A few days ago, I received a request to fill out an on-line survey which required me to possess either a PC or MAC. As some of you may be able to tell from past posts, I currently use Linux Mint 14 and Ubuntu 12.04 in a dual boot situation on my 2008 Toshiba Satellite laptop. I used to have Windows 7 on my 2009 HP Pavillion netbook but I wiped it out completely with a Linux distro and was unable to re-install Windows 7 with my startup disks.
To resolve my survey dilemma, I installed Playonlinux on Ubuntu 12.04. What that enabled me to do was create a Windows virtual directory on my Ubuntu partition, which then enabled me to install a browser *.EXE file to run on that partition emulating Windows XP. I chose the latest Firefox browser version 26.0. Firefox was compatible with the requirements for the on-line survey so I was able to complete the survey successfully. Please don't get confused between the words Playonlinux and WINE. Understand that Playonlinux is the front-end user interface which sits on top of the WINE software, which actually emulates Windows. Here's a tutorial I created which explains how to install Playonlinux and Firefox on the new Windows virtual directory.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Monday, December 23, 2013
Managing Linux Desktops in the Enterprise
When considering whether to use or expand Linux desktops within a corporate environment, many IT managers will need to grapple with their enterprise requirements and the relative ability of easily integrating Linux desktops to their existing IT environment from an infrastructure and applications perspective. It's not always an easy undertaking trying to be the pioneer of innovative technology because you end up being the first one dealing with technical and operational issues that no one else has faced before, which is why some IT managers take the path of least resistance. They wait until someone else has become the guinea pig before them, trying out the new technology. When there is significant evidence of other enterprises successfully using the new technology that is when they jump on the bandwagon to start deploying it. It's no different with Linux desktops.
First, I'm going to address some of the reasons that may hold some IT managers back from adopting Linux desktops in the enterprises. The first reason is obtaining adequate technical support for Linux desktops. Some IT managers may fear that since most of the world is familiar with Windows desktops as the corporate standard, they will be unable to staff their desktop support crew with the required Linux expertise. The second reason is integration with their IT corporate application and infrastructure environment. They may be afraid that the current applications and networking tools they use to manage their daily operations may be severely impacted by technical incompatibilities with the Linux desktop. The third reason is familiarity breeds laziness. Because they are more familiar with the Windows desktop environment, they are afraid to try something new which they have no experience in. Also, they do not want to put in effort in researching alternatives when daily operations seem to be working fine.
Let's start by addressing these concerns. If you are running an IT Shop, chances are strong that you actually do know what Linux is. You're probably used to supporting it on the server side for web applications, content management systems or databases. However, it was probably a long shot for you to even consider using Linux on the desktop, considering how firmly entrenched Windows desktops were with Windows applications such as Outlook, MS Access, MS Office, SharePoint and ERP systems. You pretty much were in a situation where you were locked into the Microsoft ecosystem of apps and infrastructure products. However, in case, you haven't noticed the IT landscape has been changing quite dramatically over the years. What you don't realize is if you set up your IT corporate environment to more open and flexible IT standards, you don't have to be locked into the Microsoft ecosystem anymore. You can choose to limit your portfolio of Microsoft products to just what you truly need and value in your enterprise and the rest you can replace with open source solutions like Linux on the desktop. As for technical support, Linux is being taught in more universities to meet the staffing demand on the server side so you can rest assured, the workforce of tomorrow will be filled with young grads who are 'Linux knowledgeable'. In terms of commercial support, there are Linux vendors and consultants today who will provide you with the expertise to help you support your enterprise. The Linux Friendly Vendors tab of this site lists some of these vendors. I will be covering more on this subject in a later post.
