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Windows 3.1, Zeemote Controller Seen on Android

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

One Android enthusiast installed Window 3.1 on his Motorola Droid while another configured a Zeemote Bluetooth controller to play the Quake 3 Arena port.

An Android enthusiast named "drraccoon" has discovered a way to install Microsoft Windows 3.1 on an Android device. Based on the installation images, he used a Motorola Droid and a port of DosBox. The details of the process are located here, and begin with the user obtaining the Windows 3.1 setup files and stashing them within the "winsetupfiles" folder on the smartphone's SD card.

But users will notice that the directions come to an abrupt halt when it's actually time to install the ancient (but classic) OS. Instead, drraccoon installed Windows 3.1 on his PC (via the original DosBox) and then copied the entire folder over to the SD card. When all was said and done, he found Windows 3.1 on the Android OS to be completely useless "but really damn cool."

On the gaming front, we've already seen Quake 3 Arena (Kwaak3) running on the Android operating system. Outside having to annoyingly insert the CD key after every launch, the game runs surprisingly well on the Motorola Droid (even though the controls are somewhat wonky). In fact, Quake and Quake 2 run extremely well on the device as well. Doom... runs not so great. Duke Nukem 3D performs even worse.

But for Android owners who despise the whole miniature QWERTY and virtual control setup, it's now possible to play these games using a Zeemote Bluetooth JS1 controller. One Android user managed to get the controller to work with the Q3A port, and posted a video as seen below. The drawback? There still seems to be an issue with mouselook. Still, this is a great step towards bringing the classic PC shooters into the mobile arena (no pun intended).

Android Zeemote Playing Q3A

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kyeana 05/14/2010 11:39 PM
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-8+

open source ftw

dan117 05/14/2010 11:58 PM
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Darkerson 05/15/2010 12:00 PM
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-5+

Amusing little things that the holier then thou Steve would deem inappropriate uses of his, not your, device! Granted, these aren't very useful things to do with the phone, but at least they aren't stopping you from trying. Go android!

Regulas 05/15/2010 12:07 PM
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OK, but why, I know because he can. Still a waste.

WR 05/15/2010 12:31 PM
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zachary k 05/15/2010 6:00 AM
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Nakal 05/15/2010 6:13 AM
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-1+

Totally different CPU architectures. Not saying it cant, but there is more than just clock speed.

micky_lund 05/15/2010 6:57 AM
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WR :
The iPad doing Win95 looked a tad more useful.


definitely
/sarcasm

captaincharisma 05/15/2010 5:31 PM
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buddy must have allot of time on his hands or no life to install a useless OS on his cellphone

gwwerner 05/16/2010 12:26 PM
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Somebody need to come up with a small comfortable Bluetooth game pad for smart phones. The first company to sell one that is portable but still works well will make a lot of money.

mlopinto2k1 05/16/2010 3:52 AM
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--3+

All of this fancy, schmancy (props to the guy) showing off of what the hardware is capable of on these so called smart phones will come to a screeching halt when cloud gaming goes mainstream. Oh, and trust me... it will.

Bobbar 05/17/2010 2:36 PM
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"Outside having to annoyingly insert the CD key after every launch"

Not true, just leave it blank and select accept.

Anonymous 05/17/2010 4:47 PM
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I have a wiimote currently working perfectly with my moto droid, i use it to play emulators mostly but it shouldnt be too hard to make it work with quake

chris13th 05/17/2010 9:35 PM
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captaincharisma :
buddy must have allot of time on his hands or no life to install a useless OS on his cellphone


It's called a hobby. Do you claim that musicians or people that go hiking or artists or independent programmers or modders have no life because they are good at what they enjoy doing? As far as I am concerned, having hobbies means you have a fulfilling life. Maybe it is YOU who has no life.

fulle 05/17/2010 11:03 PM
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External keyboards aren't really a desirable solution, since on something like a Droid, you would want to hold the device up closer to your face when you're playing, and wouldn't want to have to tote around the controller. If you have to set your device down to play, you're doing the handheld gaming thing wrong IMHO.

The handmade Gamegripper seems like an OK solution, since its easily portable, and just slips over the Moto Droid's keyboard... Its just a little lightweight strip of flexible plastic, so you can easily drop it into a purse or pocket. Very handy for people who like emulators on their Droid!

What I would really like to see is a true smartphone gaming platform. A company like Moto, or HTC could create a better framework to build games in (I'm thinking an OpenGL wrapper with some dev tools), and create devices that have compatible gaming hardware (slide out gaming controllers, similar to the PSPgo) and we'd be in business.
-Course, that's similar to what dan suggested, to the tune of like 5 thumb downs. Surprising that wasn't a more popular idea. *shrugs*

fulle 05/17/2010 11:15 PM
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Adding to my idea above...
The obvious company to lead the way on something like this would be NVIDIA. Why they aren't already is beyond me.