Running World of Warcraft on Ubuntu

A little background...

I run Linux for my home desktop, in fact I run Ubuntu, and I am a gamer. The sad thing is, is that many games out there are not geared for the Linux desktop environment. This might change as the popularity of Ubuntu and other distros gain popularity. But until the game developers realize this, Linux gamers are going to have to make due.

This little tutorial is just something informative to new users and as a helpful reminder to myself when I reload a machine or destroy my configurations on accident (it happens more than I would like to admit). I will provide some background information and related links that will make it easier to understand the process to get your Linux desktop (Ubuntu) up and running video games (mainly World of Warcraft).

What is Wine

Wine allows for users to run Windows applications on various operating systems.

How to install Wine

As anything, there are several methods to install Wine. Which ever method you feel comfortable with, by all means use that method.

Note: I personally would install the latest development package via .deb package due to html rendering issues that are known to occur when launching World of Warcraft.

Repository

Add Wine to your repository:
Go to System -> Administration -> Software Sources.
Click on Third Party Software.
Click Add.
When the dialogue appears, paste the following : ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa. Click Add Source

From the Command Line enter the following : sudo apt-get update
Then enter : sudo apt-get install wine

An alternative is; from the Command Line enter : sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
From the Command Line enter the following : sudo apt-get update
Then enter : sudo apt-get install wine

Debian Package

An alternative to installing Wine via apt-get is to install Wine with a .deb package. You can download the development code from here.

Just double click on the .deb package once it has downloaded and off you go.

By now you have set up your account through Battle.net. With this you can download the
latest version of World of Warcraft all with one download. It is a pretty big download, so be
patient.

Once the game has downloaded, right click on the World of Warcraft executable and click
Open With Wine Windows Program Loader.

The game will then begin to install.

Once the game has installed, you will need to edit the Config.wtf file. From the command line enter
the following : sudo gedit ~/.wine/dosdevices/c:/Program Files/World of Warcraft/WTF/Config.wtf

Add the following line: SET gxApi "opengl"
Save and Close the file.

Now you should be set to play World of Warcraft.

By the Way...
There is a current issue with the loader due to some functionality difference in Patch 3.2. You can read the forums to find out more information. Until this is patched or a work around in place, the following steps will help you launch the game properly.

1. Start the World of Warcraft launcher
2. While the launcher is still open, Open a terminal
3. Change Directory to Wine Program Files : cd ~/.wine/dosdevices/c:/Program Files/
4. Change Permission of the World of Warcraft folder : sudo chmod 777 World of Warcraft/
5. Now click Play on the launcher.

Good luck and For the Alliance

Who Am I

Who am I and why am I blogging...

So to start off I am not an expert or profession writer. I am just a software developer. A software developer that likes to tinker with everything. I do have ambitions on becoming a technology writer or a how to writer, but for the time being (and for the practice) I will just add content to this blog that others may find helpful.

Background

A little background of myself, just so you can feel like you know me. I graduated from Central Missouri Status University (UCM I believe it is called now) with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. I went on to live in Columbia, Mo and finally landed in Kansas City. Much of the work I did during that time was mainly freelance web development and small business network deployment. Some of it was fun, but not that exciting (since you really are a the bitch of whoever is contracting you).

Beliefs

I am a firm believer in the Open Source philosophy, of course my definition may differ from the traditional definition, but that is the glory Open Source. Other than Open Source, non-profit organizations are something that I firmly believe in as well, they seem to go hand in hand. Even though they do go hand in hand, many organizations especially in the Social Work industry just do not utilize the Open Source community very efficiently. This could be because of government influence (that is another rant for another day). I hope to at least be able to be a part of the group that actually merges the two groups together.

So that is about it. Short, sweet, and probably not to the point.

Follow Me

Feel free to follow me on twitter and/or identi.ca

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Google Chrome OS

What it is...

Google has just announced their new operating system Chrome OS. The operating system that is a browser built on an operating system, or something ridiculous along those lines. Google even is allowing for the community of developers to actually contribute to the source code before the official release of the operating system, which is due out sometime next year.

What it is not...

