Moriarty said:
Random Fella said:
How do you set up wine? Is it as effective as I hear bootcamp is?
wine is something entirely different than bootcamp.
Bootcamp is just an easy way to create a windows partition, so you need quite a bit of harddrive space and a copy of windows.
Wine is basically an emulator, it doesn't work for every game out there, but it lets you play windows games on a mac os.
I have to do the mandatory thing Wine users have to do and point out that the name actually means "Wine Is Not an Emulator."
Lord knows what they were thinking when they came up with that name.
Probably, "Mmmm, Booze."
Wine what the deciples of OpenSourcia use to run Windows programs on Linux and other, non-corperate operating systems. There's a Mac version, and it offers a few advantages and disadvantages over Bootcamp:
Advantages:
Like Moriarty said, it does function like an emulator would. It works right on your OSX desktop, without any rebooting or overcomplicated finagling. I could run say, Morrowind, right now, while having iPhoto 'n stuff up without issue.
Because its not a seperate partition or operating system, your PC programs can get straight access to all the files on your Mac. I hear trying to open a file on a different OS partition can be bothersome.
It saves a lot of space, not having all the files required for a Windows OS.
You aren't vulnerable to PC viruses 'n nasties from your PC partition affecting your Mac stuff.
Performance can actually be better through Wine than on a PC partition with some programs.
Its free, versus Bootcamp requiring you to buy a license for a Windows OS.
Disadvantages:
Wine is not Windows. I don't know how else to say this, really. Wine isn't always entirely compatible with programs. You can find out which programs work by searching http://www.winehq.org/ .
Using Wine on a Mac means using the Terminal. This means getting to know your way around a text-based interface. For the most part, the internet has provided enough instructions about doing what you want to do so that you never have to learn much about the terminal beyond "cd" "rm" and "wine," but its strangely satisfying to type in a bunch of technobabble and get results. (for me, at least.)
Two words of advice on the terminal:
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE TYPE INTO THE TERMINAL "rm -rf" or "rm -rf *" These are commands to delete everything. "rm" is the delete command. If anyone on the internet tells you to use the "rm" command without you wanting to delete something, they might be a malicious troll.
Also, though not talked about in many Wine instructions, the "ls" command is extremely useful. It tells you your current location and the contents of said directory.
Not to be confused with the Escapist user LS.
Things may not always behave as planned. You may generally get great performance and out-of-the-box functionality, but be prepared for... quirks. For example, Morrowind occasionally has a few audio hiccups, and in Neverwinter Nights, whenever I try to choose a tone other than default in the character creation, I wind up with a metallic look.
So yeah, my first character was a Terminator bard.
Generally, you can just shrug off weirdness like this.
It only works for Intel-based Macs, but that's not a problem for you. Still, Wine typically wants to use defaults for a bit stronger of a Macbook, so you may want to look into changing the default of you virtual memory 'n such. Only if it gives you problems, though; Wine's pretty good at guessing.
Can't really think of much else to say about Wine, for better or worse. This nice guide [http://davidbaumgold.com/tutorials/wine-mac/] will show you how to install Wine, step-by-step. If you're interested.As I mentioned before, WineHq will tell you what you need to know about running individual programs with it; if there are specific games you want to play, you should look it up before you invest the time to install Wine if you're undecided.
And by the way, if I were to say, play Neverwinter Nights right now, I would enter into the Terminal (found in the applications):
cd ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/
cd NWN
wine NWN.exe
So yeah, once you get it all installed and figure out the specifics for the programs you want to use, its as simple as a few keystrokes. You do have to invest time in it, but in some ways, it can be practical.
Or you can be a gaming nutcase like me and like PC gaming while having an inexplicable loathing of Windows OSs.
Kabutos said:
Well, it's not so much as underestimating Macs as it is underestimating these:
Processor 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Version 10.5.8
I doubt he'll be able to run much other than Source or old games.
Hrm... Why is his Macbook so puny? Mine's a bit more powerful than that.
