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Author Topic: Anybody running Linux on their cab?  (Read 15003 times)

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spystyle

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Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« on: February 02, 2006, 04:49:51 pm »
Hello from icy cold Maine,

Ever since I switched from IE to FireFox I've been interested in the open source ingenuity. They don't gain if you perpetually upgrade so they must be the good guys.

And I would feel good about a Micro$oft free arcade cab

While researching distros that might rock on a cab with an old computer in it I stumbled across "Puppy Linux" and "Feather Linux", Puppy allegedy turns a PII into a fast workstation that goes like a P4, and Feather can run on a PI, both are based on Knoppix - and then there is KnoppixMAME, but from the little research I've done it is difficult to work with and does not support TV out.

Is anyone here using Linux on their cab? If yes, what distro?

Is there a fast Linux that supports TV out for cabs with TV?

Is there a good walkthrough for putting Linux on a cab? I don't know a thing about Linux and the number of distros available is overwhelming. I don't even know where to start.

What I would like for a Linux is this:

1. Can run on a little PII 300Mhz or a big P4 3GHZ

2. Is super easy to install, installs to HD automatically formatting and ect

3. Has the complete Linux drivers in it so it is very compatible without having to install drivers (is that fiction?)

4. Has TV-OUT for nVidia or ATI automatically enabled (I guess this means the OS would be fixed at 800x600 @ 60hz + the driver?)

5. Has a user friendly interface (user will set everything up with mouse)

6. User can easily copy their MAME or Emulation disk contents (ie: complete MAME set) like "drag and drop" from CD

7. User can easily install MAME or Emu software (with the mouse?)

8. User can set their emulation software to automaticaly launch when OS starts (ideally after initial setup no keyboard or mouse will be available in an arcade machine)

9. OS automatically "shuts down OS and powers off computer" when ATX power button is pressed.

10. It must run much faster than Windows 98SE

Is this possible? Is it a pipe dream or easy to do?

Thanks,
Craig

SirPoonga

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2006, 05:06:09 pm »
Let me put it this way, the answer to most of those questions is yes.  BUT, yep, there's a but.  But you are going to need a bigger machine for emulation unless you run an older version of mame.  Also it isn't trivial to set some things up.
You will have to define easy.  Microsoft windows easy, no.  But easy enough where you don't need to know much to figure it out, yes.

First, if you are new to linux start out with something like knoppix, fedora, or mandrake.  Installing is easy.  As for getting mame to work your best option is to use the advance tools.
http://advancemame.sourceforge.net/

spystyle

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2006, 06:38:44 pm »
In response to :  an older version of MAME

I was thinking of using a MAME version in keeping with the processor, like .36 for PII, .53 for PIII, ect.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2006, 02:35:37 am »
I am running gentoo on my cab - pretty flexible - only install what you need.  Granted I have run into some issues, but most are documented here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=46747.0

Also using gentoo are whammoed, elvis, and motorhedjr, all of whom have contributed to the above thread.

some links:
http://www.gentoo.org

whammoed's site:
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/whammoed/whammocade/software.htm

Ever since I switched from IE to FireFox I've been interested in the open source ingenuity. They don't gain if you perpetually upgrade so they must be the good guys.

And I would feel good about a Micro$oft free arcade cab

right on, brother...

as far as TV-out goes... I think it is going to be hit and miss... don't get too excited at the URL but I did find this:

http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_TV-Out

good luck,
Rock

buks

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2006, 06:28:11 pm »
spystyle,

If you're a complete noob at linux then I can hightly recommend Ubuntu linux. The installation is nearly as easy as Windows although quite a few flavours of Linux have user friendly installs.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

To install software (like MAME) you can do it all via the Synaptic Package Manager - its a bit like Add/Remove Programs but it downloads the list of available software from a server (known as a repository).

I must recomment my mates linux version of Mamewah at this point (much easier to setup than AdvancedMAME in my opinion).

http://www.anti-particle.com/wahcade.shtml

Of course, theres bound to be as many people offering advice as there are flavours of Linux. The best thing to do might be to "have a play" with all the ones you like the look of. Theres quite a few "LiveCD" versions that will boot off CD for you to try out (it won't touch your hard drive in other words). Ubuntu has one, and some others do (okay, I forget which!).

