This subject pops up from time to time, mostly from Windows users, so I thought I would clear up the Myth.

Since the Switch to Intel, Macs have been able to play games better and at native speeds along side their PC counterparts.

Boot Camp
Using Boot Camp, PC games will play at Maximum resolution on my 24″ iMac, games like Elderscrolls: Oblivion, Bioshock, and Vampire the Masqurade: Bloodlines. I have no problems playing any of my PC games, so when I switched I didn’t loose this capability.

Now Boot Camp is good if you don’t mind booting into Windows, and it means you can keep all your PC games, but this incurs the extra cost of the OS. After a while you will find yourself not booting into Windows because it is a chore, and you have to wait for it to catch up with all the Windows updates. But its good if you feel like playing the odd PC game that you are in the mood to play Read the rest of this entry »

Review by wraith2021

This is the first game review I have ever done, that is not to say I don’t play games, I have for many years, but this is one of note because this is a Mac game.

Shock! Horror! Macs don’t have games! I hear you cry. Well, they do now, and they are identical to their PC counterpart with exactly the same graphics.

I will start by saying that Macs do not have as good of a reputation when it comes to games, this is because of the minimal market share the Mac had in the past, and the limited capabilities of some of the older Macs. Since the switch to Intel however things have been looking up for the Mac; market share is ever increasing, Macs are on par with PC’s hardware wise, and Macs are now picking up on the game front too.

After playing the demo I found myself wanting to get this game, this is not to say that the Mac had any real impact over say playing the demo on the PC, but the game is identical in every way to its PC counterpart.

I will start by saying I am running this game on a 24″ iMac, 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme, 2GB Ram, ATI 2600HD 256MB. Basically a gaming Mac with a big glossy screen.

The first thing I did when I installed the game (When I say installed, I mean I dragged the Icon from the DVD to the Applications folder.) was to set all the settings to Maximum to see how it performed. I must admit the graphics are smooth and amazing My Mac had no trouble running this game with all the bells a whistles turned on. Read the rest of this entry »

There has been a lot of talk lately about using your Mac and a next-gen console to provide picture and video content to your TV. I suppose this has a lot to do with the Apple TV and being able to mimic its features, or just for the sake of being able to play your movies and iTunes from your TV.

I recently got back into gaming again, and hooked up my wii to the TV, and after a vigorous workout decided I needed a sit down game and plugged in my Xbox 360.

“What does this have to do with your Mac?” I hear you scream. Well, after my wind down on the 360 I decided I was going to try a program I had recently downloaded. This program is called Connect360.
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Well I got my Wii less then a week ago and so like with all new gadgets, it’s been consuming a bit more of my time figuring it all out and seeing what I can actually do with it.

After all Switching to Mac is a Mac site so I don’t want to get too off topic. One item I mentioned in my earlier Wii for Mii Article was a nice PC Application called Orb that allows you to access your computers Music, Photos and Videos on your Wii. There is no Mac version of Orb but it will work on a Mac running Windows via Parallels or Boot Camp. On the plus side Orb is free!

I did find another option for viewing your Macs Multimedia content on a Wii and this time it’s in the form of a Mac only program called Wii Transfer, That’s right no Windows required! The catch is it costs $14, still a bunch cheaper then a Windows license if that’s all you are going to use Windows for. Wii Transfer works in a similar way to Orb in that they both work with the Wii’s Opera based Web Browser. Orb uses the Orb Website front end as its interface and then converts and streams your computer Multimedia files via the Orb PC Application.

Wii Transfer also uses a host Application but it runs natively on the Mac, what’s different about Wii Transfer is that it actually acts as a Web Server complete with all the graphics that you see in Opera when you enter the IP address of the computer you are sharing your Multimedia with. For example, on my Network my MacBook Pro’s IP is “10.0.1.5” so this is the IP that I enter in my Opera Web Browser along with “:9000” which indicates the port being used. Full example: “10.0.1.5:9000”
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Talking about a Wii is a bit out of context for Switching to Mac but in the end I was able to share my photos, music and video from my Mac to the Wii with a little help from Parallels, Boot Camp and Orb.

I’ve been wanting a Wii for a while but tracking one down isn’t all that easy, luckily my day job happens to be visiting Electronic Retail Stores so it was only a matter of time till I came across a store that actual had a Wii.

So why the Wii and not the Xbox 360 or PS3? I already have an older Xbox and to be honest I really don’t use it much for gaming anymore, I guess the classic game controller style gaming has lost some of it’s appeal for me and on top of that I use my Xbox now mainly for playing back my DivX and Xvid flies via XBMC.

Sure the PS3 and Xbox 360 have fantastic graphics! Other than that it’s the same old same old but just with more realistic gore. On the other hand the Wii with its unique motion sensitive controls and interactive screen really caught my eye and when I got the chance to play with it at a friends I knew this was the game console for me and my family. Even my young daughter could use this with a bit of practice.
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WoW Insider is reporting today that hackers have gotten World of Warcraft installed on the Apple TV. While it doesn’t sound like it’s actually playable in it’s current form (no keyboard or mouse support yet via the USB port on the Apple TV) and will probably get broken when Apple updates the Apple TV software, it brings up some interesting things you can do with a Mac….not to mention the gaming potential of the Apple TV if it gets supported directly by Apple.

The Nintendo Wii has shown that a simple white box can be very compelling when connected to your TV with the right software support. I’m sure it won’t be long before someone hacks the Apple TV to work with the Wiimote from the Wii.

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