Linux and Trainz

Over the last few years there have been a number of threads in these forums asking why Trainz/TANE was not available on Linux distros - the usual answer was lack of a worthwhile customer base using Linux. There are a few Linux Trainzers who have stated that the only time they turn on a computer running Windows OS was to run Trainz.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Linux as I have a laptop running Ubuntu.

Last year Microsoft released Windows 10 SP1 (aka Anniversary Update) that included the ability to run Linux command line programs. A step in the right direction said some, but still not good enough.

Now Microsoft have just announced ...

"that three of the most popular Linux distributions are coming to the Windows Store. Ubuntu, SUSE Linux, and Fedora will all be available to install directly from the Windows Store, making it easy to run Linux apps on any Windows 10 device. The Linux installations will run in a virtualized environment side by side with Windows, with the same command-line utilities available that you’d normally have with a full installation."

So it may be possible to have Trainz/TANE and Linux running on the same machine - but not Trainz/TANE running in Linux and I am sure that to some this will still not be good enough.

I prefer Mint, but this is still very cool.

Matt

I haven't seen that announcement yet...

I wonder if the GUI will be available, or will it still be only command line.

From what I've read this virtualized environment goes beyond a standard VM, and is integrated with the operating system. This allows the direct access and integration to work and requires no go between overhead which is required with virtual machine environments such as VMware, Virtual Box, or Hyper-V.

epa said:

I prefer Mint, but this is still very cool.

Matt

Click to expand...

Same here, Mint and PCLinuxOS.

Not sure if any of the Linux guys have noticed yet but Microsoft's most popular are the Distros that have known to have collaborated with Redmond in the past, the worst offender being Shuttleworths Ubuntu.

Mint is currently the most popular last time I checked, just replaced Vista on an old Toshiba Laptop with it, wouldn't take Win7 let alone 10 but happily running on 64 bit Mint.

Now if MS were to Port .net and DirectX to Linux....

JCitron said:

I wonder if the GUI will be available, or will it still be only command line.

Click to expand...

From my interpretation of the news reports and the one screen shot I have seen, with all 3 Linux environments running in separate windows, it is still command line only.

pware said:

So it may be possible to have Trainz/TANE and Linux running on the same machine - but not Trainz/TANE running in Linux and I am sure that to some this will still not be good enough.

Click to expand...

I have been tinkered with Linux for many years and have used it in preference to Windows for practically everything other than gaming since the early days of Windows 7. For many years its been possible to dual boot a computer with both Windows and Linux and made much easier in the past five years so Trainz and Linux on the same machine has never really been that much of a problem for some time. As an enthusiastic supporter of Trainz I accept I need Windows to enjoy my pastime so get on with it, not that it has stops me trying to install previous versions of Trainz directly onto Linux to see what I can achieve, and to date, up to TS10 works well although TS12 and more so its Content Manager has many issues.

While I'm not that supportive of the Microsoft Corporation I don't dislike Windows just the rubbish I have to put up with from it to be able to enjoy Trainz. Microsoft is talking about 'Windows 10 S' a cut down version for use in education. I believe they should consider something similar for all us gamers. As for running Linux from within Windows I'm not sure, my current view is stick with what you prefer and accept that for some applications you may just need to swap to the alternative a bit like my phone and tablet which both run Android. Now there's an idea, what if . . . . . . . Peter