Good luck.

Buks

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2006, 07:00:15 pm »
Hello,
First post though long time lurker. I run a mythtv setup at home
and have (as almost all mythtv users do) an nvidia card.
nvidia  has a binary driver that is very stable. I have heard many horror
stories from people trying to get tv-out working with ati cards although I
understand that that may be the preferred way to go in the windows world.

SirPoonga

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2006, 05:53:25 pm »
Sigh, all these new upstart linux distros.  Where did Suse, Slackware, Redhat, and Debian all go :)

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2006, 07:27:57 am »
Sigh, all these new upstart linux distros.  Where did Suse, Slackware, Redhat, and Debian all go :)

Funny you should say. I just finished upgrading my wife's system to suse 10. She's never seen anything but Windows, so I expected a huge fight. Plus, she had many expectations regarding connectivity to the existing Windows machines in our house (files, printers, vnc, office, etc), so I also expected to have to break it to her gently when some things didn't work. I'm happy to report that with a nearly straight-from-the-CD install, I was able to give her a suse 10 system that does EVERYTHING she's used to, and she even said "wow, it just looks more updated somehow". Anyway, suse is my linux distro of choice. Never seen ubuntu or gentoo or really anything other than fedora (didn't like) and knoppix (not what I'm after).

So... the million dollar question... apart from simple user preference regarding desktops etc, is there really any difference anyone should care about when it come to running mame on linux? My gut feeling was no, but I suppose there could be a disto that's known for better drivers, etc. Suse was a 5 CD set, Fedora was only 3, and I notice Suse seems to recognize hardware a tiny bit better (or maybe my imagination).

Okay, I've hijacked this thread long enough. Thoughts?

Chemame

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2006, 07:49:55 am »
My thought is there isn't any reason to even use linux.  :police:

Contrary to popular belief, if you are running a guied version of linux and mame (which is necessary)  you'll get the same performance as running the same version of mame on the same pc in windows.  So in the positives it's just as fast as windows.  And linux is free, that's a positive.

On the negatives:

Linux takes longer to starup and shutdown than windows does. 

Linux has very crippled hardware support particularly when it comes to advanced configurations of video cards. 

Linux has a handful of emulators while windows has dozens.

Linux has 3 front-ends.  Windows has more than you can count.

Linux has zero support apps, windows has several. 

You are more likely to get help with a windows based problem in regards to emulation than you will a linux one. 

Can't play pc games on linux. 


This isn't a windows vs linux thing, it's a common sense thing.  Once you get a front-end setup you won't see the os regardless of your choice.  But you will see the slow bootups, lack of choices, and fugly front-ends if you choose linux. 

Using linux to squeeze a few more fps out of an aging box is a good idea.  I should say it would be a good idea if that were actually true.  ;)

If you are worried about performance and have an aging system then use dos.  It's faster, has a smaller footprint, zero bootup time, and since you were going to be using linux anyway, you'll hardly notice the ugly fe choices you are stuck with.




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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2006, 08:12:56 am »
Agree with howard.

Despite the fact i like linux , i have to admit windows avoid lot of problems  mainly in term of software choice, hardware support.

And considering performance, i agree with howard too.  A windows well can be even faster than a linux.
And on old computer. Dos is enough, i think.

Unfortunaly i don't think linux is a good choice for "gaming" in general.  Let it to Internet or Database server where it is an excellent OS!



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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2006, 10:45:53 am »
I know pretty much nothing about Linux, but I did try out about 10 different 'Live CDs' over the weekend (trying to recover data from an XP laptop that shlt the bed) and I found it a pretty good way of testing out the different distros.

I thought Slax was really nice (though I think its not installable on hard drive), it's based on the Slackware distro. It's simple and user friendly. When you're used to Windows a lot of these live cds can seem alien, but I was able to find some kind of file manager thingy and copy the needed files from the XP hard drive over to a usb drive without any problems with Slax.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2006, 11:26:05 am »
Howard:  In general I agree with your opinion, however, for the sake of impartiality I'd like to add to your remarks.

Linux takes longer to starup and shutdown than windows does. 

