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Elementary OS: Windows Apps with Play on Linux

October 5, 2016 / / 0 Comments

One of the major issues when using Linux is that you would like to use Software that was written for Windows. Thankfully more and more new Software is cross-platform compatible. However especially older Software and most newer Games will not support Linux.

If you are dependent on using Windows Software then you have several options available. Dual-Boot Windows and Linux, use a Virtual Machine (like VirtualBox or try  WineHQ

Wine essentially translates the Windows Commands to Linux Commands at run-time. Eliminating the penalty of using a virtual machine. The downside of Wine is, that not all new programs run properly. However it seems games that were written for Windows XP work better with Wine than with Windows 10.

The last time I was playing with Linux I found it very difficult to configure and find packages. You need wine, wine-tricks, then install some other windows package into wine etc.  This time I found another project Play on Linux that provides an easy to use GUI with quick Installers for many different programs.

The other thing which makes “Play on Linux” great, is that it can create multiple virtual drives, for your various programs. So you can use different versions of Wine, or configure the different drives to emulate a different version of Windows, use different components etc.

Install Play on Linux

wget -q "http://deb.playonlinux.com/public.gpg" -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo wget http://deb.playonlinux.com/playonlinux_trusty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/playonlinux.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install playonlinux

Battle.net games

Play on Linux shines the most when it already provides an installer that automatically configures Wine correctly to install all components that the program simply runs without any additional work.

You just locate Hearthstone, Diablo or Starcraft from the list and press install and the program will work without any issues.

Windows Steam Games

Step 1

Install Windows Steam. Play on Linux provides easy installers for Steam, simply search for steam in the installer menu and press install.

selection_001

Installer for Steam

 

Step 2

You will have to look up in the Wine AppDB if your game is supported by Wine.

If it is supported you then can log into steam and install games from your library just like in windows.

Step 3

Usually you will need to install some sort of additional windows package to get the program running.

In my case I wanted to install Tron 2.0, in the documentation for the program. Something like needs “winetricks directmusic” was mentioned.

To install “directmusic” you need to select Steam and click on Configure. Then switch to the Install components Tab and then select the component from the list and press install.

selection_003

Install a missing component

 

In some cases, like with my Tron 2.0 example, this is not enough and you have to google some more to find some helpful [article] (http://www.gamersonlinux.com/forum/threads/tron-2-0-guide.628/) that then tells you to install additional components  and not to use the Windows XP emulation but the Windows 7 emulation.

Custom Installers

Of course you may have your own Programs, you can simply click on “Install non-listed program” navigate to the installation files and install your program.

Access to Files

Play on Linux installs a handy shortcut into your home directory, so that you can easily access the various virtual hardrives of the Play on Linux instances, if you have the need to copy&modify files.

 

Conclusion

While Wine is not perfect and not everything runs smoothly and out of the box like when using Windows directy. It is worth fiddling around with Wine/Play on Linux to not have to dual boot or get a VM running.

 

 

 

EdX: Introduction to Linux

August 9, 2014 / / 0 Comments

I recently completed the course “Introduction to Linux” by the Linux Foundation on the edX platform. Instead of paying 2500USD for the course you now can pay 250USD for a verified certificate, or simply get an honor certificate.

https://www.edx.org/course/linuxfoundationx/linuxfoundationx-lfs101x-introduction-1621#.U-YKjfmSyyY

Course Structure

The course is self-paced, you can take the exam anytime and at the end of the month the certificate is going to be issued.

Course Materials

Unlike other edX courses most of the materials are short articles covering the core topics. There are short videos, however they are mostly useless.

Learning Objectives

Sadly the first couple of Lessons are more like Advertisements that Linux is great and that Linux is used everywhere and being able to use Linux is an important skill.

The rest of the course covers the basic operations when interacting with a Linux system.

The course briefly takes a look at the graphical interfaces of three major Linux distributions Ubuntu, CentOS and openSUSE.

As expected most of the course covers how to interact with the Console covers the basic interaction with the console, file operations, security principles, text manipulation and concluding with bash scripting.

