Monthly Archives: January 2012

Experiments with Wine Gaming

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While I was working last month (and last year), I had the need and opportunity to setup Linux properly on my laptop.  Windows simply did not cut it for remote development.  After a bit of fighting with some graphics issues (yes, I got bitten by the switching between the Intel and Nvidia GPUs) I managed to setup my Linux system fairly well.  Yes, I am missing out on some of the nice, new hardware features on my laptop like the fingerprint reader.  Nor can I get a nice boot experience due to the combination of a strange widescreen resolution, using the proprietary Nvidia drivers and the plymouth splash screen.  Running full-blast with the Nvidia graphics card does not help my battery much.  But I can live with that.

The experience with using modern Linux and KDE can not be understated.  Not having to fight with your system when setting up development environments helps too.  The icing on the cake, was my most recent experimentation with Wine.  Back in the day when I started using Linux, getting any Windows program running nicely under Wine was a minor miracle.  An update could change that in a hurry.  Getting a 3D game running smoothly under Wine… just did not happen.

Now imagine my surprise when I tried to use Wine on my most current install.  After using winetricks a few times, and a tiny bit of experimenting I managed to run nearly all my Windows games under Linux without too much difficulty.  Nearly all my Steam powered games worked, including Deus Ex, Half Life, and Myst.  Even Microsoft games like Freelancer and Halo ran with very little work.  So did Risk and the original Homeworld with very little effort.  And yes Uru Online which is my favourite of the Myst series runs really well as well.  What makes this great–beside not having to reboot to play a game–is that old games will run with little extra effort without keeping some ancient version of Windows lying around.  Also important to note is that none of the games lagged under Wine, just some minor sound stuttering and weird cursor grabbing.  So one can enjoy most of one’s Windows games under Linux without needed to reboot necessarily.

From Inside a Particle Accelerator…

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Sometime last year, it feels like the pace of my life accelerated to a phenomenal rate.  I would venture that just before I started working in California was when it happened.  Since then much like a particle accelerated in a linear accelerator, it feels like I am moving forward at a frantic pace.  Maybe it is just me, but it feels like that.  The start of this year does not seem to slow down much either.

Not that I am not thankful for everything that has happened.  Living in the SF Bay area.  Experiencing San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Working on some pretty nifty Android technology, all the while learning more and more.  Seeing one of my best friends get married to the love of his life.  Visiting Poland, Germany, Italy and Austria.  Learning how to windsail.  Getting more involved in writing and editing.  Becoming a lot more self-reliant and independent.  Becoming closer to the people I care about.  These and so much more I am truly grateful for.

There have been painful times and experience along the way as well.  The loneliness of not knowing anyone close in California.  Having to change jobs three times in a single year.  The stress and anxiety that came with those and so many other moments.  But that is all just part of the growing process I guess.  Still the whole life hurtling forward of its own accord, feels unsettling.  Maybe I am just getting old.  Maybe all the bad decisions of procrastinating have come back to bite me.  But it would be nice for life to slow down.

So what is next for me?

Well I am looking for my next gig.  I’d like to get further along on my writing and coding projects.  Hopefully catch up on everything and get some of that “slow down” and “stabilize” going on…