  Windows XP does a pretty good job of keeping up with Linux boot times. However, it's a lot easier to trim down the kernel to be exactly what you need (and nothing more) in Linux than it is in Windows.  Can you even do that in Windows?

  For Linux, I'm talking about compiling in the drivers you need for your hardware, and since people don't tend to add/remove hardware from thier cabinet once it's built, this is generally a one-time-only affair (even though it's a PITA).

  That's how you speed up your boot time. Unused services can be add/removed from Linux and Windows with equal complexity.

Linux has a handful of emulators while windows has dozens.

  Not an issue unless you need to run anything Linux doesn't support, though there really are a decent amount of emulators that run on Linux.

Linux has 3 front-ends.  Windows has more than you can count.

  Again, not an issue unless you need something that's not supported. The few front ends that are out there are perfect for the people who use them.

  This isn't a Linux vs. Windows thread, like you said, and I have no intention of it becoming one.  I'm remaining as factual as possible in this post.  Feel free to reply, but I will probably not respond to try and keep it that way.

-Steve.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #12 on: February 07, 2006, 12:12:02 pm »
So... the million dollar question... apart from simple user preference regarding desktops etc, is there really any difference anyone should care about when it come to running mame on linux? My gut feeling was no, but I suppose there could be a disto that's known for better drivers, etc. Suse was a 5 CD set, Fedora was only 3, and I notice Suse seems to recognize hardware a tiny bit better (or maybe my imagination).
For mame, no, it doesn't make a difference.  For usage yes.  I prefer rpms since I started out on redhat.  Actually I first started on debian but moved to redhat when someone bought me a commercial version.  Anyway, I've always liked the ease of rpms, though I am sure by now the other packaging systems have caught up to rpm.

The difference with distros is what is bundled with them.  Linux is linux.  Meaning when people say linux they are usually referring to the core operating system, which is the same across all distributions.  What goes into the linux core is up to Linus Torvalds for the most part.

I will agree, somewhat, that windows is better for an arcade cabinet.  However, if ALL you are going to do is mame then it's fine.  If oyu want to branch out into other emulation with a slick frontend to handle it all then go with windows.

I want to know what howard means by support apps.

As for the other comments, it depends on what you are doing.  Linux, in general, is faster at booting than windows, but you can fine tune both until either takes little time to boot.  If oyu are using a PC monitor then advance video configuration isn't as big of a problem.  TV out can be a problem.  Arcade monitor is a bigger problem.

All in all, though, windows is better for an arcade cabinet.  Linux does a much better job at being a server than being a desktop or gaming platform.  Linux is getting better as a dektop but it still has a good distance to cover.

Actually, the desktop part isn't really linux's responsibility, it's up to xwindows.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2006, 01:46:01 pm »

Contrary to popular belief, if you are running a guied version of linux and mame (which is necessary)  you'll get the same performance as running the same version of mame on the same pc in windows. 

What do you mean by guied version of linux?
I run advmame from the console (command line)

I have run tests with linux and windows xp on the same computer and got better performance out of the linux setup with mame.  YMMV

Linux takes longer to starup and shutdown than windows does. 

I see faster boots with linux than with windows xp on the same machine, but its not that much different.
And as far as shutting down, I simply hit the power switch.  Can't get any faster than that. (I notice a faster shutdown when actually shutting down too)
Disclaimer:  I really don't know if its "OK" to simply cut the power to a linux setup.  I read someone said you can if you are using a journalling file system...  If the hard drive gets corrupt I'll simply reinstall, I have everything backed up anyway.  I'd consider doing the same thing in windows btw.

Anyway to answer the topic, yep I run linux and here are the main reasons I chose it:
1.To run advmame with an arcade monitor on recent hardware with a wide range of video card choices
2. advmame in linux supports multiple mice devices and I had 3 I wanted to keep seperate.

I like advmenu as a front end and only wanted to use it for mame so in my situation running any other os would have been a compromise of some kind.

To answer you're questions about it being easy, It certainly wasn't windows easy.  There was a learning curve for sure doing a custom install of gentoo.  There may be easier routes?  For me, it was part of the fun to learn something new though.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2006, 02:08:53 pm »
With regards to booting times, has anyone noticed that XP actually cheats? You see what appears to be a fully loaded GUI long before it is actually usable.

