Kush

What's even sadder is that the ad campaign was designed by an American company. And the actor playing Joe is in L.A. as we speak, working on becoming one of those American Stars born in Canada. (Pam Anderson, John Candy, Jim Carrey, William Shatner, Lorne Greene, Rich Little, etc... etc... ad infenitum.)

Geoworks had a Dos based GUI similar to Windows. The OS had limited commercial software, and no compatability with popular Microsoft programs. It died. Geoworks now focuses on wireless application platforms, and mobile servers.

I think this is what you're looking for. I-War [ 07-02-2001: Message edited by: Kush ]

Looks like it could be an interesting diversion until BCM ships. If I have time, I'll check it out.

Happy Canada Day!!!!!

quote:Originally posted by Menchise: Considering that Patterson had only written QDOS as a temporary system, $50 000 was a lot of money, especially in 1981. I wonder what he's doing now. In my hyperbolic rant mode, I took a cheap shot at the one guy I shouldn't have. You're right, Patterson should have at least been informed that QDOS was eventually going to IBM. He better be doing well, it would be a shame if he wasn't. No, I redirect my vitrol for a certain Gary Kildall, programer at Digital Research. When IBM approached Bill about using Microsoft Basic for their ROM chip, they asked him who would be a good person to provide the operating system. Bill told them to call up his pal Gary who was working on what some people at the time considered to be the most advanced operating system; CP/M. Well, the IBM boys showed up at Gary's door and told him they wanted to talk to him about some software he was writing, but they wanted him to sign and NDA. Gary freaked out, didn't want to sign anything, and basically told them to stick it where the sun refuses to shine. It was that moment that changed computing forever. IBM went back to Bill, Bill went to Patterson, yadda yadda. If I was Gary's friend at the time, I would have said, loud and clear "What the HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Are you nuts?!!! Granted, nobody at the time saw IBM as a contender, but still, it was an opportunity of a life time, and yes, I am arrogant enough to say he BLEW IT. (Of course I've never made a bad choice in my life. Ever. Well... except for the last girlfriend. But that was it. Oh, and there was that little incident in Scotland with a married woman, but we're not talking about me now are we ) quote: Why develop an OS for a computer that you're competing against? Why not?! This is my big problem with Apple and with their approach. The battle for the home computer was fought with software, not hardware. It's the killer app, not the processor, that determines the success or failure of a computer. Apple started off with the biggest market share. By the time the IBM PC showed up, Apple was king of the hill, there was very little competition. IBM had a couple of flops, the IBM 5100 and the Datamaster, two big hunks of computer paperweight. They even briefly considered purchasing Atari and using their line of computer. That's how desperate they were. Apple has been very lucky that they have been able to survive with the graphics and educational market, but at one point they had it all, and they could have had more. quote: Actually, university mainframes were the birth place of computer gaming. Yes, sure, you got me there. But all of the legends in the industry, all of the greats, from Carmack to Roberta Williams, to Lord British himself Richard Garriott started on the Mac. This one I don't understand, and even back in the day (When you were just a pup) I could see Mac turning away from gamers, and I didn't get it. I suppose everything turns out the way it should, but gaming is definately a very important aspect of the computer industry. It spurs on innovation, and most importantly, it sells computers. And Apple still, to this very day gives game developers the cold shoulder. In my opinion, this is a huge, ongoing mistake. I have no loyalty to the PC, if Mac comes out with a better platform for programing and playing games, I'm there. They haven't and I'm not. I know it's seems real easy to sit here and spew out opinion after - back seat driver - opinion, but I think Microsofts competition should look seriously at the mistakes of the past and LEARN. If I owned Corel, and I wanted to make Linux THE next operating system, there are more things you have to do than just give it a snappy user interface. You have to get developers on board, you have to provide the public with software with the next big Killer Ap, you have to make sure it's compatable with the latest multimedia devices, and the ones about to be released in the near future. You have to work with chip manufacturers and Board manufacturers to optomize your platform. You have to make sure businesses and home users feel confident that they can transfer any and all data they already have created over to your platform without ANY RISK of loss. You have to (And this is where I have my biggest gripe with M$) force hardware manufacturers and computer dealers to offer a CHOICE OF OPERATING SYSTEM WHEN THEY PURCHASE THEIR COMPUTER. Right now Windows is the only game in town and MS is doing everything in its power to keep it that way. And no one is challenging them with a clear alternative. I don't hate Microsoft. I don't love Microsoft. I use their products when I have to. I don't when I don't. I don't want to see Microsoft go out of business. I want to see their power kept in check. That's all. I don't think the best way to keep them in check is to dismantle it. The best way is to provide competition, provide innovation. Look at the failures of the past, learn and succeed.

