Cedega is a method for playing Windows games under Linux.

I have an unnatural fondness for Gentoo over all Linux distributions which is why I’m overly bothered by this somewhat minor issue.

As I was updating my Gentoo system this morning via ‘emerge -avDN world’ I was informed that Cedega had been hardmasked for removal. The following is the message regarding is masking:

Mike Frysinger (14 Nov 2009)
In-tree ebuilds are old, and newer upstream releases are simple GUIs which download/install/update things for you. And upstream isn’t interested in working with packagers. Will punt in ~30 days.

I do agree. The existing ebuild (read: install file) in portage (read: list of things to install) is old. That means the ebuild needs a maintainer. Easy enough to fix. I volunteer.

I agree again. The newer upstream releases are simple GUIs which download/install/update things for you. The GUI itself is available to download and install freely from here.

I agree yet again, upstream probably isn’t interested in working with packagers. There are many companies that produce binaries who aren’t interested in working with packagers. If it is policy to remove them from portage, then I’ll be placated. If it is not policy, then policy needs to change or this is an invalid argument for Cedega’s removal.

I believe that the real reason for the removal of this package from portage is not expressed. It might have something to do with the fact that in order to use Cedega for much you need to pay Transgaming. There are other packages like this including: app-emulation/vmware-workstation , games-strategy/smac , games-strategy/heroes3 , games-fps/doom3 … I can go on. This must not be the issue.

The reason might be the feud between Gentoo and Transgaming regarding open access to their CVS repository of WineX in 2003. I hope that isn’t the issue because I would hate for portage to become some type of petty battleground.

All of that said, I do see some possible valid reasons for removing it from portage. These include:

• An effort across the board to reduce the size of the portage tree
• An effort across the board to move packages with restrictive licensing out of the tree and into overlays (ala Ubuntu or Fedora)
• An effort across the board to remove currently non-functional ebuilds.

In summary: I am a loyal Gentoo user. When I encounter a package that I use which lacks an ebuild, I create one and submit it for others to use. I want *everything* to have an ebuild and I am disappointed that it seems app-emulation/cedega is being removed without adequate explanation.

The most noticable difference between this app and the others is its interface. With one touch, you can enter a dart (and have it be accurate). The auto-zoom thing (or whatever it’s called) is pretty slick. It did take me a few tries to get the hang of it, but now it is my preferred input method.

This app can do scoring for some of my favorite games including Cutthroat Cricket, Tic Tac Toe and Gotcha (essentially the games that electronic dartboards have that are really difficult to play on a steel-tip board). No other app in the store scores for Gotcha, so this one is a must-have if you like it. This one has every game all the other apps have and more.

Unlimited players is pretty handy. I’m sure there is a limit, but I’m too lazy to find out what it is. It can handle far more players than I’d want to have sharing one board.

The stats are decent, I haven’t tested the email feature since I’m not collecting data for a dart league or anything.

In summary, this is the best one. Better than Darts Scorer and less expensive. I’ve already gotten far more than my two bucks worth out of it.

Neat! A new dart app! Uhh, five bucks? Cool, thats nothing but it does make it the most expensive app for scoring darts in the store. A brand name? Cool, I guess that explains the pricetag. *click* Alrighty, looks like its user interface is pretty. You have to do a little bit of math but not much. Feels a lot like iDarts01 to me. It keeps some stats which you can see in a screenshot below. It supports only two players (or two teams I guess). All x01 games between 101 and 999 are supported. Common outshots can be listed. So, in summary it provides about what iDarts01 provides. It provides it in a bit prettier package and for a bit more cost.

Also, here is a link to my reviews on iTunes

DartCalc (read more…)
A+
$1.99

Darts Scorer (read more…)
A
$2.99

iDart (read more…)
A-
$0.99

DartBort Scorer (read more…)
B
$0.99

TicTac Score (read more…)
B
$0.99

No Chalk Required (read more…)
B
$1.99

Bullistic (read more…)
C
$1.99

Cricket Score (read more…)
C
$0.99

Oche Assistant (read more…)
C-
$0.99

Winmau Darts Scorer (read more…)
D
$4.99

iDarts01 (read more…)
D
$2.99

x01 Score (read more…)
D
$0.99

This app supports the most x01 games of all the apps I’ve tried. It also supports Cricket and 5s, so it has the best selection of games. I’m not sure what was going on with my install of the application, but there were serious interface bugs that prevented me from using x01 or 5s for a full game. This pretty much meant that cricket is the only game it supports. (*fixed in version 1.2.1) I found the click and drag interface a bit tedious at times. It does support four players in cricket though, which is very handy.

It seems to me that this one would be a great app after a few bugs are worked out. I’m only testing on a iPhone, and for some reason the bottom of the listed score in x01 is cut off. Maybe due to the top bar on the phone? *shrug* Also it only supports double-out, and doesn’t bust when you are left with a score of one.

Whoa! I love playing Tic Tac Toe with my buds in the bar on the electronic dartboard. As far as I can tell, this is the *only* app that supports this game on the iPhone. If you want Tic Tac Toe, you want this app. I just wish it could give me a random board sometimes.

This app supports two-player cricket, and thats it. It has one feature that Crick It is lacking, and thats keeping track of points in cricket. The interface is similar to its sibling x01 Score, but it works much better here. No more ’spinning the dial’ so to speak.

For $0.99, I think I’m going to have to recommend iDart or even DartBort over this one. DartBort supports more players, and iDart comes with one of the better x01 offerings in the store. Both for the same price!

All the dart apps by West 10 Productions look very nice and clean. The screenshots are all very pretty and crisp. It supports four x01 games (301, 501, 701, 1001). It supports double out, but not double in. It only supports two players, but it does keep some useful stats like PPD and tons.

Its input method is *terrible*. There are two methods of spinning this dartboard around from the 20 to score a 3. One involves rotating the board 180 degrees slowly with your finger so that the 3 is on top. The other involves finding the 3 on a grey on grey list to the right. I might even prefer doing math!

The undo menu is brought up by shaking the device. I tend to do this on accident a lot, must be the RedBull or coffee :)

At $0.99 most of the other apps in its price slot are better. Again I’m going to have to recommend iDart.

This one has a decent and good looking interface. Single tap for entering scores, It supports four x01 games (301, 501, 701, 1001), cricket and cutthroat cricket. I’m not sure why it bothers supporting cutthroat though, since with only two cricket players cutthroat is *exactly* the same. Double in, double out, four x01 players, and $0.99 to boot.

I’m a bit annoyed by the ‘next player’ nag, but its tolerable. Why doesn’t it just select the next player for me?

I’d say that if you aren’t willing to fork over the $2.99 for Darts Scorer, you’d better be willing to fork over the mere $0.99 for this one. If you can’t do that .. well .. then read about the three free options I’m writing about.

Find iPhone apps at AppStoreHQ

This one is my overall favorite so far. Its also one of the most expensive. But for $2.99 its a steal. It supports five x01 games (301, 501, 601, 701, 1001), it supports cricket *and* cutthroat cricket. It allows up to four players for all of its games. It supports, double in, double out, shows outshots, and even has a few stats.

Its interface is pretty intuitive, but I do prefer the single tap input that Bullistic has over a double and triple button.

In short: Buy this one.

Find iPhone apps at AppStoreHQ