Windows emulation software for Macs (so I can use PBeM).

martynq · Post by **martynq** » Fri May 14, 2004 2:58 pm

Does anybody know of any way to emulate the Windows environment on a Mac? My goal is to run the PBeM tool, but I have very little idea what I'm doing here. (So very straightforward and simple instructions will be needed!

)

(Galak tells me the tool can't be ported to a Mac so I need alternatives.)

Martyn

BadMrMojo · Post by **BadMrMojo** » Fri May 14, 2004 5:27 pm

Virtual PC is the primary contender. It's pretty cool in that it emulates WinTel hardware rather than the OS itself, so you can install whatever copy of Windows or Linux (more on that in a moment) you want. It's a little slow but it should be fine for PBEM.

The downside is that Connectix was bought out by Big Bad Billy Boy and now Micro$oft owns it. Linux is no longer supported, naturally... although supposedly it does still work.

Bochs is an open source alternative. Supposedly very slow, however. For PBEM, it shouldn't matter much, since it has pretty low requirements, I believe.

There's talk of porting WINE to OS X but nothing has come of it yet, that I know of. Even when it does, it will probably be short on optimizations and face the same issues as Bochs.

The other option is to taint your home network with an old PC. Castoffs from the office work particularly well, if you're so lucky. I have an archaic machine that I got from work which fortunately runs PBEM, browsers for testing websites and a few old Microprose turn-based games just fine. It's extra space and annoying to have to actually use a PC but it does work, however. I just like to think of it as my way of reminding myself how much I prefer my mac.

martynq · Post by **martynq** » Fri May 14, 2004 6:02 pm

Thanks... I'll investigate Bochs. I've got a PC at home, so can play there, but my work machine is a Mac and it would be so much more convenient if I could just play my daily (or more) turn there so I didn't have to dialup just to find how significantly my opponent is kicking my ar$e.

Martyn

BadMrMojo · Post by **BadMrMojo** » Fri May 14, 2004 7:00 pm

Well, now that you got me intrigued, I just threw bochs on my work machine to give it a go.

It's not too big on user-friendliness and you still need to get a copy of Win95 or NT to use PBEM but the included Linux distro works, at least.

Now to figure out how the hell to get a windows disc image on there and have it recognize it.... that'll be interesting...

Anyway, I'll let you know how if I have any luck.

martynq · Post by **martynq** » Fri May 28, 2004 11:59 am

I don't even seem to be able to get the linux distribution to work... I think I must be doing something wrong... so much for hoping to be able to get PBeM to work on my work computer.

Martyn