Hey Soback, Is it stable? Does it need alot of patches? I'll give it a shot as long as it's playable.

quote:Originally posted by Menchise: My turn. Microsoft bought the rights from Patterson and demonstrated DOS to IBM, which subsequently licensed the system for the IBM-PC (which is known as the 'PC' today). Gates had nothing to do with this deal; it was all the work of Paul Allen. Windows was not an original MS thing either. Windows 1.0 had an interface that looked so much like the Macintosh OS that Apple sued Microsoft for stealing the idea (even the buttons were identical!). The interface was changed by the time Windows 3.0 came out. Gates was at the right place at the right time. I have no reason to admire his abilities. One of the big reasons why MS is so big today, is because: Patterson was too short sighted (or just plain dumb) to take advantage of the situation himself. And I hate to break it to you, but when Apple was developing their OS the company they turned to to create their GUI was... (ta daaa!) Microsoft. They could have developed the software in house, but they didn't. Microsoft helped to develop the 'look and feel' of the Mac OS and in their contract made sure that they had rights to use what they wanted for their own software. THAT IS WHY APPLE LOST THEIR CASE AGAINST MICROSOFT. And that is why Steve Jobs let the whole thing go and started to work WITH Microsoft the moment he got back into the driver seat. Steve has said many times, the fight with Microsoft is over, and it is. And sure, Gates has been at the right place, at the right time, but also, his competators have been MONUMENTALLY STUPID. Apple could have released a competing OS for the PC very early on. They chose not to. Apple could have cornered the business market by focusing on Bus apps, and hard selling to the business world, they did not. Apple was the birth place of Computer gaming. Apple could have been THE gaming platform. It is not. IBM could have used a Unix or even Linux base for OS2. They did not. As a matter of fact, who did they turn to to create a competing OS for Windows? Microsoft. And MS made sure that in it's contract it could keep what it liked about OS2 and use it in its windows products. Netscape is not that stable. (I'm using it as we speak, and the only reason why I'm not using EI is plain old fashioned stuborness) Netscape 6 has taken forever and will only truly be in a stable state by the Fall, or at least that's what I've been told. They have a lot of work to do, and IE is already out, and works okay for most people. There has been no big push for Netscape 6 because it was just bought by (Ta daaaa) AOL who are either going to integrate what they like into their own browser-like interface and kill the rest, or they're going to just release it without any fanfare and watch it die. In my opinion, this would be stupid, but hey, I don't own AOL. There are countless other bad moves by many other companies, (Corel, Sun... etc.) But one thing few companies have mastered is Microsoft's ability to learn from its mistakes and make a better product. I have tons of complaints about Bill, but one thing I will give him, every time, is he runs his company like they could go out of business in six months. This is hunger. It creates a mentality of competativness that helps to put out products that get better and better with every release, until their competition, who have been sitting on their ass, has been out innovated. Now after that little rant, you'd probably think I'm some crazed fanboy of M$. I'm NOT. I'm ticked off that so many companies are just making these bone headed moves that play into MS's favour. The whole lawsuit being one of them. Stop whining, and complaining, get back out on the playing field and innovate for crying out loud.

One thing I never understood about the case - they wanted to split MS into two companies, one for the OS and one for Software. Well the OS IS SOFTWARE. If the break up had happened I don't know who or what would have made the decision about what could or could not be integrated into the OS. I think Netscape should have spent less money on lawyers and more money on releasing a funtioning browser that could compete with Internet Explorer. It's too bad the original developers of Netscape sold it off. It's obvious that the company has become complacent. I've got many complaints about MS but one thing you can never accuse MS of is complacency.

Holy s*$#, you think THAT's the coolest shot? Woah. The tractor beam is cool, yes, but I'm with Ep 5. It would be neat, once the game is released, to have a "Coolest Screenshot" contest. The winner could get a free copy of GCO! How bout it SC.

Paddaaaaay. I think this question is better suited for the New Commanders section. No harm, no foul. Just next time try over there. This section we like to keep for talking about movies, whining about when BCM will get released and driving Aramike to distraction with eloquent socialist diatribes.

I know how you feel. I first bought the Gametek version too. I missed out on the patch files to convert ver 1 to ver 2. And SC has stopped releasing them. I was lucky enough to find version 2, but I still wish there was some way to upgrade ver 1 to ver 2. I doubt there will be. My guess is that nobody wants to give a reason to buy the Gametek version even if it's in the delete bin. And there may be some lingering rights issues. I don't know this, it's just a guess. You're just going to have to wait for BCM, which in my opinion is going to be a much better experience anyway. (And yes I know it's going to take a while to get to Australia, but hang out here in the forums, it looks as though some non North American members may get a helping hand purchasing the game early, through above the board / totally legal methods of course!) [ 06-29-2001: Message edited by: Kush ]

Why? WHY? You ask WHY??? Why Man, the obvious reason. a) It's a work of genius. That's why. You'd get to see where it all began. c) You can fire it up and play it on your Pentium 100 while you're waiting for your GeForce to arrive in the mail. d) You can show your children the wonderous midi music that Daddy used to listen to while playing computer games. And finally, the number one reason why SC should include the original BC3K in the BCM release... It still kicks Wing Commander's **s all over town, into next Tuesday. It's too bad about the Interplay thing. It's nice when developers do that. In this case, I understand why you can't.

Trying to keep... calm. Must wait... Think of something other than BCM... Can't. Oh well. On another topic, I vote that SC include BC3K on the BCM CD. How many are with me?

