Game Development as a Boycott
by Pat Wilson · in General Discussion · 02/17/2001 (9:49 am) · 9 replies
Hear me out on this one...I'm running on a little less then optimal sleep levels. (When people say it's not a good idea to stack up a bunch of CS courses in one quarter, listen to them...all the projects are due at the same time)
I've been reading about Whistler (Windows EX...shoot whoever came up with that name) and was thinking about Microsofts escalation of it's personal jihad on piracy and the like. Supposidly, for anyone who hasn't read it, the OS will only be able to be installed on one computer, and you *have* to register it, and it will generate a registration ID from the hardware signatures on the machine it is being installed on, so if you, say, upgrade your processor, you could be screwed. (This is still rumor at this point, but I haven't seen anything to the contrary)
What if the next generation of games didn't support Windows. In my mind, that's what Windows is good for. It's the only reason I have it on my computer at least. This would put a serious amount of pressure on Microsoft and maybe slap them into the same space-time continum that the rest of us exist in. But like the tag says...idealistic idea.
Just something I was thinking about.
I've been reading about Whistler (Windows EX...shoot whoever came up with that name) and was thinking about Microsofts escalation of it's personal jihad on piracy and the like. Supposidly, for anyone who hasn't read it, the OS will only be able to be installed on one computer, and you *have* to register it, and it will generate a registration ID from the hardware signatures on the machine it is being installed on, so if you, say, upgrade your processor, you could be screwed. (This is still rumor at this point, but I haven't seen anything to the contrary)
What if the next generation of games didn't support Windows. In my mind, that's what Windows is good for. It's the only reason I have it on my computer at least. This would put a serious amount of pressure on Microsoft and maybe slap them into the same space-time continum that the rest of us exist in. But like the tag says...idealistic idea.
Just something I was thinking about.
About the author
#2
02/17/2001 (11:49 am)
Well, I enjoy coding for and using Win2k, but I agree that there are some weird rumors coming out with regards to WinXP. Of course, until it comes out we won't know for sure if they're true or not. I used BeOS regularly from it's pre-x86 days until the end of '00. I just got tired of waiting for the new networking stack and OpenGL implementation. It's really too bad though, because I think BeOS would make a great gaming platform (once it got better networking and OpenGL [including drivers of course]). It's already a nice development platform: clean OO api, lots of multimedia support, etc. It just needs a better IDE and a better debugger. To answer your question: I wouldn't start thinking about boycotting until we've got something to boycott against. People aren't upgrading as much as they used to because software and hardware have reached the point where they fill all the needs of average, everyday consumers. I don't think MSFT is going to give consumers even more reason not to upgrade.
#3
02/17/2001 (12:00 pm)
Speaking of games on BeOS...ever play Corum III. I know it was a port, but it was amazing :)
#4
02/17/2001 (12:38 pm)
I'm not an old school BeOS junky, but I have had it for a little over a year, and I think it is an exelent OS. Be would make a good gaming platform, it has a lot of power and is as easy to use/install as Windows (about). The hardware support is decent as well, and I love the UI. (I use it's Look and Feel for my Linux box)
#5
-Robert
02/17/2001 (1:36 pm)
Maybe by some miracle the next windows will suck so much that developers will turn their attention to some better OS's-Robert
#6
wait, im a mac user anyways. bomb microsoft!
i would get into pcs...but they are too complicated. too many video cards, sound cards, controllers, and microsoft.
well varity is a good thing, as long its regulated. oh well this discussion is a matter of opinon, and i appear to be out numbered.
02/19/2001 (12:29 pm)
yes, maybe some developers will turn to the better OS such as apple. :) wait, im a mac user anyways. bomb microsoft!
i would get into pcs...but they are too complicated. too many video cards, sound cards, controllers, and microsoft.
well varity is a good thing, as long its regulated. oh well this discussion is a matter of opinon, and i appear to be out numbered.
#7
02/19/2001 (3:55 pm)
If it wasn't for the steep price of mac's (good ones) I would probably get one. OS X is an amazing piece of work. The only thing that kills me is the big fat price tag on those G4's 
#8
I haven't used macs myself in a long time, but I have fond memories =).
02/19/2001 (7:07 pm)
If microsoft goes through with this XP thing apple has ONE HUGE chance you know... Imagine what would happen if they released an x86 compatible OSX at the same time MS would release XP! I haven't used macs myself in a long time, but I have fond memories =).
Robert C. Kalajian Jr.
-Robert