How is the IT landscape changing? Look at what consumers value most for entertainment and personal use: tablets and smartphones. The sales of those two devices are rapidly outpacing the sales of desktop laptops and PC's. What is the most prevalent OS in those 2 devices? It's Android, a hybrid OS, with a Java front-end on a Linux kernel. With workers asking their corporate IT administrators to support their device of choice aka BYOD, the pressure is on to support cross-platform devices. Also, the emergence of cloud computing has driven the trend for applications to go from native on the desktop to a web app served from the clouds, making it no longer a requirement to be tied down to a Microsoft OS platform on the client side. This also addresses the second concern of integrating with corporate applications and infrastructure.
If you make it company policy to produce and maintain documents in open formats like PDF, XML and ODF, which can be consumed by any device regardless of platform, you are no longer limited by your Office application formats such as DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSW, PPT, etc. If you are working with entities outside your company, you will then be able to share, exchange and edit documents without worrying about the different platforms they were created or revised on. This was an important lesson learned from the City of Munich's successful Linux desktop deployment. Also, if your ERP systems are now web applications either in PHP, JAVA or .NET, make sure you test thoroughly how they will run on your Linux distro of choice and browser of choice. That's already half the battle of your decision to either go with Linux on the desktop or not.
As for the third reason of familiarity breeding laziness as opposed to contempt, being an IT manager, you can ill afford to sit on your laurels forever. The IT landscape is changing as we speak and your users are going to become even more demanding when they see that other enterprises are successfully meeting their own end user requests for BYOD. You are going to be forced eventually to not just support Windows desktops, but to create applications enabled by flexible infrastructure, allowing users to consume and work on those applications anytime, anywhere, any location and on any device. That's quite a tall order for any IT manager. But lucky for you, that's where VDI comes into play.
I am not going to expound in great detail about VDI on this particular post. I will reserve that discussion for a later post. All that you need to know is that the concept of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure will enable you, as an IT manager, to meet that requirement from end users to consume and work on applications anytime, anywhere, any location and on any device. For reference, take a look at this example. A university in Japan with a specific requirement to support and access both Linux and Windows desktops for professors and students was successfully documented using a VDI solution from a company called Virtual Bridges. The product they used was called VERGE. Keep in mind there are also other VDI vendors, with one of the more well-known being VMWare.
Throughout the years, there have been attempts by enterprises around the world to use Linux desktops within their corporate environment. Some have encountered success while others have ended in failure or mixed results. If you are an IT manager who is seriously considering using Linux on the desktop environment, you need to learn from the mistakes and successes of others who tried it before you. More importantly, you need to do your own due diligence. That means you will need to come up with a business case to help you decide whether it's the right fit for your organization and not just because everyone else is doing it. It's very easy to get sidetracked by the promise of Linux openness and flexibility. After all, there are many benefits to expanding the Linux desktop, mostly due to IT purchasing flexibility, reduced licensing and support costs, improved security and improved systems administration tasks. However, before any of those benefits can be realized, one most execute all the important steps that will lead to a successful outcome, which includes creating a suitable business case, garnering corporate stakeholder support and producing a rock solid implementation and change management plan. These topics and more will be discussed in later posts if you subscribe to this site.
First, I'm going to address some of the reasons that may hold some IT managers back from adopting Linux desktops in the enterprises. The first reason is obtaining adequate technical support for Linux desktops. Some IT managers may fear that since most of the world is familiar with Windows desktops as the corporate standard, they will be unable to staff their desktop support crew with the required Linux expertise. The second reason is integration with their IT corporate application and infrastructure environment. They may be afraid that the current applications and networking tools they use to manage their daily operations may be severely impacted by technical incompatibilities with the Linux desktop. The third reason is familiarity breeds laziness. Because they are more familiar with the Windows desktop environment, they are afraid to try something new which they have no experience in. Also, they do not want to put in effort in researching alternatives when daily operations seem to be working fine.
