Wizard of IdM

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Today

I just got done spending hours over the last few days trying to disinfect a Windows 2000 machine from malware. Thank goodness there are programs out there like HijackThis and even more importantly Pocket KillBox. The guys writing this malware/spyware crap are amazing and know every nook and cranny to hide stuff, but they are still the enemy.

You'd think that the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool would find this stuff and remove it, but it is clueless and a waste of time.

I told my kids that this is the last time I play administrator at that level. The next infestation and it becomes my second Ubuntu machine. Note to my linux-only friends - spare me the comments, if their RollerCoaster Tycoon and Sims 2 ran on it, I'd be there already, but it doesn't.

Comments:

VMware. Install Ubuntu on the box, get VMware Server (free), and create a Windows VM. Snapshot the VM before anybody gets to play with it. Now you can let them do what they like to the Windows installation and it doesn't matter - you can always revert to the snapshot.

Of course, graphics performance for games might not be as good in VMware, but, hey, you'll save a bunch of time in the future :-)

Posted by Superpat on June 07, 2006 at 10:18 PM CDT #

You can use WINE to run lots of Windows games on Linux without the need for VMware. The purely open source version would probably work pretty well for the games that you mentioned since their requirements are pretty basic, but if not then you could try the Cedega version from TransGaming. Their Games Database states that both Roller Coaster Tycoon and The Sims 2 work very well. I've never tried them, but I have used it to play much more complicated games like HalfLife, Counter-Strike, and Battlefield 1942 on Linux. I always get p0wn3d by all of my friends, but I don't think that I can blame that on the emulation layer.

Posted by Neil Wilson on June 08, 2006 at 08:56 AM CDT #

I would also recommend Neil Wilson's sugestion (for those games in particular, Pat's sugestion would also be fine) but, since you're in Sun, why not to puch more and more for the Java Gaming projects. Project Darkstar was a great start but, why not develop an infrastructure for standalone java games? If you can do it in cell phones, doing it in Computers would be all too easy, IMHO. No one can say that driving the use of Unix in today's kids (tomorrow customers) isn't a GREAT thing

Posted by Jaime Cardoso on June 12, 2006 at 05:48 AM CDT #