Virtual Earth

One huge question that many people have about the Linux operating system is how well it can handle games. There are many who use their computer more for gaming than for other purposes, so gaming is important. Can Linux play games?

Any game that is based on the browser alone will work fine in Linux. For browser based games like Farmville, these will all work in browsers as long as there are the Flash and Java plugins. These work the same in Linux as on any other operating system.

The second type of gaming is open source games. There are quite a few free games that are made for Linux as well as other operating systems. Since these are open source, it’s easy for programmers to port various versions of the game for the different operating system choices that exist.

What about commercial Windows games?

Not every single Windows game will work with Linux, but many of the popular ones will. The first issue is if you have Linux compatible hardware on your system. If your video card works well with Linux, then you won’t have to worry about performance issues that some meet by not having proper drivers to run advanced 3D graphics.

You can run quite a few games through WineHQ. This is an application that can run Windows software. Not everything works, but you can check the site to see which ones do work.

Another option is to use some of the paid programs that will correctly install and run Windows games on your Linux system. Many don’t want to have to pay for something, but these services do work and have support for many of the more popular games.

For older games, generally you can use applications like DosBox or ScummVM that will emulate the environment the game needs to run in.

With so many great GPS watches available the question of which is the best GPS watch for running or hiking is a tricky one to answer. Perhaps a better question to ask is which are the most popular GPS watches currently on the market?

Some might balk at forking out additional money for what amounts to just a fancy wrist watch, well these “fancy” timepieces are technology packed devices that use the “Global Positioning System” of satellites, a network of 24 satellites that permanently orbit the earth and beam back positioning information that can be used by a GPS receiver to accurately calculate your position on earth. By measuring changes in your position, it is then possible to calculate a host of other statistics like speed, distance and elevation.

Joggers and runners can benefit from knowing this sort of information and as the Global Positioning System can pinpoint ones location to within three meters which is accurate enough to track an athlete’s motion and facilitate the tracking of their performances, set exercise goals and save data for monitoring their performances.

If you are a hiker who likes to go deep into the wilderness, a GPS watch is an invaluable backup tool in case you get lost, and can certainly be used in place of a map and compass to direct you along your desired path. A GPS watch gives you peace of mind against a serious incident like getting lost in foul weather.

The type of GPS watch vary depending on purpose. We will review two prominent GPS watches that are suited to very different types of activities.

The Suunto X10 GPS Watch

The Suunto X10 is an outdoors GPS watch that is packed with an incredible range of high-tech features.

Suunto is a Finnish based company that has been around for over 70 years and currently heads the modern portable computer-based navigation sector. The X10 has all the functions that are useful for outdoor treks and adventures. These include:

• Barometer
• Barometric Altimeter
• Digital Compas
• Adjustable Declination
• Chronograph Stopwatch
• Thermometer
• Altitude and Time Alarms

The X10 features some sports watch features that runners could use, but this is not it’s main purpose. The watch is capable of tracking waypoints along a route, can measure speed, altitude, distance covered and the weather. Route maps can be uploaded to a personal computer and viewed in a mapping program like Google Earth.

The Garmin Forerunner 405CX

Garmin is the current leading running GPS watch for endurance sports. The watch does not support many outdoor features, but has an abundance of features that runners can use, or bike riders or skiers for that matter. The 405CX does not support a map mode within the watch, but in terms of fitness features offers the following highly beneficial features that athletes can utilize to their advantage:

• Virtual Partner (compete against your previous route times or a predetermined pace)
• Advanced workouts (goal-oriented session stages)
• Pace/Speed Alerts (sounds an alarm if your pace gets off track)
• Time/Distance alerts (sounds an alarm at a predetermined distance or time)
• Linkup with personal Computer – can upload a variety of data.

Both these options offer something to their specific target market. The Suunto X10 is amongst the world’s most sophisticated outdoors watch, whereas the Garmin Forerunner 405CX is one of the best athletics GPS watches around. Either of these watches will not disappoint you should a running or hiking GPS system be what you are looking for.