Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 buetowmt Aug 19, 2010 21:36:41	OK, there isn't much on running CB on Linux. The conclusion seemed to be that it will just not work with the current builds of Wine or Mono.  Then I stumbled across this little nugget here: html_removed blog.brindy.org.uk/how-to-run-dnd-charac... I'll summarize what you do, since I tried it and I figured it out and it works! (1) Sign up for an Amazon Web Services account.  html_removed aws.amazon.com/about-aws/ (2) Run an instance, choosing the Small Windows 2008 Web Server edition. (3) Connect to the Instance using a Remote Desktop Viewer or Terminal Services Client. You will then be running a Windows box via Amazon's servers! (4) Download the CB (5) Install a free PDF creator such as: http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ (6) Print your characters to a PDF and email them to yourself or put them in an online storage service like Dropbox.  Bam! Voila! CB on Linux. There IS a cost to this service from Amazon. For the small Windows instance it appears to be $.12 per hour while the instance is running. When you are done with the instance, you simply stop it and don't get billed. You can restart the instance later (it is saved) and there you go: Your Windows desktop with CB installed! The steps above are very general, there's a little bit more to it than that when you signup and first make your instance of Windows. But I'd be happy to help by sharing how I did it.  And thanks Christopher Brind for your wicked cool blog suggesting this!
#2 Lalato Sep 04, 2010 1:55:51	OK.  I just tried this.  It's not the best option, but it does work. You'll find that the performance isn't all that fast with the Standard instance, but if you're on a Mac or Linux box and you don't really want to boot into Windows or use a Virtual Machine type product, then this will definitely work.  It also does require you to download Remote Desktop Connection (if you're using a Mac... which I am). Once you start an instance, it's not entirely clear what to do next...  It's not as simple as just connecting to the instance.  You need to get your Admin account password which requires a right-click on the instance.  Without this, you can't login and access the Windows Server 2008 desktop. Anyway... it's a pretty nifty way of using the Character Builder despite its shortcomings. --sam
#3 Lalato Oct 22, 2010 13:59:28	This option just got slightly better.  Starting November 1st, you'll be able to sign up for a free version of Amazon Web Services. aws.amazon.com/free/