Tag Archives: 2003

Lindows 4

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Lindows 4, the next installment in the line of Windows-inspired operating systems and is an easy-to-use Linux operating system, designed to appeal to your typical Windows user of the era. 

This time I will be using VirtualBox 5, as the OS is a bit heavy for 86Box to handle. We should have some luck with the emulated hardware that VirtualBox uses and supports. Host machine uses an Intel Core i5 2500.

Install is pretty much the same as previous versions, simply choose the hard disk you wish to install and away you go. No need to optionally configure packages, though power users might prefer this to optimize their installation and remove stuff they do not see.

After installation we are greeted with a first run box that reminds us to set the time zone of our computer, along with the option to set an administrator password if one wasn’t set using the install. The screen resolution can also be set here, by default it’s 1024×768.

After this we are treated to a tutorial that explain the basics of navigating the operating system. This reminds me of the tutorial that would launch when you first started Windows 98, along with a slideshow list of features included in the operating system. For first-time Linux user this is a welcome addition and lets them feel comfortable using their new operating system.

The user can mouse over the different desktop icons and taskbar items to find more information on their purpose and how they are typically used.

Exiting the tutorial prodded to be problematic, despite clicking on the ‘Go to the Real Desktop’ link, the application froze. I waited a couple minutes but nothing happened, the OS become unresponsive.

A quick reboot brought the OS back to life, through the damned tutorial started again. I even saw a browser window showing a SWF file, proving the tutorial was made in Adobe (Macromedia) Flash, Luckily I was able to exit it this time.

For whatever reason Lindows Internet Suite decided to load, this serves as the default email client of the OS, along with the browser. From the looks, it’s just a rebranded version of Netscape Navigator. I believe this was the era when Netscape was purchased by AOL and began reimagining their web browser before making it open source, though the about box mentions Mozilla so maybe that already happened.

The Windows-like user interface

Click-N-Run is still at the forefront of the OS and was the preferred way of installing software rather than using a package manager. This was aimed at making easy-to-install software by mimicking the Windows way of installing via the use of a setup wizard.

The file manager of the OS, you can see a lot of inspiration from the Windows XP silver Luna theme via the button bar and the style of the icons which mimic Windows Explorer, yet the taskbar still has the Windows 2000 feel to it.

Two MP3 files come bundled with the OS, showcasing the multimedia capabilities. One is a typical pop song of the era, and the other is an audio voice thanking you for choosing Lindows. Kind of similar to how Windows ME included that Beck song, or that David Grey song in Windows XP

XMMS still looks like an OS X Aqua program with version 1.2.7 is used here. Also, our sound drivers are working! (AC97)

Images can be previewed within the file manager itself

Right-clicking can bring up a context menu that lists the different actions available

File properties window

It’s also possible to split view the file manager, like an earlier version of Windows snap though this gives it a total commander feel to it.

Clicking on the icon that looks like a lifeboat jacket brings a menu with a list of tutorials, and link for further help online. Like the earlier tutorial, it’s all drivers in Macromedia Flash 6.

Printers control panel, which uses the KDE Control Module. Here print jobs can be managed and canceled for physical and virtual document printers.

There are a few printers supported, but I don’t own any of them to test. It does give a few options for the type of printers, including SMB network-connected printers. USB is also supported, with the list corresponding to the amount of USB ports the machine has?

Quite a few options here, I guess the user has to trial and error them to see what works best? There are further options remaining for setting the borders of the page, the option to share the printer on the network and setting a page limit quota.

The Control Panel has had a slight redesign, let’s see what’s changed.

A few themes are included, with some mimicking your favorite OS. The default Lindows theme has been altered compared to previous versions.

I’m sure this was the wallpaper used on some Sony DVD players when they were idle (Powered on without a disc inserted)

A few of the included screensavers, the Virtual Machine one made me think the OS was self-aware in how was being run

One of the benefits of Linux is every element can be customized, and that trickled down into KDE and Lindows itself. Different aspects of the UI can be tweaked to your benefit. This won’t apply to most users who would rather pick from a default theme or style and use them, but is a nice option for power users.

Not much change has been made to the bundled applications, in-fact the only notable addition is the Wifi utility which is based on KWifiManager. I guess this only supports 802.11b networks using WEP, anything beyond that is unsupported.

A readme file written and left for us by Jack Donaldson explains some of the elements of their start menu and the file directories. Thanks Jack! 

I wonder if he’s still involved with Linux?

An extended look at the control panel, here we can find information about our system like the memory usage, I gave the OS 512MB which seems to be plenty. Information about the installed hardware can also be viewed in a similar manner to the Windows Device Manager

Shutting down Lindows

Ghosthunter

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A PS2 exclusive developed by Cambridge Studios, Ghosthunter puts you in the role of Lazarus Jones, a rookie detective officer along with his partner Steele, who is tasked with investigating an abandoned school. Unknowingly they unleashed a boatload of ghosts and his partner Steele gets abducted and its up to Lazarus to save her.