Let's start by addressing these concerns. If you are running an IT Shop, chances are strong that you actually do know what Linux is. You're probably used to supporting it on the server side for web applications, content management systems or databases. However, it was probably a long shot for you to even consider using Linux on the desktop, considering how firmly entrenched Windows desktops were with Windows applications such as Outlook, MS Access, MS Office, SharePoint and ERP systems. You pretty much were in a situation where you were locked into the Microsoft ecosystem of apps and infrastructure products. However, in case, you haven't noticed the IT landscape has been changing quite dramatically over the years. What you don't realize is if you set up your IT corporate environment to more open and flexible IT standards, you don't have to be locked into the Microsoft ecosystem anymore. You can choose to limit your portfolio of Microsoft products to just what you truly need and value in your enterprise and the rest you can replace with open source solutions like Linux on the desktop. As for technical support, Linux is being taught in more universities to meet the staffing demand on the server side so you can rest assured, the workforce of tomorrow will be filled with young grads who are 'Linux knowledgeable'. In terms of commercial support, there are Linux vendors and consultants today who will provide you with the expertise to help you support your enterprise. The Linux Friendly Vendors tab of this site lists some of these vendors. I will be covering more on this subject in a later post.
How is the IT landscape changing? Look at what consumers value most for entertainment and personal use: tablets and smartphones. The sales of those two devices are rapidly outpacing the sales of desktop laptops and PC's. What is the most prevalent OS in those 2 devices? It's Android, a hybrid OS, with a Java front-end on a Linux kernel. With workers asking their corporate IT administrators to support their device of choice aka BYOD, the pressure is on to support cross-platform devices. Also, the emergence of cloud computing has driven the trend for applications to go from native on the desktop to a web app served from the clouds, making it no longer a requirement to be tied down to a Microsoft OS platform on the client side. This also addresses the second concern of integrating with corporate applications and infrastructure.
If you make it company policy to produce and maintain documents in open formats like PDF, XML and ODF, which can be consumed by any device regardless of platform, you are no longer limited by your Office application formats such as DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSW, PPT, etc. If you are working with entities outside your company, you will then be able to share, exchange and edit documents without worrying about the different platforms they were created or revised on. This was an important lesson learned from the City of Munich's successful Linux desktop deployment. Also, if your ERP systems are now web applications either in PHP, JAVA or .NET, make sure you test thoroughly how they will run on your Linux distro of choice and browser of choice. That's already half the battle of your decision to either go with Linux on the desktop or not.
As for the third reason of familiarity breeding laziness as opposed to contempt, being an IT manager, you can ill afford to sit on your laurels forever. The IT landscape is changing as we speak and your users are going to become even more demanding when they see that other enterprises are successfully meeting their own end user requests for BYOD. You are going to be forced eventually to not just support Windows desktops, but to create applications enabled by flexible infrastructure, allowing users to consume and work on those applications anytime, anywhere, any location and on any device. That's quite a tall order for any IT manager. But lucky for you, that's where VDI comes into play.
I am not going to expound in great detail about VDI on this particular post. I will reserve that discussion for a later post. All that you need to know is that the concept of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure will enable you, as an IT manager, to meet that requirement from end users to consume and work on applications anytime, anywhere, any location and on any device. For reference, take a look at this example. A university in Japan with a specific requirement to support and access both Linux and Windows desktops for professors and students was successfully documented using a VDI solution from a company called Virtual Bridges. The product they used was called VERGE. Keep in mind there are also other VDI vendors, with one of the more well-known being VMWare.
Throughout the years, there have been attempts by enterprises around the world to use Linux desktops within their corporate environment. Some have encountered success while others have ended in failure or mixed results. If you are an IT manager who is seriously considering using Linux on the desktop environment, you need to learn from the mistakes and successes of others who tried it before you. More importantly, you need to do your own due diligence. That means you will need to come up with a business case to help you decide whether it's the right fit for your organization and not just because everyone else is doing it. It's very easy to get sidetracked by the promise of Linux openness and flexibility. After all, there are many benefits to expanding the Linux desktop, mostly due to IT purchasing flexibility, reduced licensing and support costs, improved security and improved systems administration tasks. However, before any of those benefits can be realized, one most execute all the important steps that will lead to a successful outcome, which includes creating a suitable business case, garnering corporate stakeholder support and producing a rock solid implementation and change management plan. These topics and more will be discussed in later posts if you subscribe to this site.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Buying a Laptop for Linux Use
Now that Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) has replaced the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) on most new laptops these days, especially the ones with Windows 8 on it, it's time to educate a Linux user on what they should be considering when in the market for a new laptop. What this means is you won't be able to easily install Linux on PC's with UEFI on them unless it's one of the three Linux distros which supports UEFI.
