Reality Factory

I was thinking about checking into torque a while back because of it being so cheap and yet multi platform. Is it majorly slower or can you just barely notice it?

It is very noticeable. The GL driver does not run so well on Mac. I dunno if it's Mac's implementation of OGL, the Mac's video card drivers or just the way Torque is coded.

I don't agree. Linux comes with a great variety of free and open source programs.

It's not about quantity...it's about quality. Quicken is far better than any PFM that Linux has to offer. Quicken is available for Mac, but not Linux. Visual Studio is a much more complete development environment than KDevelop. Microsoft Office is far better than OpenOffice. Those are just some examples. It also depends on how you use the software too.

One thing that is absolutly certain is that I will not be downgrading to Vista. In fact I will probably be upgrading my XP machine to Win2k in the near future when I add more cards. I can't be doing with trying to explain to Billy the Kid why I need to reactivate my OS.

Vista is not a downgrade. It is actually a very nice OS. It is getting a bad rap because of the resources it takes up. That can be tweaked.

I don't understand that last sentence. I've owned Vista since it was released and have never had to reactivate it at any point in time. If you own a legal copy of Windows, you should only have to activate it upon installation. I've never had to do that with XP either.

Personally I am waiting for React OS (a free open source OS that is a clone of windows) but It's not quite usable yet but it's an interesting project.

I too want to see this. It may be over before it starts though. They might be ordered to cease and desist from Microsoft.

This is just an observation and not a negative comment towards you in any way...but it seems that it's not the Windows OS itself you hate (ReactOS is based on Windows architecture), you just don't like paying for it. While I agree it can be made more affordable, I also understand that it's Microsoft's main source of business.

Also...Mac OSX is $129 a copy, why does no one complain about that??

From front page of ReactOS site:

ReactOS® is a free, modern operating system based on the design of Windows® XP/2003. Written completely from scratch, it aims to follow the Windows® architecture designed by Microsoft from the hardware level right through to the application level. This is not a Linux based system, and shares none of the unix architecture.

The main goal of the ReactOS project is to provide an operating system which is binary compatible with Windows. This will allow your Windows applications and drivers to run as they would on your Windows system. Additionally, the look and feel of the Windows operating system is used, such that people accustomed to the familiar user interface of Windows® would find using ReactOS straightforward. The ultimate goal of ReactOS is to allow you to remove Windows® and install ReactOS without the end user noticing the change.

Please bear in mind that ReactOS 0.3.6 is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature-complete and is not recommended for everyday use.

@Paradox
I only have LEGAL operating systems. My XP pc was bought from Dell complete with operating system installed. I do not like the idea that if I do a clean reinstall or upgrade my system beyond a specific unmentioned point by adding cards, changing hard drive, changing myvideo card, or upgrading my memory I will have to reactivate my system and having to convince MS by telephone (that pc is not internet capable it has no modem nor will it ever have) that I am not lying. In their view I am guilty of theft until I can prove mysef innocent. Yes I do have receipts but that is not the point it's the inference that I object to and It's nothing to do with payment either. Vista is in fact similar to and no improvement other than eye candy and requiring much more memory and slower than Xp which is no better in my view than Win2k. Every program I have works perfectly well on win2k and I much prefer this PC to the XPS which has double the memory of this one and is faster due to having dual core processor.
I agree with you that Reactos is very likely to be pulled with a C&D which would be a shame considering that MS lifted their OS from Apple in the first place.

paradoxnj wrote:

I don't agree. Linux comes with a great variety of free and open source programs.

It's not about quantity...it's about quality. (...) Visual Studio is a much more complete development environment than KDevelop.

True, but Eclipse is far more feature-complete (better is debatable, but Eclipse does have more features) than Visual Studio for C++ development. It depends on the program.

bernie wrote:@Paradox
I only have LEGAL operating systems. My XP pc was bought from Dell complete with operating system installed. I do not like the idea that if I do a clean reinstall or upgrade my system beyond a specific unmentioned point by adding cards, changing hard drive, changing myvideo card, or upgrading my memory I will have to reactivate my system and having to convince MS by telephone (that pc is not internet capable it has no modem nor will it ever have) that I am not lying. In their view I am guilty of theft until I can prove mysef innocent. Yes I do have receipts but that is not the point it's the inference that I object to and It's nothing to do with payment either. Vista is in fact similar to and no improvement other than eye candy and requiring much more memory and slower than Xp which is no better in my view than Win2k. Every program I have works perfectly well on win2k and I much prefer this PC to the XPS which has double the memory of this one and is faster due to having dual core processor.
I agree with you that Reactos is very likely to be pulled with a C&D which would be a shame considering that MS lifted their OS from Apple in the first place.

Again...that was not a negative comment toward you in anyway. I was just stating a fact. Adding stuff to your system should not make you reactivate Windows. I've had Vista for a while now and I have changed my video card, changed/added hard drives, added memory, changed my sound card, added a firewire card, and attached an external hard drive to the firewire card. None of this forced me to reactivate. That may be Dell specific or something wrong with your Windows installation.

