PaulH

A while ago I became the maintainer for the entry on the WineHQ database for BBO. During a pointless exercise for one of my clients, I managed to connect and play a hand at BBO under 37 different distros. If anyone has read the entries entered by Gerrado and is still stuck please e-mail paul.hayes700@ntlworld.com. Other than a few GIB problems and a slight hitch with the differences between the free and non-free implementations of symbol.ttf I think we are there. Please if you are stuck tell me as I want to make this a supported application then I can go back to losing at this beautiful infuriating game. Paul

Feeling a little guilty about having started 2 threads this month, when i wanted to start a string about etiquette I typed in manners and ended here, Is it just me (and my legendary luck) or are the evolving generation of players turning out to be more polite than us bunch of **************** . I have played about 400 hands this week (both on and offline) and the only people who have been rude to me should know better. I think we may be heading for the new ultimate insult - glp wouldn't have bid it quite like that - last hand here. Wow I love BBO and now because I'm not sober enough to play, I'm abusing the message boards, bet noone pulls me up on it!

I remember the first time I met a World Class bridge player. He served me a drink at the Manchester Bridge Club. The first time I remember thinking "thats not in the books" was watchin his (Paul Hackett's) then regular pairs partner Martin Hoffman pull off a seemingly impossible 3NT contract (it took a long time before anyone at the University Bridge club could solve it double dummy). Meetings with such superstars were then rare. (Thankfully in the case of Zia and the rubber bridge table). These days, thanks to the power of the internet, the brillance of Fred and the efforts of our wonderful viewgraph team we can "watch" the best in the world live. So what pair can't you stand to miss. Who (nationalism aside) do you always like to see win. Who do you love to root against. Is this a worthwhile thread or am I just a sad Engaland Cricket fan whose dreams have been dashed?

If you are an expert. Ignore this you know. If you are really an advanced player, move on, GO , you can beat us most of the time. Ah, some advanced players are still here. They want to know why us Inters aren't becoming their mailable partners of choice. I have placed on the podium of a national event (my team consisted of 1 World Class player, 1 Expert+, 1 Expert and me). I have won a regional event (2 World Class players and us 2 intermediates) After that wins get numerous. If you want to talk money rubber bridge - then I'll call myself an expert! Please please please stop calling yourself an advanced player until you can claim at least 3 of the following 1) You don't mis-count any suit (oops so many Adv's mis-count even trumps) 2) You have placed on the podium in a tournament (even if its only against family members) 3) If you left your off-line bridge club you would expect their results to deteriorate 4) You don't learn anything in listening to Shep talk to beginners for ten minutes. 5) Your head is never constricted by a normal doorway 6) You apologize to your beginner or intermediate partner when you make a mistake even if you think they won't notice. 7) You are better than my partner (NO CHANCE - NOT EVEN FRED OR ZIA OR THOSE CLEVER MECKWHATSIT PEOPLE) Sorry to rant but "advanced" players from whom I can learn nothing but "I'm glad I'm not like that" annoy me. "EXPERTS" who are not are much much easier to spot (except when they are advanced players who wish to be dis-associated with the "advancy crew" As a side note - we all wish we could play like Fred BUT has anyone realized how we are all trying to be too clever with opening leads and the relative success of beginners with finding the right answer?

I am very sorry, I have been a lazy person not keeping the WINE DB entry upto date. BBO is to me three things: 1. A clever piece of software. 2. A semi-commercial adventure. 3. The best bridge community this planet has yet managed. I have always had the attitude that 1 & 2 are other peoples business and 3 is wonderful. From when I, Rainy, Orla and a few others trooped over here from yahoo we all appreciated the effort, time and willpower being put into creating the perfect bridge club, From day 1 I was upset that many of my friends could not enjoy the riches to be had (Any newcomer who has the patience try reading through the deal of the week archives if you understand half of them I want to be your partner!) as we needed windows to access it. When a silly contractee decided to pay my broadband internet access for a year i was resigned to looking around for a silly pc to hook up for bbo access. The shock, amazement and joy I felt watching the Bermuda Bowl this year was doubly enhanced by not having to dual bot and/or get another machine. For most computer users the availability or not of bbo under linux is a total irrelevance. For us poor fools for whom this is imnportant I would like to thank Fred, Uday, Gerrado and all the others that have helped. I hope that when the browser issue is finally decided it can be with a version that doesn't need a proprietory dll. I only have 14 versions of windows to give away and I abhor software (or any other kind) of piracy. The free version of the font works fine!!! Anyway I've gone on far longer than intendended. All I really wanted to say was please please put your testing data on the WINE website (then I can carry on being lazy) And please carry on using bbo in the way it was intended (oops being arrogant again) like the bridge club you always wanted to be a member of but didn't think existed. All the best Paul Anyone unable to play at bbo under linux please e-mail me at: paul_in_uk2@yahoo.co.uk or leave me a message on here. The WINE DB entry for this amazing place is as always at : http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?appId=1830

The Wine Applications Database for BBO is now working properly it can be accessed at http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?appId=1830 It would be really useful if those using BBO under wine can put any testing data and/or problems there. Big thanks to Steve Hollingsworth for helping me in making the information there make sense. I can't take the :D off my face since I've had BBO running under GNU/Linux Anyone having problems getting started can leave me a message for PaulH or e-mail at paul_in_uk2@yahoo.co.uk :) :) :)

Thanks for all the great work people. :unsure: I am now enjoying watching Bermuda Bowl Vugraph. PCLinuxOS, Athlon XP 1700, Wine 2050725

Excellent news :P Thank you for your efforts Uday! I can hardly wait for the new release as BBO is the last application that I use windows for. Will be nice to start just calling into BBO when I feel like it again.

A huge thank you to all the people at BBO who police your policies ;) When I enter BBO, I behave as I would at my local bridge club. Most of the people I have encountered behave in the same (or better - I'm a moody old git) manner. The fact that I can play 100 boards or so a week and not feel "ripped-off" (then I remember that not only is this site THE BEST it is also FREE) is testament to your fine efforts. The rudest people I meet are less rude than me! The day Fred ports BBO to linux is the day I shall be in heaven. Until then I'm about as close as I'd like to be without a regular partner. TY TY & TY for keeping the trolls away - how you do it I don't know but keep up the amazing work. Paul