You have five options:
1. Pick a Linux distro which supports UEFI. - As of this posting, there are only three: Fedora 18, openSuSe 12.3 and Ubuntu 12.10. However, just because you pick one of those 3 doesn't meant it's guaranteed to work on all UEFI laptops. You need to pick a Manufacturer which allows those 3 distros to be installed on it. I've read that Samsung's UEFI boot options have caused their laptops to be inoperable so you might want to choose a different laptop manufacturer.
2. Disable Secure Boot on your UEFI PC. - To install Linux distros, other than Fedora 18, openSuSe 12.3 and Ubuntu 12.10, you "may" be able to disable the Secure Boot option on UEFI and enable their installation on your UEFI laptop. The best thing to do if you are going with this approach is to find out directly from the manufacturer of your laptop, how to disable Secure Boot on UEFI. That is, if they give you the option to. Not all manufacturers will allow you to do this. Try installing the Linux distro you've selected after you've disabled Secure Boot. Some distributions like Ubuntu will have instructions on how to deal with Secure Boot on UEFI. Others may not so be aware of this before you go through all the work of trying this approach.
3. Buy a Non-OS laptop. - Instead of dealing with the hassle of UEFI, you can buy a laptop with no OS installed from these vendors. Then install your Linux distro of choice on it.
4. Buy a laptop with Linux pre-installed. - Instead of dealing with the hassle of UEFI, you can have the vendor install your Linux distro choice on the laptop of your choice. See the Linux Friendly Vendors tab on this site.
5. Buy a Chromebook and install Linux on it. - You can install a Linux distro in a dual boot situation with Chrome OS on a Chromebook. Or you can install your chosen Linux distro to replace Chrome OS.
Obviously, there are pros and cons with each method above. It depends what you are using it for and what you are willing to pay in additional costs for the convenience of ease of use. If you are an average user and do not want to deal with the hassle of researching and preparing a laptop for Linux use, you are better off buying Linux pre-installed even if it costs slightly more than a Windows 8 laptop. Over time, you will accrue the benefits of using Linux over Windows, when you don't have to deal with annual anti-virus licenses or additional licenses for Office or other Windows compatible software. You will also no longer need to defrag your laptop. If you are not using your laptop for Development, Graphic Design or CPU intensive processing and just want to get the cheapest laptop possible with Linux on it, you should consider buying a Chromebook and installing Linux on it. If you are a Developer, a Graphic Designer or Video Producer and you don't mind doing some extra "prep" work yourself, consider options 1-3. However, I think option 2 should be the last resort for everyone, considering it requires the most research.
You have five options:
1. Pick a Linux distro which supports UEFI. - As of this posting, there are only three: Fedora 18, openSuSe 12.3 and Ubuntu 12.10. However, just because you pick one of those 3 doesn't meant it's guaranteed to work on all UEFI laptops. You need to pick a Manufacturer which allows those 3 distros to be installed on it. I've read that Samsung's UEFI boot options have caused their laptops to be inoperable so you might want to choose a different laptop manufacturer.
2. Disable Secure Boot on your UEFI PC. - To install Linux distros, other than Fedora 18, openSuSe 12.3 and Ubuntu 12.10, you "may" be able to disable the Secure Boot option on UEFI and enable their installation on your UEFI laptop. The best thing to do if you are going with this approach is to find out directly from the manufacturer of your laptop, how to disable Secure Boot on UEFI. That is, if they give you the option to. Not all manufacturers will allow you to do this. Try installing the Linux distro you've selected after you've disabled Secure Boot. Some distributions like Ubuntu will have instructions on how to deal with Secure Boot on UEFI. Others may not so be aware of this before you go through all the work of trying this approach.
