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[Christian Knudsen]

You could argue that the App Store is equivalent to Linux' repositories...

[Manuel Magalhães]

Linux is only a temporary solution because I'm pretty sure we'll get to a point where computers are exclusively sold in pre-built form and lock out any OSes other than the officially permitted ones (Apple and a few other companies are already doing that).

As long there's PC gaming it will be always possible to buy a PC by parts, so I think custom builds are safe.
(And I think it's possible to put Windows/Ubuntu running in an Apple computer)

[s0]

(And I think it's possible to put Windows/Ubuntu running in an Apple computer)

Ya but it only works with Apple's official Boot Camp tool. They could theoretically pull the plug on that anytime. I wouldn't be so sure about the gaming thing either. If Valve's Steam Box "console" catches on, it could change PC gaming in a major way.

You could argue that the App Store is equivalent to Linux' repositories...

You could but you would be wrong. AFAIK anyone can set up their own repo whereas the Appstore is exclusively run by one company and people can't publish stuff on there without having it approved by Apple first. Right now the Appstore is optional but they're taking more and more steps towards making it the only way to install software on your Mac.

idk maybe I'm just pessimistic

[baconman]

It's not just that. And it's not just you. Seems almost like Big Money is waging a well-organized and dedicated war against the freedom of the internet and personal computing on pretty much any level they can establish it at.

Man are they gonna be the owners of some sad, sore sacks once they realize that plenty of their market are way too in the red for what they're trying to gain from this, and that many "customers" they think they'll be acquiring have resources to just DIY that shit.

[leonelc29]

in short:
software enginer, DOOMED!
self-publisher, DOOMED!
indie-games, DOOMED!

is Aquaria any good? wanna buy it, but can't decide is it worth it, since there's no demo on steam.

[Schoq]

[Christian Knudsen]

You could argue that the App Store is equivalent to Linux' repositories...

You could but you would be wrong. AFAIK anyone can set up their own repo whereas the Appstore is exclusively run by one company and people can't publish stuff on there without having it approved by Apple first. Right now the Appstore is optional but they're taking more and more steps towards making it the only way to install software on your Mac.

It's a central collection of software controlled by an authority that to some degree ensures the validity and safety of the software, is what I'm getting at. Most Linux distros have official repos that can also be quite hard to get on.

Besides, OS X 10.8 doesn't restrict software to the App Store only. Developers get a unique ID (for free) that they use to sign their software. If this software turns out to be malicious, Apple can flag the developer ID to stop the OS from running software from this developer (if the user has it set to the default -- they can still run it if they really want to, just like they can run unsigned software if they want to).

[Manuel Magalhães]

So it's like Windows' UAC, then? That doesn't seem too bad. I think between Windows 8 and OSX the later is much less "smartphone-ish", even if they are borrowing some aspects like the App Store or iMessages. Using it isn't "tablet-like", at least for now.
I tried Windows 8 the other day and while IE10 is really fast and there's animated Gif support (yay!) I found it very counter-productive and I can't imagine how someone who doesn't understand much about tech will get along with it.

[baconman]

In shorter, you broke? DOOM'D.

is Aquaria any good? wanna buy it, but can't decide is it worth it, since there's no demo on steam.

If you like exploration parts of Metroidvania games more than the combat, and don't mind a little puzzling power usage in getting around and clearing areas. I love it, personally, and think it strikes a good balance between the two, but there's a couple of LP's and background tracks on YouTube you can check out.

Watch a little early part of it - that won't really spoil much for you that you won't encounter anyways - and if it seems like something you'd enjoy playing, snag it up!

[SirNiko]

is Aquaria any good? wanna buy it, but can't decide is it worth it, since there's no demo on steam.

I found it to be excellent. It gets a bit difficult towards the end (The final boss is a marathon) and there is a little bit of grinding involved in collecting ingredients to make potions. It has a lot of optional sidequests, so you can either plow through the game and complete or spend extra time finding decorations and costumes that do not have any impact on the ending.

[leonelc29]

hmm...i was expect more combat and stuff, since i saw shooting projectile and boss fight in the trailer. at least i can tone down the expectation a bit. ohh well, will get it anyway, after i get my paypal set up, along with Bastion! thank anyway 

[st33d]

is Aquaria any good? wanna buy it, but can't decide is it worth it, since there's no demo on steam.

Okay, I'm gonna say it: I didn't get on with it. I got lost frequently. Didn't like the controls. And the whole water-hippies scenario really got on my nerves.

So I would add to the sentiment that you might want to check out a let's play of it. Most people seem to like it. But I'm not most people.

[SirNiko]

It's very non-linear, which can be annoying if you pick a harder boss to fight early on. I went to the palace first and got my ass handed to me a few times until I went to an easier area to get more healing items.

On the other hand, if you go to a hard area first and get a good upgrade you can break a few areas because you can take major shortcuts. Whether that is good or bad depends on how tightly controlled you like your scenarios.

The game does have a lot of combat, split between a few combat heavy dungeons and a couple of grueling boss fights. There will be a lot of places where there is little or nothing to kill, though, and instead you're navigating mazes or trying to solve a couple of puzzles.

[Player 3]

Raspberry Pi for building a bartop arcade cabinet for games? Hope you're capable of building an ARM build for it.

[s0]

It's very non-linear, which can be annoying if you pick a harder boss to fight early on. I went to the palace first and got my ass handed to me a few times until I went to an easier area to get more healing items.

doesn't it have like a thingy on the map screen pointing you to the next area?

[st33d]

Not where I got stuck it in the Humble Bundle version it didn't. Considering that I really didn't like the fundamental mechanic of how you move, exploring was pretty much torture in a game that's all about exploring.

But different strokes for different folks I guess.

[Nix]

Raspberry Pi for building a bartop arcade cabinet for games? Hope you're capable of building an ARM build for it.

This isn't too hard. There are lots of cross-compilation tools for ARM, and Rasberry Pi even comes with a Linux development environment on it, so you could just open it up and compile directly.

[Player 3]

Raspberry Pi for building a bartop arcade cabinet for games? Hope you're capable of building an ARM build for it.

This isn't too hard. There are lots of cross-compilation tools for ARM, and Rasberry Pi even comes with a Linux development environment on it, so you could just open it up and compile directly.

That is true. It's just that I kind of wished there was an easier way of modifying some sort of open-source OS and get it to directly run a game without other things taking up SD card space. I know Linux distros tend to have a feature for programs to start upon startup, but it's dealing with everything else.

tl;dr An OS that only have functionality for whatever specific game.

[Tumetsu]

tl;dr An OS that only have functionality for whatever specific game.

I might be missing something here but why would you need this requirement? Why you can't just run a "full" OS instead? Especially since you should be able to find some very light and small Linux distros, or even customize one on your own.

[Player 3]

tl;dr An OS that only have functionality for whatever specific game.

I might be missing something here but why would you need this requirement? Why you can't just run a "full" OS instead? Especially since you should be able to find some very light and small Linux distros, or even customize one on your own.

Good point. I may have been trying to make it more difficult than it needs be, but I kind of had a wish to sell bartop arcade cabinets (that run Linux because it's free) plus game. If it's going to be a light, customizable distro with ARM support, I wonder what I can find.