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Joe Barr

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Top Stories by Joe Barr

(LinuxWorld) — I have some good news and some not-so-good news. The good news came almost as an afterthought: Epic Games' brand new (September, 2002) release of Unreal Tournament 2003 included a Linux version in the box. According to a blurb I read online, the Linux version was completed too late in the game for it to be mentioned on the box. I'm not talking about the demo of UT2003, by the way. I mean the real thing. That's amazing. A major new game from a major game maker available for Linux users on the same day it became available for Windows. Imagine that. The rest of the news about the Linux port of UT 2003 is not so good. There are issues. And there remains in my mind a big question: why has the Linux release been slipstreamed into something of a stealth rele... (more)

Opera shows graceful, humorous response to Microsoft blunder

I recently downloaded the first beta of Opera 7.0 for Linux and gave it a whirl. I'm going to briefly recount my installation and usage experience with the beta, but this is in no way a review of the Opera browser, beta or otherwise. I'm simply using the beta as an icebreaker, an excuse to voice my opinions on recent happenings in the latest episodes of the Browser Wars. In blunt languag... (more)

How to install Neverwinter Nights on Linux

(LinuxWorld) — As soon as I saw the news that BioWare released a beta of a Linux client for its popular and successful Neverwinter Nights title, I downloaded the beta (registration required) and went shopping for the prerequisite retail Windows version of the game. Before I proceed, let me offer this brief warning: Neverwinter Nights is the mother of all timesinks. Do not follow my path ... (more)

Is Windows 2003 Server really faster than Linux/Samba?

(LinuxWorld) — Microsoft funded and released a new set of benchmarks to follow the debut of its often-renamed Windows 2003 Server. The boys in Redmond are proud as punch of their new baby, whatever its name. They would have the world believe that Windows 2003 Server is twice as fast as Linux, at least when it's used for file serving. Microsoft hired VeriTest to conduct benchmarks using ha... (more)

IBM goes one-on-one in clever TV ads

(LinuxWorld) -- IBM puts a full-court press on someone in its latest series of metaphor-laden TV ads, which features "Linux" and "IBM solutions" playing round ball. In these ads, the game of basketball stands for competition, no doubt. The question in my mind is whether that competition is a battle of the big guys in the center position -- IBM and Microsoft -- or if I am reading too much... (more)