3. Buy a Non-OS laptop. - Instead of dealing with the hassle of UEFI, you can buy a laptop with no OS installed from these vendors. Then install your Linux distro of choice on it.
4. Buy a laptop with Linux pre-installed. - Instead of dealing with the hassle of UEFI, you can have the vendor install your Linux distro choice on the laptop of your choice. See the Linux Friendly Vendors tab on this site.
5. Buy a Chromebook and install Linux on it. - You can install a Linux distro in a dual boot situation with Chrome OS on a Chromebook. Or you can install your chosen Linux distro to replace Chrome OS.
Obviously, there are pros and cons with each method above. It depends what you are using it for and what you are willing to pay in additional costs for the convenience of ease of use. If you are an average user and do not want to deal with the hassle of researching and preparing a laptop for Linux use, you are better off buying Linux pre-installed even if it costs slightly more than a Windows 8 laptop. Over time, you will accrue the benefits of using Linux over Windows, when you don't have to deal with annual anti-virus licenses or additional licenses for Office or other Windows compatible software. You will also no longer need to defrag your laptop. If you are not using your laptop for Development, Graphic Design or CPU intensive processing and just want to get the cheapest laptop possible with Linux on it, you should consider buying a Chromebook and installing Linux on it. If you are a Developer, a Graphic Designer or Video Producer and you don't mind doing some extra "prep" work yourself, consider options 1-3. However, I think option 2 should be the last resort for everyone, considering it requires the most research.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Nvidia Shield Android Gaming Controller
If you are considering some gaming devices to get your family for Christmas, you might want to try the new Nvidia Shield. It's a gaming controller which uses the Android OS to run games optimized for Nvidia graphics, GooglePlay games and Steam games. Running Steam games enables PC streaming from your Steam PC to your Nvidia Shield controller. However, you need to keep in mind that the Steam game you select must have "controller" support, an issue brought up by Lisa Gade in this video below:
Otherwise, I think this device is a suitable platform to compare with other popular gaming devices from Sony and Microsoft. Make no mistake about it. This device is meant for gaming. However, it's great that the Android platform it comes with, enables you to do additional tasks that you normally do on your smartphone or PC like surf the web.
Here's a video demo of the Nvidia Shield with PC streaming:
Otherwise, I think this device is a suitable platform to compare with other popular gaming devices from Sony and Microsoft. Make no mistake about it. This device is meant for gaming. However, it's great that the Android platform it comes with, enables you to do additional tasks that you normally do on your smartphone or PC like surf the web.
Here's a video demo of the Nvidia Shield with PC streaming:
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Linux Email Clients
Here are two email clients you can use for personal or business use. I spent about 3 weeks using Evolution and about a week using Thunderbird. I found both email clients capable of handling most tasks I usually perform with email. The tasks I performed included:
Please note that in my videos, I did not cover encryption of email messages because I just wanted to give a preview of both options. It's a setup you are going to want to add when configuring both options for personal or business use.
Evolution
Here's a video I created to set up Evolution:
Thunderbird
Here's a video I created to set up Thunderbird:
- sending/receiving email
- creating a signature
- creating calendar events
- integrating calendar events with Google calendar
- creating and tracking tasks.
Please note that in my videos, I did not cover encryption of email messages because I just wanted to give a preview of both options. It's a setup you are going to want to add when configuring both options for personal or business use.
Evolution
Here's a video I created to set up Evolution:
Thunderbird
Here's a video I created to set up Thunderbird:
Friday, November 1, 2013
Use WINE to Play Windows Games on Linux
When it comes to games, most people are playing games on-line via their tablet or smartphone rather than buying a CD or DVD of the latest electronic game. Yes, I know there are still board games and sports but those type of games are not going to be covered on this site. However, for those of you who would like to preserve the legacy of your past favorite games on other non-Linux operating systems, there is a potential solution for you using the WINE Emulator program. This program will enable you to play a Windows game on your Linux PC. For this post, I will be using a Hoyle Board game as an example.