There are at least two major positives to Linux. Firstly it is free (IMHO this alone more than compensates for any of the negatives mentioned) and secondly it is much more customisable than Windows. The fact that Howard specifically mentions a GUIed version of Linux for running MAME demonstrates how little he knows about the OS. One of the things that annoys me about the design of Windows is the fact that it cannot be disengaged from its GUI.

Another really great thing about Linux is that it is a UNIX clone. UNIX is an incredibly elegant operating system that has stood the test of time. And unlike Windows it was written by programmers for programmers.
"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #15 on: February 07, 2006, 03:29:27 pm »
While researching distros that might rock on a cab with an old computer in it I stumbled across "Puppy Linux" and "Feather Linux", Puppy allegedy turns a PII into a fast workstation that goes like a P4, and Feather can run on a PI, both are based on Knoppix - and then there is KnoppixMAME, but from the little research I've done it is difficult to work with and does not support TV out.

  Sorry dude, but it seems like you want something different than Windows but you don't want to put the work into getting it.  You can have ALL those things with Linux but you can't have it without a little sweat.  Linux is great for speed because it allows you to tweak much more settings than Windows and you can tailor it to your specific purpose.  The only problem is you need to spend the time to do the tweaking.

  One of the ways people deal with long bootup times is they take out all the drivers that they know they don't need and specifically compile in (i.e. not loadable modules) the drivers they need.  That will prevent the system from loading unecessary components, speeding up the bootime and saving (usually little, depending on your kernel confiiguration) memory.

  The old addage holds true here..

 You have three selections but you get to choose only two: Cheap, Easy, Quality/Customizability. Which two do you want?

-Steve.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #16 on: April 08, 2006, 10:20:08 am »
Sorry to revive an old thread but I saw Gentoo (I'm a long time Gentoo user/ fanboy) and I wanted to add my two cents re: Linux.

My take on some of the things mentioned,

Ubuntu linux is extremely easy to install and use, if you are new to Linux it is every bit as easy to install and use as Windows.  However, its a little bloated which doesnt make for a good Mame cab OS especially on older hardware.

Gentoo is the best Linux distro period.  Actually its the best OS of all time (Windows Vista not included its looking pretty sweet).  Gentoo has a hefty learning curve.  It takes a long time to learn.  If you are a "tinkerer" and you like fooling around with stuff on the computer, you'll dig it.  You are in complete control of the OS with Gentoo.  You can make it as light or as bloated as you want.

Oh yeah, puppy linux is really light.  I installed it on a USB key so I could use Linux at work.  :)

Just my humble opinion,
-Dweebs



« Last Edit: April 08, 2006, 10:22:30 am by dweebs0r »

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #17 on: April 08, 2006, 04:15:05 pm »
When my friend lost my xp cd I had to rely on linux distros to revive an old laptop. It was the first time I had used it. I tried just about every distro there is. I found puppy linux to be the best of the bunch. It was by far the easiest to use. It's also extremely fast. Anyone trying to make a mame based linux distro should start there.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #18 on: April 11, 2006, 04:30:00 am »
to those saying this is faster or that is faster, remember that one of the main reasons spystyle wanted to use linux is that it is open source and he wants to 'stick it to the man'. i know how he feels having not to long ago converted to firefox too...


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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #19 on: April 14, 2006, 04:48:35 pm »
I am a linux guy and I considered using Linux for my Arcade Cabinet but it's just not worth it.

Trying to compare the speed of Linux versus Windows 98SE just isn't worth it. Don't switch to Linux because you want speed or ease of use. If your decision is whether or not to buy a legitimate copy of Windows or go with Linux - then maybe you should spend that extra $200 ~ $300 on a faster CPU and stick with Linux.

If you are considering Linux as your operating system I highly suggest AdvanceCD as your starting point for consideration. Everything is already setup to boot off a CD or DVD. I tried all sorts of different ideas, and I'm using Windows XP with Mamewah. It's fast and there's active development/discussion.

So... the million dollar question... apart from simple user preference regarding desktops etc, is there really any difference anyone should care about when it come to running mame on linux?

