game developer having to make their game run efficiently to reach more players, they have even more incentive to have their game run well due to competetion. If company X and company Y both have a FPS Doom 3 clone, and company X created a native binary while company Y did not, whose game will Linux gamers choose (assuming the games have comparable gameplay/fun factor)?

    What if a company doesn't care about their Linux audience and decides to use WineX? Well, we lose nothing. If they don't care about their Linux audience (because it's much smaller than it's Windows audience or whatever) then chances are they weren't going to do a native port anyway. For example, it's obvious that Blizzard has no intention of porting to Linux in the near future. If they decided to create a Linux 'port' of World of Warcraft using WineX because it was extremely cheap, it doesn't mean that WineX prevented a native port. We lost nothing, but gain a title which is likely to attract many more Linux gamers, which will increase monetary incentive for companies to port their games to Linux. An example of a company that could have used WineX to port their game, but didn't, would be Bioware. They obviously care about their Linux audience (late port issues aside.)

    To sum this point up, while WineX could cost us a native port or two, it will increase the Linux gamer audience to the point that it is significant, which is usually what is required for companies to even consider a native port of their game. And companies that do choose WineX during the Linux gaming movement's infancy due to monetary reasons will be reconsidering, because the savings from using WineX will be overshadowed by the return from reaching more gamers, and outselling a competetor whose game is less efficient because it uses WineX.

    I'll be buying Neverwinter Nights from Tuxgames.com when it's stable under Linux, I'll be buying Doom 3 from Tuxgames, when it's released, and I'll be buying any other native Linux ports that I can get my hands on. I will also continue to be a Transgaming subscriber so I can play Battlefield 1942, the current game of the year (although, since BF1942 didn't run before, I had to dual-boot, which means I am registering my hits to websites as a Windows user. Is surfing under Linux important? Web hosts know the percentage of Windows users to Linux users.)

    --


    Why do I keep typing pythong?
  9. WINE is Peculiar by repetty · · Score: 4, Funny

    The WINE phenomena is peculiar...

    Imagine that some guy has grown up with an oppressive, domineering, butt-ugly, and mean mother.

    One night, he decides to do something rather independent -- something he knows that she would not approve of: He hires a hooker.

    When she shows up at the hotel room, he hands her some of his mother's clothes to put on, douses her with his mother's perfume, and then he straps a mother mask onto the girl before he does his business.

    Hey guys, if you're going to use Unix or Linux, use Unix or Linux.

    You're creepin' me out.

    --Richard