The statement that there are no improvements in Vista is not true also. Vista added ReadyBoost among other OS features. ReadyBoost takes advantage of the new combo drives that are coming out. The combo drives have a hard drive and flash memory in them. If you use ReadyBoost, your machine will speed up tremendously. You can use it now by sacrificing a USB Drive Key to it. There is also improvements to the graphics core. Explorer is no more, there is now AeroGlass which is 3D capable.

Check out www.tweakvista.com and do some of the tweaks they suggest. I can guarantee you that Vista will run much faster and you will be using your XPS after that.

MS may have lifted Windows from Apple, but Apple lifted Mac OS from Xerox. Linux is a clone of AT&T Unix. There hasn't been a completely original OS since the early 70's.

Yeah you're right, the limitation of software is the only real problem with linux.

The major problem I have with Linux is getting hardware to work. I decided to use Linux for an IR remote translator project I needed for my home theater that would allow my Tivo remote to control the Tivo, Blu-ray player, projector, and receiver just by checking which input the receiver is on and translating the remote's IR commands. This project required the use of two IR transceivers to read and write IR to and from the devices. It was easy to get setup on my standard Dell home PC running Ubuntu, the software was easy to write and the devices installed correctly. But I wanted a low energy and fanless computer to run the software so I got one with an ARM processor. Thought I would be able to just recompile the code since it had a Debian version of Linux and Ubuntu is Debian and that is what Linux users clam. Well they are wrong, it took me days to get the code for all the drivers to compile, I contacted the companies and they helped me but once the drivers were compiled the hardware simply didn't work. I tried 3 different IR transceivers from different companies and each one had different problems when trying to get them to installed.

I finally returned the ARM computer and got a more expensive x86 computer. I was able to install Ubuntu on this computer and use the IR transceivers but then Ubuntu didn't recognize the HDMI port and that was the reason I got a more expensive computer so it can play HD video out the HDMI port. There were drivers for the port but they just didn't work. Also Ubuntu refused to use my wireless keyboard for some reason, the bios was able to detect and use it but wouldn't work when Ubuntu booted.

So I put forth that the major problem with Linux in my experience is hardware compatibility.

Hi!
(The response notification went into my spam folder!) I introduced this to the administrater of the Mac Network I use during the day, and he wants to talk to me about it (to make something educationy)!
I think this is good for all those people who have Macs who want to make games.
On the plus side, it is impossible to edit without a Mac, and you can copy the game data to a windows Play-only version.
I don't like Vista or Macintoshes though, too shiny and the good stuff is hidden (the Vista tower I have needs to have it's RAM chips removed and cleaned, otherwise it will just sit there and bleep) plus some programs won't work on Vista (like Gamemaker 6.1), and Macintosh computers aren't upgradable(well the ones I'm familiar with anyway).
I actually know someone who has stock in Macintosh, he got an OsX when they first came out for a reduced price... when did he invest I wonder? Probably when they had the Apple II (breakout!)
I want to check out LINUX! Especially "Lindows", which is known for windows compatability!
Here is a picture:
http://www.osnews.com/img/5999/lindows1.png
Looks like Windows, no?

Lindows became Linspire after a trademark lawsuit from Microsoft, betrayed the Linux community, and was unceremoniously dumped by them and died. If you like Windows, use Windows. If you want to try Linux, I would recommend Ubuntu. Even if it isn't the best permanent distribution, it has the best hardware support I have seen out of the box, which means far less frustration for the beginner.

GMer wrote:Macintosh computers aren't upgradable(well the ones I'm familiar with anyway).

just to let you know macs are upgradable its just a royal pain in the @$$, reason is that its hard to find parts sometimes.

If you like Windows, use Windows. If you want to try Linux, I would recommend Ubuntu.

If you want the best of both worlds try Wine with Ubuntu. Wine allows Window programs to run under Linux. It has a huge list of popular games and applications that work.

FORGET ALL THEM......

THE OLNY WAY TO GO IS GET THE BEST.......

GET THE SINCLAIR SPECTRUM.......

ardentcrest wrote:FORGET ALL THEM......

THE OLNY WAY TO GO IS GET THE BEST.......

GET THE SINCLAIR SPECTRUM.......

but... that wouldnt run RF or the RF home page.

true

Sinclair Spectrum? Never heard of that computer... (and I love 80's hardware!) thank goodness that wikipedia has almost anything on its pages!
Looks similar to the 1st atari computer without the monitor (it's name escapes me ). I always wanted to see an old computer in action, the most I've seen of one is a Commador 64 computer monitor at a yard sale.

yeah, there cool stuff.

(postin from school dont tell my study hall teacher)

LtForce wrote:Got to face the facts - OS X is useless compared to Windows or Linux.

Agreed, OSX's err... issues, couples with the overpriced but mediocre hardware it ships on makes gaming pretty much impossible, unless you like playing Quake III on Medium detail...

And, Linux FTW!

P.S.

Don't get me wrong, OSX is really shiny, and definitely usable, plus it counts as a UNIX-type OS, I guess. It's not my first choice, but I have no problem using it. It's Steve Jobs' "Hey look! You can get this $800 PC with OSX on it shoved into a pretty white box for only $1100! Normally $1400!" that kills me.

As for Windows, its pretty damn sweet, for a Microsoft product. (Everything else Microsoft makes is unusable, save maybe the XBOX 360) I like Linux better though, but you need to have Windows to play games! WINE can't work with them all