Chrome OS is not going to be an operating system for the power user, hard core gamer, or network manager. Unless things change sometime from here to the time of release, this will just be an operating system geared for the web.

Try it out

There are some easy ways to try this new operating system out without actually having to go out and buy a netbook. Here are the simple steps to test out Chrome OS via virtual machine:

1. Download and install Virtualbox
2. Download the Chrome OS torrent via gdgt
3. Once the virtual machine has been properly downloaded, start up Virtualbox
4. Create a new Virtual Machine for Chrome OS
5. Continue with the step by step walk through, when you reach the screen "Virtual Hard Disk", select Use Existing Hard Drive option
6. Click on the folder next to the drop down options
7. Add the Chrome OS virtual machine image that was downloaded
8. Continue with the following installations
9. Once the virtual machine launches log into Chrome OS with your gmail username and password.

For a more visual representation use the guide created by Tech Crunch

Is it a game changer?

No, this is not a game changer. This might be a game changer for netbooks, but not for laptops or the desktop (we will leave desktop domination to Ubuntu).

Conclusion

If there happens to be an extra netbook laying around Chrome OS would definitely be an operating system worth using. Google nailed it on the head about cloud computing, and this is the first step to something that will be revolutionary a few years down the road.

Ubuntu Removes Gimp

Overview

Ubuntu recently decided to remove Gimp from the Live CD. And the community seems to not approve of this move. The Ubuntu team has there reasons and they definitely seem to be very legit. But why is the community so upset?

Why

There can only be one reason why the Ubuntu Community is so upset, it's because they've had to live with all the ups and downs that Gimp has provided them through the years. The community has been there from the start. All they know how to use now is Gimp (this is a generalization).

Ubuntu has always tried to make the desktop environment so easy to use for the every day user. Those in the community that are outraged by this would not be considered every day user, they would be considered somewhat an experienced user. Try describing to an elderly person, maybe your grandparents how to use Gimp to crop that photo of you when you were a little kid. It might become a difficult task explaining the multi-paned window system (Gimp is changing this). But Gimp is what it is, it is an alternative to Photoshop. And people that actually fork out the cash to buy Photoshop are experienced users (or people who like to piss money away) that will use the software to either fulfill a hobby of theirs or for work.

Space. Ubuntu is trying to create a Live CD that will demonstrate all the great things that Ubuntu has to offer. And since Ubuntu has always been great at providing an option to be able to run on any machine via CD something as to go.

Now they could move up to a Live DVD, but that could cause issues for older machines that do not have a DVD drive. There are applications that are crucial that must be on the Live CD to demonstrate the power of the Operating System. Leaving out one application that only a select few will use does not seem that big of an issue.

What Most People Want...

Most users, especially in the work place don't use Gimp on a daily basis, unless they are Graphic Designer whom work for a Open Source shop (which I would consider lucky). The average user just browses the Internet, writes documents, prints maps, listens to music, and possibly plays games. Most users probably have a digital camera and whip it out every time their cat does something cute or at all special events that their child might get the chance to actually be a part in. Well these users don't need a application as robust as Gimp. These users just need a simple application that will allow them to tag their photos, maybe crop them, and post them to a web site so that the world might see (or send links to relatives to show off). A perfect example is Picasa, a simple photo editor that will allow the user to simply adjust small things in a photo.

Some arguments have been made as to; "Then why would the user need a video editor?". Well there are probably more users out there that would use a simple video editor to create home movies so they may share with their grand kids one day.

Alternative

There are tons of alternatives to this issue of Gimp being removed from Ubuntu. People should not be afraid that they are losing complete access to Gimp.

Roll Your Own

The great thing about Ubuntu is the ability to customize it to your standards. And with so many tools out there you can create your own CD. Probably even create your own live CD with Gimp already configured.

App Store

Ubuntu just released their own App Store. It is so simple now install applications that any user of any level can install Gimp. A couple clicks of the mouse and you are done.

Conclusion

Everyone just needs to relax. If this is the only issue that the Ubuntu Community has right now, the Ubuntu is doing a great job. There are alternatives to this issue as there always is.