Final Exam

The final exam is a 30 question multiple choice test. Sadly some questions are easier to be answered using Google than the actual course material.

People with an basic understanding of Linux could just skip the entire course and just take the exam. It’s rather straightforward.

Conclusion

The course is a great introduction to the Linux System. The course is designed for IT-Specialists (Programmers, Web-Developers, and Administrators etc.) that have not worked with Linux and need a quick introduction how to work with the system.

Sadly with the emphasis on using the console most users interested in using Linux as alternative to Windows/OSX will simply say “Oh god, what a hassle, I’ll stick to my current system.” Once again Linux does not realize that GUIs have been invented to solve an issue where most people find it confusing when they do not see what they are doing.

Most users interacting with a computer are not aware that it is possible to interact with a computer without GUI, telling those users that sometimes you simply do not have a GUI confuses them. Most of the success of Linux as core of Android is the GUI and that users have a simple way installing programs and are not able to access any console / text only mode.

Once again the core of Linux is great, however the presentation and usability is that what sells Linux.

 

 

SteamOS: Beta

December 15, 2013 / / 1 Comment

Valve has released a beta version of their OS. Hyped as the “killer app” for Linux and many hoped it will be the replacement for Windows.

In reality SteamOS is not going to be the Windows Desktop replacement OS. It is going to be a OS to be used with your TV and game-pad. Exactly like Valve has originally advertised the system, an OS for a “steam machine”; a computer controlled primarily by an game controller. The system is designed to compete with other consoles like the XBox or Playstation. The system is now in its beta state. Mostly Linux enthusiasts and hardware distributors are probably interested in the system.

The OS will be delivered to the majority of users on a pre-installed “steam machine”. Most Users will never have to interact with the underlying Linux environment and the computer will only be used for gaming purposes.

However time will tell how this development will effect the overall perception and acceptance of the Linux platform. Hardware developers like Nvidia and AMD have already announced a better driver support for the Linux platform. Hopefully major software developers will follow suit.

System Requirements

From the official site the hardware requirements are as follows:

  • Intel or AMD 64-bit capable processor
  • 4GB or more memory
  • 500GB or larger disk
  • NVIDIA graphics card (AMD and Intel graphics support coming soon)
  • UEFI boot support
  • USB port for installation

Oddly the requirements stated is the need for a 500GB disk. However after installation the OS requires only around 2.7GB, making the installation on a smaller disk is technically possible. Valve has not yet said anything more specific why 500GB are needed. It looks like the requirements are more of a guideline for a suitable gaming system.

Installation

There are two ways of installing the OS either restoring an existing image or doing a clean install.  Many users were reporting issues with the restore method as well as  the requirement of a 1TB disk to restore the image. Thus it is easier to do a clean install.

Clean Install

  1. Prepare a disk, the installation will automatically partition your drive, no matter what previous system is installed. (= everything is going to be deleted)
  2. Download the installation files from http://repo.steampowered.com/download/SteamOSInstaller.zip
  3. Extract the zip file to an USB-disk (formatted as FAT32)
  4. Boot the system from the USB-disk and follow the automatic installation setup

First Start

  1. Select the Gnome Desktop
  2. Log on as user “steam”, password: “steam”
  3. Log on as user “desktop”, password: “desktop”

Initial Impression

Sadly the Steam Interface never loaded on my system. I did not spend a lot of time on tinkering around with it, as it is currently in the state of preview/beta software. I hope Valve gets a lot of feedback and can fix these issues.

However most of the experience is positive, the install procedure was smooth and automated and you did not have to know anything about computers to get it running except how to “boot from usb-stick”. Mostly user-friendly, however they currently have not put a lot of work into their installer and a couple of more options would be nice.

Conclusion

Sadly I can’t say a lot about the new OS – it is beta software and I could not get it to work with my PC – However it is going to be an interesting development to watch in the next couple of years.

Official Links

Announcement: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/
Download: http://repo.steampowered.com/download/ 
FAQ: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/1/648814395741989999/ 

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