Yes. Many versions (.84, possibly .95?) of XMame support playing multiplayer games (like Joust) over a network with friends running XMame. Try to do that - legally - on windows.
Joseph Elwell.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #20 on: April 16, 2006, 09:25:49 pm »
Well this thread won't go away easy.  :)

Agree with Howard on why Linux and a cab doesn't make sense for most people. But the accolades for Puppy Linux here made we want to post and recommend my current favorite distro: PCLinuxOS.

Give it a whirl -- especially if you have no prior Linux experience and want to try Linux out. It boots from the CD and loads 100% into RAM. No need to install on your PC. It auto-configures all your hardware on the fly. It nailed my stuff -- printer, video card, sound, monitor, network adapter and settings -- EVERYTHING. Off and running with no effort. Most popular desktop applications are pre-installed (Bittorent, IM, Firefox, XMMS, Office, etc.). Save your config and files a USB flash (if you want) and simply reboot to your old Windoze world when you want.

Works really well for me. No more screwing around with LILO or Grub, hard drive partitions, and screwing up your Xwindows config and locking youself out until you can figure out how to fix it!.  ;)

It can be a little slow on accounta it's a full distro running in RAM. But given that it's a boot-from-CD kinda affair and costs you nothing in configuration or installation footprint, it's worth a look for sure.

If you like it, you can install onto your hard drive later. It'll likely replace my RedHat partition at some point.

Anyway, YMMV, but this is a really nice Linux distro if you just want a desktop OS and want to get up and running with no messing arond.

-pmc

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #21 on: September 12, 2007, 08:27:17 am »
...If you are worried about performance and have an aging system then use dos.  It's faster, has a smaller footprint, zero bootup time, and since you were going to be using linux anyway, you'll hardly notice the ugly fe choices you are stuck with.

That's what I ended up doing! For me it was much easier than learning Linux because I used DOS back in 199X.

To do it I completely revamped "Fraggal's" boot CD:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=58809.0

Another good alternative to Linux, that is slim like DOS, is "TinyXP".

As for Linux - like JoyMonkey, out of all the "Live CDs" I tried, I liked Slax the best. Especially "Popcorn". So if you are wondering what all this Linux fuss is about and want to take a look, that's a good place to start:

http://www.slax.org/download.php

Another Linux "Live CD" that I got a kick out of was "GeexBox". It turns a computer into a media player, for Divx and such:

http://geexbox.org/en/index.html

Cheers,
Craig

wIrEs

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #22 on: October 17, 2007, 12:08:58 am »
i think running linux in shell mode (no GUI like KDE etc..) is by far more flexible than a DOS.

spystyle

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #23 on: October 17, 2007, 07:47:01 am »
The DOS boot CDs don't require any knowledge, they are automated, like a LiveCD.

« Last Edit: October 17, 2007, 07:49:21 am by spystyle »

wIrEs

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #24 on: October 17, 2007, 10:03:40 am »
don't be afraid of linux  :cheers:

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #25 on: October 17, 2007, 10:28:25 am »
OK

wIrEs

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #26 on: October 17, 2007, 12:15:03 pm »
1. Can run on a little PII 300Mhz or a big P4 3GHZ
Linux can be installed on a i368 pc to latest i686 computers.

2. Is super easy to install, installs to HD automatically formatting and ect
All the linux live CDs/DVDs that i've tried had the option to install linux on the harddrive by clicking a desktop Install icon. I recommend Sabayon live dvd.

3. Has the complete Linux drivers in it so it is very compatible without having to install drivers (is that fiction?)
Not fiction, Sabayon supports so many graphic cards, 2 of the most popular cards are nVidia and ATI cards.

4. Has TV-OUT for nVidia or ATI automatically enabled (I guess this means the OS would be fixed at 800x600 @ 60hz + the driver?)
You need to configure the X server to support a TV-OUT graphic card, you can get help to configure the X server on the IRC channel of the linux distro you're using.. FreeNode IRC net @ #Gentoo

5. Has a user friendly interface (user will set everything up with mouse)
Sabayon gives you the option to install the GUI interface you want to use, popular ones are KDE and GNOME..

6. User can easily copy their MAME or Emulation disk contents (ie: complete MAME set) like "drag and drop" from CD
again KDE or GNOME gives you that, Windows XP like..