Main objective is to navigate your way around several different works, whilst capturing ghosts at you encounter them. Many ghosts require for you to shoot at them in order to capture them, and later on in the game there are multiple techniques needed to be mastered to capture certain ghosts. As you progress through the game you start to understand the backstory of the game.

Not all ghosts can be captured by the device, some you just need to shoot.

Graphics wise this looks pretty good by PS2 standards, although it has a weird effect where black lines start to appear at the side of the screen when the framerate starts to dip, this has been reported by different users, but it is unsure if this affects certain PS2 models, or if it only appears in the NTSC version (which I am using)

Also, it turns out there is a progressive scan mode in the NTSC version, but is hidden and can only be accessed by pressing a button combination upon startup. Nice of the developers to do that, could of at least given us the option on boot-up.

Aside from the graphics, the game also makes use of volumetric water, and cloth physics which can be seen on the swamp and mansion levels. Clearly this is a game that makes use of the PS2 VU0 (Vector Unit) processor to perform these calculations.

Version Differences

The Europe and American versions differ slightly since they had different publishers and due to the reception of the Europe version which was released first.

Seemly some of the puzzles in the game were made easier in the NTSC version. Considering I even struggled with some of these puzzles I’d say they made the right choice here, but a difficulty level could have fixed that.

Characters

Lazarus Jones – A rookie detective from Detroit and the main protagonist of the game, looks and sound’s like Ellis from Left 4 Dead 2

Anna Steele – No relation to the 50 Shades of Grey character, Lazarus’s partner who gets abducted early on in the game, and its up to Lazarus to save her

Professor Richmond – A scientist that was leading the project

Sir William Hawksmoor – The bad guy and the final boss

Astral – Some sort of blue spirit that bonds with Lazarus, she will help you navigate areas and puzzles that Lazarus cannot physically complete, on the count of her being a spirit. Astral has several abilities, of which only one is available at the start with the rest being unlocked s you progress through the game.

Levels

Once you are in a level you are free to navigate and explore the level, making it very open, But you cannot revert back to a previous level unless you load an earlier save file. The game only supports saving and loading from Memory Card Slot 1.

Haunted School – The first level that you explore, where Lazarus accidentally sets off a bunch of ghosts that start to wreak havoc. It s this art where you meet the AI computer that will assist you in the forthcoming levels.

Swamp Realm – This introduces the howler ghost where you will need to hide and enter cover to fool the ghost. This relies on stealth and the ability to enter cover whilst keeping track of it. The howler will typically move an object needed for you to progress, so it’s best to hide and see what it does before capturing it. As for the rest of the level, its a bit dreary with it being set on a swamp for most of the level. Eventually, you will encounter an abandoned Mansion that has an issue with its ghost inhabitants, here you must solve a series of puzzles and riddles to progress through the game.

On the swamp, and later levels you have access to the spectral binoculars, which will reveal the health of the ghost enemy when used.

Haunted New School – You are back in the school where there is much more to explore. Here you have to navigate around to the science block and through to the library where you have to collect a series of books. There’s not much in the name of navigation so will need to explore and check closely.

You will be introduced to smoke grenades which are needed to defeat some of the ghosts, you will need to fire these before capturing them.

Ship Realm – Now you are on an army/military base with ghost soldiers. Here you will need to navigate through he base and onto a ship. At some point you will encounter some sort of tentacle monster that requires you to navigate through the rooms stealthy to avoid being killed. You cannot shoot this monster will regular guns, instead you have to locate and find bombs and a detonator to keep it at bay.

Prison Realm – You’re now on a prison Island, where you have to navigate through the cells and corridors to progress. At some points you will need to use Asteral to take over certain guards in order to move or manipulate objects.

Conclusion

The game makes a good addition to anyone’s PS2 library and despite the mixed reception, there’s an immersive environment to explore. The game was later re-released on the PlayStation 3 store as a PS2 classic, and is an emulated version of the PS2 version.

Nokia 3100

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A feature phone designed to appeal to the youth of the time, with its 4096 colour screen (128×128 resolution) and polyphonic ringtones, and featured support of GRPS internet browsing and MultiMedia messages. The phone also features a glow-in-the-dark cover which allows you to find your phone in the dark. As for the display, The screen uses STN technology, which makes it hard to read in the sun, and has a low response rate which can result in ghosting when navigating the menus.

The device lacks a built-in camera, but Nokia provided optional support with the Nokia Fun Camera, which could be connected to the phone’s Pop-Port to transfer photos, which can be sent via MMS.

There is also a lack of FM Radio and MP3 audio support since this was targeted as an entry-level device. There is also no Infrared or Bluetooth, so you will need to purchase a Nokia data cable to connect to your PC. In this mode you can transfer ringtones and wallpapers, and download Java apps to the phone. You can also use the handset as a modem but you are limited to GRPS.

Still the phone enables internet and multimedia message use and is compatible with nearly all of the Java mobile apps

The screens below are captured from the handset itself. Unfortunately, Nokia Series 40 phones cannot take screenshots of their display. Because of the low DPI nature of the screen, there are some screendoor like artifacts that can be seen.

