Memory sticks (or thumb drives) are a necessity nowadays. They are also used to store and transport files. Some people even use them for running their files in public machines and for booting Linux. A few though, use thumb drives to run classic versions of Mac OS. Maybe for nostalgia. Maybe just for fun.

Anyway, you can also do that with the help of an open source emulator, which is now available for download. It is available for multiple platforms like Classic, OS X, Windows, Linux, and Pocket PC. This actually allows you to use Mac on Windows and Linux.

Before you get started, get all the components you need here. After that, for purposes of description, the following steps assume that you are using Mac OS X. Windows users though can also work on this:

    1. Create a new folder and rename it Classic Mac.
    2. Unpack the Mini vMac archive and the vmac.rom file and copy them into the Classic Mac folder.
    3. Unpack the blanks-x.x.x.zip archive and unzip the disk image you want.
    4. To be sure, you might want to choose the largest disk image, which is in the hfs24M.zip archive.
    5. Copy the hfs24M.DSK file into the Classic Mac folder.
    6. Unpack the System_7.0.1.smi.bin archive and move the image files into the Classic Mac folder.

Then after a little downloading, you can now enjoy playing with old system software and applications without digging your old Mac.

A new version of the popular relational database application for Macs has been released for those of you running a Mac with an Intel core processor. The Firebird 1.5.3 SuperServer version for that platform was released just a couple of days ago, with those who own Intel Macs probably jumping up and down when they heard the news.

Firebird is a relational database offering many ANSI SQL standard features that runs on Linux, Windows, and a variety of Unix platforms. Firebird offers excellent concurrency, high performance, and powerful language support for stored procedures and triggers. It has been used in production systems, under a variety of names since 1981.

With the success of the Intel Macs it's hard to see why it has taken so long for Firebird to be Intel Mac compatible, but we cannot complain as the moment is now here.

Download: [Firebird v1.5.3 for Intel Macs]

We earlier reported about the open beta for the PoxNora, wherein you can now experience going through a variety of maps collecting Runes that will summon champions, equipment, relics, and spells to the battlefield with this title. As long as you have a Java-enabled Internet browser on your Mac, PC, or Linux, you can participate in the open beta.

The game is played out across a variety of maps where champions do battle to collect Nora, a vital resource used to summon additional Runes into play. The construction of your battlegroup and careful use of powers and attacks are vital to success. Runes also gain experience during play that can be used to upgrade or learn new attributes and abilities, meaning that as your play style evolves, so do your Runes.

Sounds like a good pastime, but if you haven't made up your mind yet, maybe some screenshots ought to do the trick. So feel free to gaze at them.

     

     

    

   

From the Nimble company blog comes the story of an employee that used the Microsoft line of operating systems from the very beginning of his career only to make the switch to OS X after the years of frustration became too much for him to bear.

From DOS 2.1 to Windows XP he continued to suffer through instability, insecurity and lack of functionality. Finally, after losing one too many machines to a build up of malware, he decided to go Mac and not look back!

I may have been exaggerating his suffering (in a poor attempt at humor) but the underlying problems that pushed him away from Windows are real and cannot be ignored. The Nimblogger goes on to detail some of the differences between the two operating systems, along with some of the deficiencies that he found in Windows.

Many of the negative points that he makes about XP are legitimate but, he seems to have developed a permanently hostile stance toward Microsoft that cannot be changed. Although most of his assertions are common knowledge and their validity is not in doubt, some of his assertions simply express his now soured opinion of Microsoft.

The number of viruses floating around in the wild facing XP users, the level of style and design savvy apparent in the machines and the "it just works" factor are but a few of the reasons the author gave for making the switch.

Having been a Mac and a PC owner myself, I can attest to the fact that Macs actually do work out of the box better than PCs, and the Nimblogger seems to agree with me. Either way you look at it, more operating systems would benefit everyone; prices would likely be lower, consumers would have more systems to chose from and the competition would foster advancements in technology.

Regardless of what OS you use, learning about the causes behind an experienced computer users decision to switch operating systems can give you more to think about the next time you need to decide on a platform to use.

Do you sometimes wonder if our decision on whether to burn hard-earned cash on a device slash machine slash gadget is undoubtedly based on aesthetics alone? It could be the case for the average person wanting to be the proud owner of a Mac; aside from its robust high-end hardware and its OS stability, it is undeniably the purtiest out there in terms of layout and design for its desktop.

Fortunately, there is now a way to get that Mac feel in Linux. A project called Baghira claims to give your KDE a Mac OS X makeover. Arnaud, who vouches on Baghira's effectivity, has written a very detailed How-to, which you can view by clicking on this link. Just follow the instructions stated and you're well on your way to being an owner of a pseudo-Mac desktop.

You have seen those wonderful screens for the Mac and PC game, PoxNora. If the collectible trading card, tactical miniature, and fantasy role-playing brew of this online strategy game appeals to you, then be one of the first to try out it out.

