Railworks for Linux

[USRailFan]

My point was, at least that's how it seemed to be about 10-12 years ago when I was dabbling with Linux, that the userbase seems to have a very negative attitude towards newbies to Linux. Basically, going to a Linux user forum, and posting that you were from mostly a Windows background and was rather new to Linux, was a surefire way to attract nothing but ridicule and abuse. If that was the common way of 'greeting' new users, there is absolutely no wonder the user base is miniscule.

[gptech]

My point was, at least that's how it seemed to be about 10-12 years ago when I was dabbling with Linux, that the userbase seems to have a very negative attitude towards newbies to Linux. Basically, going to a Linux user forum, and posting that you were from mostly a Windows background and was rather new to Linux, was a surefire way to attract nothing but ridicule and abuse. If that was the common way of 'greeting' new users, there is absolutely no wonder the user base is miniscule.

Ahhh, I misunderstood your previous post and now I agree with you---there was, and probably still is, an attitude of 'Linux is for Linux geeks' and newcomers aren't made to feel welcome.

[lemberg]

I personally don't see the need to upgrade the operating system if the one your using is adequate for the job in hand.

Keith

[gswindale]

I saw W8 described this weekend as a completely new OS with a W7 emulator built in, which doesn't bode well for a start. I've now found the reference I mentioned before, in PC Pro magazine, July 2012, page 55. It's in an article about creating Metro apps and it says "...to use a Metro app that hasn't been installed from the Windows Store you currently need a developer's licence installed on the local machine. When it's released, the Enterprise edition of Windows 8 should be able to install and run Metro apps without going through the Store, but to keep things secure it's expected that this won't be possible in other editions."

I think the important point in that is the reference to W8ui apps. It doesn't say anything about existing software, but only apps using the new W8ui.

There is so much software out there that will not use the W8ui for corporate users who will not want the enterprise edition for their end users, that to limit all installs to coming through the store seems a little pointless.

I would seriously expect that "normal" software will run as now, but W8ui apps will only be available through the store.

[Kariban]

Hard to view Linux as a 'newbie'.... but the biggest hurdle is the fact that the vast majority just want to be able to turn the PC on, stick a DVD in, click the 'GO' button and within an hour the OS is installed, and installing programs being a mini version of that---no configuring, no command line etc.
We've seen a drive to make PC's more intuitive, but of course you could see this is a more polite way of saying 'dumbing down' and this means that that vast majority has been conditioned not to think.

Most linux distros are like that, aren't they? I only tend to install servers, but I'm pretty sure there's a "install default desktop" checkbox; and installing apps is usually a "tick app, press install" sort of thing if it's an app known to the distro. It's when you start installing random stuff that isn't packaged for the distro that you start having to mess with commandlines.

Still, no games on linux, no point for most people anyway.

[AndyM77]

Relates to 'Left 4 Dead 2', but interesting nevertheless... http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/ (Linux = higher framerates )

[gptech]

Yes, interesting...but..

Those kind of frame rates mean nothing in a RailWorks world, I doubt anybody in here will see frame rates in 3 figures, and the game we play doesn't need it anyway. Related to that is the hardware they've used; I'm not going to be the one who tells jimmyshand that that's what he needs!!
Linux is good; very, very good at doing what it's designed to do--and powerful enough to allow things it wasn't designed to do work with work very well under it, but as Kariban has pointed out:

It's when you start installing random stuff that isn't packaged for the distro that you start having to mess with commandlines.

I will admit it's been nigh on a decade since I did anything with any Linux distro (distribution) so I expect things have become much easier than they used to be, but I still can't see the average train geek finding it a breeze.
That article could be read as '11 geeks contacting their geek chums who work for the hardware manufacturers and spending 'X' hours living on nicotine and caffeine to eventually end up with some (admittedly very) impressive figures'
I don't want to knock their achievements, but there's nothing there that excites me in relation to RW, at least not in it's present incarnation----even the most ardent RW/RSC fans amongst us can't deny the game has 'issues', and if they can't be sorted on the platform it was written for how can we expect it to be successfully ported to another?

[rivimey]

My point was, at least that's how it seemed to be about 10-12 years ago when I was dabbling with Linux, that the userbase seems to have a very negative attitude towards newbies to Linux. Basically, going to a Linux user forum, and posting that you were from mostly a Windows background and was rather new to Linux, was a surefire way to attract nothing but ridicule and abuse. If that was the common way of 'greeting' new users, there is absolutely no wonder the user base is miniscule.

Ahhh, I misunderstood your previous post and now I agree with you---there was, and probably still is, an attitude of 'Linux is for Linux geeks' and newcomers aren't made to feel welcome.

A lot has changed in the last decade. The Ubuntu distro is targeted at "ordinary" users, the command line can (if you want) be banished entirely (and indeed on modern versions can be quite as hard to find as on Windows). Installing programs - at least from the normal sources - can be as simple as click an "install this" button.

There's a lot to like for the ordinary user about some modern Linux distros, and I would encourage you to go have a look at Ubuntu 13, Fedora 16, or Linux Mint 13.

As for RailWorks.. well lets just say that the chance of it popping up on Linux and running natively there is close to zero. While I haven't seen internals, I would expect a conversion project to be of the order of a man-year. It just won't happen.

Regards
Ruth

[rivimey]

Still, no games on linux, no point for most people anyway.

There are, actually, quite a few games on Linux. Nowhere near as many as for Windows, but there are some.

Ruth

[gptech]

A lot has changed in the last decade

Go on...make me feel old, why don't you?....

Installing programs - at least from the normal sources - can be as simple as click an "install this" button....

...ties in well with Karibans point though, as the 'normal sources' (so far) don't include RSC, nor (yet) Steam.

[Kariban]

Still, no games on linux, no point for most people anyway.

There are, actually, quite a few games on Linux. Nowhere near as many as for Windows, but there are some.

Ruth

Not any killer apps that will make the average consumer see a point, though. Or, well, if there are then they need better marketing...

Perhaps Valve need to do Valve Linux. Mac OSX onwards is a version of BSD unix and random people don't seem to find that hard to use, it's not like it *has* to be awkward.

[lemberg]

The thing is, will Linux be as good when all sorts of software gets thrown at it. Windows gets slated for bsod's but when you consider the amount of software that's thrown at it I'm not supprised.


Keith

[Kariban]

If the video drivers are any good, then it should be ultra-stable. I've never had a complete server crash that wasn't the fault of dodgy hardware, it's very, very hard to kill a unix machine completely. Giving low-level access to the video card would be one way...

[RudolfJan]

Hits on my web site, which are mainly from RailWorks and ham radio enthusiasts who are likely to be technically savvy show 0.4% of users with Linux (all types), 2.5% with Mac and the rest with Windows.

Mike.

Your stats maybe are biased, because RW users mostly will need to run Windows and not Linux. The reason should be obvious.

[mikesimpson]

Hmm if true Windows 8 will go the same as MS Flight, Which the studio was recently closed for various reasons. One of the main ones looking on FS forums due to lack of 3rd party support etc.

Chris

Flight had no 3rd party support because MS Flight did not allow 3rd party content to be added at all. This seems to be the way RSC is heading with RailWorks and perhaps they should think twice about it?

Mike