Home Screen

Appears the same as any other Nokia handset from the same era. Some operators may include their own brandings, such as an operator logo or a custom background. This one appears to have the O2 background preinstalled.

Menu

The traditional Nokia interface is used for the handsets menus, but with an updated icon set. The interface is similar to the 6610 and 6230, being Series 40-based.

The directional keys can be used as shortcuts to common menu items, like pressing the up button opens the camera, left will open the SMS message composer.

Speed dialing can be activated by pressing and holding down a key, which will dial out the contact number assigned to it. 1 will always dial out the voicemail number.

Messages

Here you can create and send SMS text messages, or compose one using the built-in templates offered. Received messages can be entered into custom folders for longer-term keeping.
There is also a distribution list for when you want to spam multiple contacts with the same message, you simply enter the numbers to send the message to or select from your phonebook, and your message will be set to multiple recipients. Useful for making an announcement or sending the same message to multiple contacts frequently.

Nokia smart messaging is supported, which allows sending and receiving of ringtones and black/white static images to other supported handsets (commonly Nokia) but also with some Samsung/LG/Motorola. There are 10 templates that have been included with the handset that can be sent.

MMS is supported, which allows for photos and small audio clips to be sent using the phone’s data connection. Up to 100kb can be attached to a single MMS file. As the phone lacks a built-in camera, you would think this would have limited use. But as mentioned earlier Nokia did release a Fun Camera, which was a portable camera that would connect to the phone’s pop-port, pictures can then be imported to the phone where they can be sent.

Sony Ericsson also release something similar to their T68 handset, which is considered the direct competitor to the 3100.

Contacts

The Phonebook can save around 200 entries with a little more being saved to the SIM card. Contacts stored in the phone memory can have additional information assigned to it, such as the email address, home/landline number, fax number, office/work, and a photo of the contact assigned, which will appear on screen when the contact shows. If a contact has multiple numbers assigned to it, the first number entered will be the default contact used.

Call Register

Three lists are stored here, each for received, dialed and missed calls. Each list can save up to 20 entries and will show the date/time of the call. You can also press the green call button from the idle screen to show the recently dialed numbers.

You can also view the call time counters for the last phonecall, and the lifetime calls for the device. This can also be reset at any time.

Profiles

Profiles can be set and configured from there, you can also access this by pressing the power button, located at the top of the handset. Profiles can also be timed so they expire after a set amount of hours, useful when setting the device to be on silent for when you enter a meeting.
The default profiles are General, Silent, Discreet, Loud, Outdoor and Pager.

Settings

Personal Shortcuts: Change what the right selection key performs at the home screen, and customize the Go To menu
Screen saver: Displays and sets the phone screensaver, and how long the screensaver should be displayed
Time and date: Set the phones time and date, if it has not been set by the network
Call: Set the call to divert and waiting options, and if you want your caller ID to be sent
Phone: Change phone-specific settings like the language, automatic keyguard and the delay to lock the keys, Cell info display that show local information provided by the nearest mast, set the phones welcome note, the startup tone and the help text which is displayed after a few seconds when a menu item is highligted.
Display: Change the wallpaper, colour scheme, and operator logo (if one has been setup).
Tone: Set the ringing tone, the message tone and to enable vibration. A unique feature of the phone is it can flash its backlights in rhythm with the ringtone, however this only seems to work for ringtones shipped with the handset, downloaded ringtones will simply flash the backlight on and off.
Enhancement: Which profile to set when a handsfree headset is connected to the phone
Security: set and change the phones security code, and the Sim card PIN code
Lastly, you can restore the factory settings, but this will require the phone security code.

Gallery

To view wallpapers and ringtones that are included with the phone, any that have been downloaded.

Alarm Clock

Set an alarm, only one can be set here but it can be set to repeat daily or weekly. This has its own place in the main menu, rather than being embedded into the Organiser menu on other handsets.

Calendar

A standard calendar is offered, which can be used to add events to each day. Three times of events can be added, Reminder, Call and Birthday

Games

Three games are included: Snake, Beach Rally & Bowling. Optional games that could be downloaded and installed are Bounce, Space Impact, Trail Biker & Chess Puzzle. With under 1MB of user storage you’re limited to the number of games you can download.

There is also an applications menu, but none are included and must be downloaded. Sometimes games that have been downloaded will appear in the applications folder.

Extras

Calculator: Just a standard basic calculator
Countdown Timer: Enter a time to countdown to
Stopwatch: Choose either Split or Lap timing, and view any previous times

Services

The phone’s WAP and internet browser, with pre-set links to download more content like ringtones and wallpapers.
Also a bookmark for Blyk, which was a mobile network that launched in 2007 and was a free mobile network that r would send adverts in the form of SMS text messages which would provide you with free credit. It totally flopped and closed in 2009.

Go To

A menu that lists shortcuts that have been added

Lastly, there is also a dedicated menu for the Sim card application toolkit which will appear if the SIM card is configured to display one.