Before you can install the Windows game, you need to install the WINE Emulator program. The WINE Emulator program enables you to run Windows applications on a non-Windows PC. This program creates a virtual Windows directory on your Linux PC using the Windows File system. This means that if you download (*.EXE) files, you can use the WINE program to emulate Windows by installing and running Windows programs in your new Windows directory.
Although WINE is available in the Software Manager for Linux Mint and the Software Center for Ubuntu, I recommend following the instructions directly from the WINE website to download the package appropriate for your Linux distribution and to install the WINE program correctly. The reason why I recommend this is I went through the Software Manager on Linux Mint to install PlayonLinux, which automatically installed both PlayonLinux and WINE but I was unable to get it working without additional steps. Incidentally, PlayonLinux is the front-end UI for WINE. I detailed this experience on my Blog post. To make a long story short, I ended up removing PlayonLinux and WINE, then re-installing WINE from Software Manager and executing additional steps to get it working properly. "Why did this happen?" You are probably asking. Well, it's because the version of WINE I had downloaded from Software Manager was obsolete and there were areas specific to my Laptop hardware that needed to be addressed. So to save you from enduring my situation, just go straight to the source, the WINE website and follow THEIR instructions.
Once you get WINE working properly, installing a Windows game is a piece of cake. Make sure you configure WINE for the Windows version your game is designed to run on, locate the Window game Executable file (*.EXE), right click on it and select 'WINE Configuration loader'. The game will execute the installation process as if you were using a Windows PC. Here's my Blog post with a Youtube tutorial on the process.
Before you can install the Windows game, you need to install the WINE Emulator program. The WINE Emulator program enables you to run Windows applications on a non-Windows PC. This program creates a virtual Windows directory on your Linux PC using the Windows File system. This means that if you download (*.EXE) files, you can use the WINE program to emulate Windows by installing and running Windows programs in your new Windows directory.
Although WINE is available in the Software Manager for Linux Mint and the Software Center for Ubuntu, I recommend following the instructions directly from the WINE website to download the package appropriate for your Linux distribution and to install the WINE program correctly. The reason why I recommend this is I went through the Software Manager on Linux Mint to install PlayonLinux, which automatically installed both PlayonLinux and WINE but I was unable to get it working without additional steps. Incidentally, PlayonLinux is the front-end UI for WINE. I detailed this experience on my Blog post. To make a long story short, I ended up removing PlayonLinux and WINE, then re-installing WINE from Software Manager and executing additional steps to get it working properly. "Why did this happen?" You are probably asking. Well, it's because the version of WINE I had downloaded from Software Manager was obsolete and there were areas specific to my Laptop hardware that needed to be addressed. So to save you from enduring my situation, just go straight to the source, the WINE website and follow THEIR instructions.
Once you get WINE working properly, installing a Windows game is a piece of cake. Make sure you configure WINE for the Windows version your game is designed to run on, locate the Window game Executable file (*.EXE), right click on it and select 'WINE Configuration loader'. The game will execute the installation process as if you were using a Windows PC. Here's my Blog post with a Youtube tutorial on the process.
Monday, October 28, 2013
New Category Covering Gaming on Android or Linux Platforms.
Dear Readers,
In an effort to reach out to a wider audience, I am introducing a new category on this site covering gaming on the Android or Linux platforms. My gaming experience may not be as deep as some of the hard-core gamers out there but I do have quite a bit of gaming experience on several platforms. Let's see where to begin.