SC = mad BCM SKILLZZZ!!!!

Game Ender... You're not alone okay!!!!!!! Geez Louise!!!!! I'm trying to be Zen about the whole thing. If you watch a kettle it will never boil. If you keep posting how much you want the game, it'll drive me CRAZY!!!

I believe that there is no upgrade path from Win 95. There is for Win 98. If I'm wrong, I too will be mightily P.O'd. And yes, the lack of pure Dos support in ME means that you can't play classic games. BUT, word on the street is that XP can play pure DOS games without a hitch. If this is true then it will totally be worth the price. I don't believe in Warez, but one thing I am getting a little sick and tired of is having to install three operating systems every time I revamp my system. Win 95 was an upgrade for Win for Workgroups. Win 98 for win 95. When I get XP I want to be able to just install that one operating system. EVER. I called Microsoft and asked if there was some way of getting around the upgrade install and basically they told me to suck it down. I don't want to Warez software, I don't believe in it. Even stuff created by Micro$oft. But if I can figure out some way to pay an upgrade price for a full install, I'm gonna do it.

Personally I'm sticking with 98 until XP arrives. I wouldn't bother with ME. If XP does half the things they say it should, it will be THE gaming OS. I'd wait for XP to be released, wait for a bit, and then go XP. From what I hear 98 can recognized that much ram. But no game you are ever going to play this year will use more than 128 meg anyway. Your golden.

I'm not even a christian and I KNOW that this guy is not a christian. Historically or otherwise. Go to the authorities. Now. Kick his butt. You do not have to put up with it. Period. And I hope that all goes well with your wife. I know people who have fought cancer and are doing well. But this kind of crap can't be helpful to you or her. Here's hoping you get the guy!

All I have ever heard about Win ME is that Dos is gone. I talked with a friend just today who told me that he can't get his DOS games running properly on Win ME. In an article in Computer Games Magazine they talk about how Win XP is better for running DOS games without a hassle. I haven't tried XP yet of course, but it sounds stable and it should be out soon, so personally I'm gonna wait and see, but if Win Me works for you, then fine. Go to town.

First off, if you care about old DOS games, don't go Win ME! Win ME doesn't support DOS games at ALL. If your like me, you want the freedom to play whatever the hell you want, whenever you want wait for Win XP. Allegedly, Win XP offers this freedom. Word has it that it will play DOS games hassle free. I'll see it when I believe it but if it's true, I'm skipping Win ME. Secondly, I wish there was an alternative to Gforce, but alas, I doubt that there is. I have owned ATI cards in the past, and as much as I would love to boost a Canadian company, their drivers SUCK!!!! If anyone out there wants to argue that the Radeon drivers are better, I'll hear them out, but NVidia has such a stellar rep with drivers (well, at least better than ATI) I'd stick with them. My big fear is that once NVidia realizes that they have no serious competition, they'll get lazy and put out crap drivers. Until that time comes, stick with them I say. (This coming from a Voodoo 3 owner!) I don't want to pay $$$.$$ for a GForce 3, but I'm going to. If you don't want to pay that much, go for a GForce 2. From what I hear, the drivers are rock solid, and any developer worth their weight in discarded silicone is working with NVidia so that their games shine on that card. I just wish 3DFX didn't screw up so bad that they vanished off the playing field, that's all. (Rant mode off) And PS, it ain't just the Quake series, all software, at all times in the history of computing have become bigger, and more demanding. I like to fool myself occasionally by telling myself that a 1 Gig processor is the fastest that I will ever need. Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha! Hooooooo boy, I wish that were true. Then it'll be 2 Gig, then 5, then whatever. I'll just be very happy after they've made the move from processing information with electrons to photons to quarks, and realize that they really can't get any smaller. Moore's law will be dead and I'll be able to stop with this insane upgrade path every freakin year! On that day gentlemen, I will be a happy man. (Of course they'll come up with some kind of sub-quark alternate universe computer that measures speed in how many alternate universes the quarks in your processor taps into. By then, hopefully I'll be dead, and my grand children will have to deal with it all! )

quote:Originally posted by Joel Schultz: Yeah, I admit I was really tempted to join. But I write software for a living, and at the end of the day the LAST thing I want to do is test someone else's, no matter how cool it is. I'd rather enjoy it finished than not enjoy finishing it. Yeah, I want that WOW factor that only comes from being stunned at something you've never seen before. I really applaud every beta tester for getting with the program, you're hard work is going to make my BCM experience ROCK. My big problem now is that it looks like the release is going to be right smack dab in the middle of a huge project I'm on. I will have NO time for my own life, let alone games. Ah, life. Actually an August release would be perfect for me. How bout it guys! Guys?

Hey, we had the chance to be in the Beta test, and we didn't take it. We could have been talking to the SC directly about the WIP stuff, we're not. We could be... oh you get my drift.

I'm sure when the time comes, we'll all be able to help out over seas forum members. Now I have to get that image out of my head of you snogging with pimples.

I'll be honest, the game looks like it's really coming along!!! I check the Ver control file every day and it really looks great. I can be patient, that's not a problem, but I am salivating!