The open beta of PoxNora has just arrived. You can now experience going through a variety of maps, collecting Runes that will summon champions, equipment, relics, and spells to the battlefield with this title. If you have a Java-enabled Internet browser on your Mac, PC, or Linux, then visit the PoxNora site here.

All Mac, PC, and Linux users have a new combat game to look forward to - Battlefront's DropTeam. We have given you the details about this sci-fi tactical game back in May and have reported about its release early in June, as well. If you're still apprehensive about giving this game a space in your computer, then maybe you'd like to try out this new demo that Battlefront has just released.

Replacing the old public test demo they released back in June, the Multiplayer Demo for DropTeam includes new game enhancements and updates. Although the single player is disabled and only one scenario is playable, this DropTeam demo is still fully-functional. The included scenario promises to be an exciting one as well - "Raid" will take you to Hopewell, an inhabitable moon that orbits the radioactive Hell The Scorch.

Since this is just a demo, there are known issues you need to deal with in playing DropTeam for now. Battlefront says:

Alt-Tabbing out and back in of a game in progress can result in various corrupted graphics and as such is not recommended. SoundBlaster X-Fi users, the most recent OpenAL Beta drivers can result in a "Busted App" error message upon exit of game if "SB X-Fi Audio [DF8C" is selected as the in game sound driver. To prevent this error, leave the sound driver set to either "Generic Software" or "Generic Hardware".

The full version of DropTeam will see single player skirmish games, single player campaign games, and 21 scenarios. DropTeam Multiplayer demo will require the following minimum requirements:

* Geforce4/Radeon 9600 64MB VRAM class video or better
* 512 MB system RAM

For WINDOWS
* Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003
* Pentium III 800MHz or better
* Catalyst 6.2 or higher drivers for ATI users
* Forceware 81.98 or higher for nVidia users
* OpenGL 1.5 or better for other video cards

For MAC
* OS X Tiger 10.4.5 or higher
* G4 1.2 GHz or higher

For LINUX
* GLIBC version 2.3.4 or higher
* X Windows with working OpenGL acceleration
* ALSA audio

Download: [DropTeam Multiplayer Demo for Mac and PC]

It seems that Mac developers and power users no longer have the capability to rebuild, replace, and alter the OS X kernel from source code. This means that Linux clearly has the upper hand in terms of openness -- the very same reason why it has become the second most popular OS.

What does proprietary mean? End users generally do not have the ability to run the software for any purpose, study and modify the software, copy the software and provide it to third parties, and make and release improvements to the software.

The Darwin open source Mach/Unix core shared by OS X Tiger client and OS X Tiger Server remains completely open for PowerPC Macs. If you happen to be a proud owner of a G3, G4 or CS Mac, you can hack your own Darwin kernel and use it to boot OS X. However, if you have an Intel-based Mac desktop or notebook, your kernel and device drivers are impenetrable...for now.

Although Apple is largely generous to the open source community by open sourcing internally developed technologies such as QuickTime Streaming Server and Bonjour zero-config networking, the source code required to make a personalized OS X kernel, however, is gone.

What does this mean to Apple users? This step back to a proprietary kernel means that all users must accept a fixed level of performance since they can't configure it by themselves. The default OS X kernels are built for broad compatibility rather than speed and throughput. That doesn't matter at present, because all Intel Macs are built on the same Core Duo/Core Solo 32-bit architecture.

Apple is afraid of losing hardware sales to software pirates. They do not want to face the possibility of dealing with the selling and distribution of cloned Macs in foreign markets with weak protection for intellectual property. They have all the reasons to be paranoid, but not paranoid enough to slam its doors to the open source community.

It has been quite some time since we last heard from Bibble Labs, and now you might consider yourselves lucky because finally, Bibble Labs has returned again to release its latest version of Bibble Pro.

Bibble Pro 4.8 is a free update to its professional workflow solution. This application offers an integrated browser, powerful batch processing, hotkeys assigned by the user, one-click image correction, a Photoshop plug-in, a flexible renaming system, and a advanced lens correction. With this 4.8 update though, the Lens correction tool will be more powerful.

There will also be an additional application that will allow robust Black and White conversion and a Spot Color feature. Bibble Pro 4.8 also has added support for additional digital cameras and comes in two versions: the Universal Binary that costs $70 and the Pro version with added copy/paste functions, multithread operation, digital noise correction/suppression, work queues and tethered shooting for $130. This application is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux systems.

Here we are again with another fantast-amaz-fantabulous little update for all you information beavers out there with your little razor teeth... such cute teeth. Well, we figured out how to run Linux on our iPods and that has opened up a marvel of opportunities ... oh ... oh, you've got that news, you already knew that. Okay, you write then.


All you iPodders out there send me a little informational bit about how you spent the holidays, hopefully with the warm vibration of that mini hard drive in your pocket. If that little piece of plastic helped you two get in the mood, be sure to include photos. Color photos. Uncropped. Uncompressed, in-all-their-native-glory photos.

It'll give me something to do while I get that latest piece of news: running Doom on the iPod.