I was talking about how I had a copy of Windows that I was going to install for gaming on my mac, but didn't want to do it because of all the problems I heard other people having, and someone told me about something called Cider, which apparently lets you run windows games in os x as well as if they were native to osx.....seems to good to be true....what's the deal?

Why does it seem to good to be true? Parallels lets you run the entire Windows OS. Is that too good to be true.

Cider emulates all of the Windows OS calls that are needed for games. When you buy a Mac version of a popular PC game, and it's Intel only - chances are it contains Cider. Transgaming (makers of Cider, based in Ottawa) work with the game makers to do testing and any Cider work to make the game function. The game makers then publish the game with Cider included.

You can't buy Cider as a standalone product, because it isn't made to support all games.

Ok then it IS too good to be true. I basically just want to play Oblivion...I have the PC version that I bought, and then thought better of installing windoze on my mac after I opened the package of Oblivion.

I love macs.....but gaming on them REALLLY sucks.

Is cider new? Any chance of being able to play previously released titles that have been PC only in the future, or will it only be for select future releases?

Cider is for programmers, basically. It allows them to recompile their games for OS X, with very little modifications to their Windows-based code, which is supposed to make it easier for developpers to bring their games to the Mac platform.

CrossOver is a product that emulates the necessary bits of Windows so you can run applications (and games) in Mac OS X without installing Windows. It works well for some apps, I've tried Crossover Games with Civilization IV and though it did install and run, it was painfully slow on my original Macbook.

Your best bet for playing Windows-only games for now still is Bootcamp...

Patrix.

ChannelFlip has some nice little videos on Mac gaming...

I give two thumbs up to Katharine and the ChannelFlip reviews... Give them a try .... (podcast is called ChannelFlip Games... she shows these alternatives (and is cute!)

ChannelFlip Games (http://cfgames.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc)

thanks for the link askywalker, I'll check that out.


So, I have a cracked copy of XP I could use...I normally am against cracked software but there is no bloody way in hell I would pay a dime for windows.....so is it safe to install it on the same drive as OSX? Can I install it on a firewire external drive? If so, will it be slower for gaming? I only have one internal drive in my Mac Pro.