I started out electronic gaming as a kid with games like Simon, Space Invaders, Asteroids and Pac-Man on video arcade game machines. As I grew older and used the PC more often, my best friend and I experimented with a DOS-based game on a Commodore computer that was merely a text based response to whatever you typed into the computer. It was a scavenger hunt type of adventure game. The computer screen told you where you where and what happened. But because you couldn't see what was available like you can with today's games, you had to guess what your next move was going to be based on your own imagination. Unfortunately for you, your imagination (list of alternatives) may have not been what was stored in the programs so you could have been trying out many alternatives forever and frustrated that there was nothing visually nor even a HINT button to help you narrow down your alternatives. Needless to say, gaming since then has evolved beautifully to an almost virtual experience with the Nintento Wii and other platforms.
Back in 1998, my husband and I both changed our careers simultaneously limiting our income, which meant that we had to change our budget because we still had a mortgage to pay. One way we got through those hard times was by limiting our entertainment budget to seeing a movie in the theater occasionally and playing Mario games on the Nintendo 64 platform. That's when I really got hooked into video games. Years later, I bought games I could play on my Windows PC. Times have changed a lot for me since then.
Today, I spend most of my time working on a Linux laptop which includes Video Editing, Writing, Web Development and web surfing for interesting topics. Despite my intense schedule, I also have time to read and play games. In fact, I have demonstrated that I can read Kindle content and play Windows games on my Linux Mint laptop in my Youtube channel. Heck, I can even play Steam games on Linux Mint or Ubuntu and play free games downloaded from GooglePlay to my Android smartphone. Pretty cool, huh? I saw something even more exciting. The Nvidia Shield is an Android gaming console that allows you to download games from GooglePlay, which means you can play practically an unlimited amount of games. Looks like Nvidia Shield has come up with a new way to take gaming to a new level, picking up where the Google Chromecast left off. Well, that's it for now. Hope what you've read whets your appetite to see more on this section as you explore new games and technology in the Linux arena.
Regards,
The Editor
In an effort to reach out to a wider audience, I am introducing a new category on this site covering gaming on the Android or Linux platforms. My gaming experience may not be as deep as some of the hard-core gamers out there but I do have quite a bit of gaming experience on several platforms. Let's see where to begin.
I started out electronic gaming as a kid with games like Simon, Space Invaders, Asteroids and Pac-Man on video arcade game machines. As I grew older and used the PC more often, my best friend and I experimented with a DOS-based game on a Commodore computer that was merely a text based response to whatever you typed into the computer. It was a scavenger hunt type of adventure game. The computer screen told you where you where and what happened. But because you couldn't see what was available like you can with today's games, you had to guess what your next move was going to be based on your own imagination. Unfortunately for you, your imagination (list of alternatives) may have not been what was stored in the programs so you could have been trying out many alternatives forever and frustrated that there was nothing visually nor even a HINT button to help you narrow down your alternatives. Needless to say, gaming since then has evolved beautifully to an almost virtual experience with the Nintento Wii and other platforms.
Back in 1998, my husband and I both changed our careers simultaneously limiting our income, which meant that we had to change our budget because we still had a mortgage to pay. One way we got through those hard times was by limiting our entertainment budget to seeing a movie in the theater occasionally and playing Mario games on the Nintendo 64 platform. That's when I really got hooked into video games. Years later, I bought games I could play on my Windows PC. Times have changed a lot for me since then.
Today, I spend most of my time working on a Linux laptop which includes Video Editing, Writing, Web Development and web surfing for interesting topics. Despite my intense schedule, I also have time to read and play games. In fact, I have demonstrated that I can read Kindle content and play Windows games on my Linux Mint laptop in my Youtube channel. Heck, I can even play Steam games on Linux Mint or Ubuntu and play free games downloaded from GooglePlay to my Android smartphone. Pretty cool, huh? I saw something even more exciting. The Nvidia Shield is an Android gaming console that allows you to download games from GooglePlay, which means you can play practically an unlimited amount of games. Looks like Nvidia Shield has come up with a new way to take gaming to a new level, picking up where the Google Chromecast left off. Well, that's it for now. Hope what you've read whets your appetite to see more on this section as you explore new games and technology in the Linux arena.
Regards,
The Editor
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