7. User can easily install MAME or Emu software (with the mouse?)
with the mouse? no, Sabayon is a Gentoo port, too install mame type: emerge xmame

8. User can set their emulation software to automaticaly launch when OS starts (ideally after initial setup no keyboard or mouse will be available in an arcade machine)
just modify the initrc file and add a simple line like "gxmame" or the front end you use.

9. OS automatically "shuts down OS and powers off computer" when ATX power button is pressed.
just create a power button in your cabinet, when pressed for 2 seconds or so, linux automatically shutdown the computer.

10. It must run much faster than Windows 98SE
speed depends on your computer hardware and your system setups.



2 users are automatically created when you install linux, root and normal user, you want to run everything with the normal user and install programs with the root user from withing the normal user..

I recommend reading more about linux and how stuff works in a linux environment but this will depend on the distro you're using  :applaud:
« Last Edit: October 17, 2007, 12:19:53 pm by wIrEs »

krisbee

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #27 on: October 17, 2007, 12:17:11 pm »
I use linux as my main computer os, and I run lots of programs.  When I get to build my cab, I will be using linux (daphne, xmame, glquake, stella, fceu, atari800, gens, epsxe)

wIrEs

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #28 on: October 17, 2007, 12:21:40 pm »
I use linux as my main computer os, and I run lots of programs.  When I get to build my cab, I will be using linux (daphne, xmame, glquake, stella, fceu, atari800, gens, epsxe)

same here, when i make a cab i will try to run linux on it.

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #29 on: October 20, 2007, 07:37:34 pm »
MAME, MESS, ZiNc, Mednafen, Yabause, pSX, PCSX2, ZSNES, bsnes, Xe, DOSBox, Virtual Boy Advance, and NEStopia all run great on Linux.  Those also happen to be the only emulators I use on Windows, so I think the coverage is pretty good.

Wine/Crossover are at the point now where more things work than don't: lots of folks play World of Warcraft, EVE Online, and the various Steam games (HL2, Portal, Counter Strike Source, Day of Defeat, etc) just fine on Linux nowadays, including online deathmatches.  Stuff like Office and Photoshop just works too - heck, even MAME32 and most Windows frontends work fine.

That all said, here's a few indicators that you shouldn't use Linux:
- You have a working PC-based cabinet already
- You just want to save money
- You can't operate regular baseline MAME from a command prompt
- You can't fix common Windows problems yourself
- You're afraid to explore things like the Control Panel and see what they do
- You want to "stick it to the man".  Aaron Giles is the man, and he resents that.
- You can't use Google to find solutions to problems
- You can't follow simple directions like those at www.fedorafaq.org
- You have unusual hardware in some way - ATI and Nvidia cards and Intel onboard video will work fine on modern Linux.  Other stuff may not.  On-board audio and SBLive and Audigy series soundcards are fine, the X-Fi is not.  In general, if Vista supports your stuff Linux will too.

(I'm done, but feel free to add your own)

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #30 on: November 05, 2007, 03:11:58 am »
8. User can set their emulation software to automaticaly launch when OS starts (ideally after initial setup no keyboard or mouse will be available in an arcade machine)
just modify the initrc file and add a simple line like "gxmame" or the front end you use


Can Someone please explain this a bit more. I have Ubuntu and GXMame (atm), and would LOVE to boot right into it. I am a Linux n00b, but I am trying!

Thanks!

wIrEs

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Re: Anybody running Linux on their cab?
« Reply #31 on: November 14, 2007, 11:02:27 pm »
Are you using KDE ?

I use Fluxbox, so to start GXMame, i have to add this line in to filename --> /home/wires/.fluxbox/startup
nohup gxmame > /dev/null  &


Fluxbox starts faster than any other GUI i have seen, i currently have Fluxbox and XFCE4.. i will build my cab with XFCE4 since it's more like KDE, but with less stuff to stress on..updates are very fast since there's not many files. Right now my main GUI is FLuxbox..XFCE4 gives you the option to auto-start applications for you, no file edits needed.

It shouldn't matter which GUI you're using though, just edit /home/wires/.xinitrc and add something like.. /usr/games/bin/gxmame &