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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 4</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8"> 
          Play Where You Like!</font></p>
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          <font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          Jeff &quot;<a target="" href="mailto:jeff@solomania.com">nonick</a>&quot; 
          Solomon</font></b></font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Simple math 
          is the Mac's biggest hurdle to succeeding as a dominant gaming platform. 
          Currently, the Mac OS accounts for roughly 10% of the computer industry 
          (a percentage up from last year, actually), which means that all titles 
          developed for it are inherently limited to a smaller user base. From 
          a developer's point of view, this fact can overshadow any potential 
          superiority that a given platform may have in terms of technical features.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As is the case 
          with most software, the premiere titles that are available for Windows 
          are usually also available in Mac versions. In gaming terms, this translates 
          to examples such as <b>Quake</b>, <b>Unreal</b>, and <b>WarCraft</b>, 
          amongst others. Sometimes the Mac versions appear first, but the most 
          typical scenario finds Mac versions arriving after Windows versions, 
          and often receiving limited support.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While the Mac 
          is an excellent platform for multimedia and gaming, it suffers from 
          some very significant core weaknesses in the basic architecture of its 

          operating system. Mac OS 8.5, the newest version of the Mac's system 
          software, due to be released in October, is still based on core OS features 
          that were not designed to drive computers in today's world of extremely 
          powerful processors and resource intensive applications.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Mac OS suffers 
          from the "compatibility syndrome" that also plagues Windows 95/98. The 
          system has been held at the mercy of its incredibly large library of 
          existing software. The Mac OS needs to be able to run the majority of 
          programs that exist for it, but it can't take important steps forward 
          technologically without breaking many of the programs- and games- that 
          were designed to depend on the system's core functionality.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There is, however, 
          a light at the end of the tunnel. The Macintosh market is going to become 
          a lot more interesting next year with the release of Mac OS X, a major 
          revision to the platform's aging OS that, at least on paper, promises 
          to bring many of the system's most sought-after features to the table. 
          Based on Rhapsody, which is a work-in-progress, modified version of 
          the NextStep operating system that Apple has been working on for two 
          years, Mac OS X will leave behind the aging architecture that has plagued 
          the Mac OS's ability to compete with more modern OSes for years. Full 
          preemptive multitasking, multithreading, protected memory, support for 
          OpenGL…Mac OS X will give developers a platform that is roughly on par 
          buzzword-wise with Windows 95/98 and NT, and arguably even better. Better 
          yet, Mac OS X purports to implement these features in a fashion that 
          will preserve compatibility with the vast majority of software that 
          was written for previous versions.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It remains to 
          be seen if Mac OS X will be able to deliver on its lofty promises, and 
          even if it does, if Apple can attract a significant share of developers 
          to what will undeniably still be a platform with a small user base. 
          Assuming the best, the technology will be in place to deliver a very 
          competent gaming platform, and Apple has demonstrated of late that it 
          has the ability to create positive mindshare and renewed excitement 
          in the Mac world. The iMac is a perfect example of this- it is the only 
          example in recent years of a computer model that has generated industry-wide 
          excitement. This is certainly going to be an exciting arena to monitor 
          over the next year or so.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Linux community 
          is launching an all-out attack on Microsoft's operating systems, and 
          the assault extends to gaming as well. <b>Quake</b> and <b>Quake 2</b> 
          are available for Linux, as are a variety of other games, many of which 
          are user ports and hacks. There are scarce few large companies that 
          are currently developing and distributing software for Linux (id is 
          an exception), but, ironically, this fact may in the end help contribute 
          to the platform's ultimate success.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Linux is the 
          operating system of the people. It's a very powerful, robust, and mature 
          variation of UNIX that is maintained by the Internet community at large, 
          and as such has accumulated a very strong support network and rabid 
          following that is bent on doing whatever it can to make Linux succeed. 
          Most Linux supporters share a similar vision of the future: a scene 
          in which the Windows logo suffers the same fate as the Statue of Liberty 
          at the end of <i>Planet of the Apes</i>.</font></p>


        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The biggest 
          weakness that Linux faces is the simple fact that it is a piecemeal 
          system that is, at this point, still far too complicated for the average 
          person to use effectively. Linux requires a large amount of system knowledge 
          to configure properly, and can be very difficult to tame when it comes 
          to installing device drivers for esoteric hardware.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">These difficulties 
          make Linux less practical for most users who have a hard enough time 
          getting Windows to run properly. In this regard, Linux is not an ideal 
          gaming solution for everyone in its current state. However, these problems 
          are not intrinsically linked to Linux as an operating system, and will 
          most likely vanish as the platform matures over time. They're simply 
          growing pains, and it's remarkable how quickly the OS is moving through 
          them.</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm sure that 
          most people who are reading this article are familiar with Linux, and 
          many will argue that it is a superior platform that deserves to replace 
          all forms of Windows in the near future. For those who can cope with 
          Linux now, this statement is valid. The point, however, is that Linux 
          needs to develop as a consumer operating system before it receives the 
          level of support that Windows receives. The day that typical users can 
          run games on Linux with the same amount of system interaction that is 
          needed with Windows will mark a very important turning point for the 
          computer industry as a whole, and a potential departure from the Windows 
          standard that has helped define the scope of the industry.</font></p>
        <p>&nbsp;</p>
        <p align="RIGHT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+1">(<a href="index6.php" target="">continued 
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    <td><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
      Illustration &copy; 1998 Mike Sanzone. Play Where You Like! is &copy; 1998 
      Jeff Solomon. All other content is &copy; 1998 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
      productions</a>. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited, so don't 
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