I’m a big open source fan. I use Ubuntu on every server, desktop and laptop I own. I don’t dual boot with another operating system, such as Microsoft Windows or any of Apple OS’s. I used to use Windows solely, and used to point, laugh, and make silly faces at people who used Linux, but I had an epiphany around summer 2006 when I was due to attend a conference on Open Source in Brussels, Belgium. I installed Ubuntu on my laptop that I took with me, and from that point on, I was hooked.
For this arcade machine, I’m going to need some software:
- an operating system
- some me it has to be Linux, preferably Ubuntu or some variant
- some version of MAME (the application that runs the games)
- on ubuntu/linux the application is called xmame
- a GUI
- it’s not obvious when you first start looking into all this that the mame program does not have an interface to run the games from, it’s a command line program that you need to type in order to run a game.
- as such, this makes the idea of using a semi-authentic cabinet a bit tricky unless you’re going to put a keyboard in it somewhere, or…
- get a program to run “the program that runs the games” that you can operate from arcade controls
I have to use Linux – it’s in my blood. Don’t let this put you off if you’re not used to using Linux – it’s nowhere near as difficult to use as it used to be. Also, there is loads in this blog that might be useful to you without you looking at the software.
Posted by uowmag 
