MESS

From Free net encyclopedia

MESS is an acronym for Multiple Emulator Super System. MESS is an emulator for many game console and computer systems, based on the MAME core.

The primary purpose of MESS is to preserve decades of computer and console history. As technology continues to rush forward, MESS prevents these important vintage systems from being lost and forgotten.

MESS emulates portable and console gaming systems, computer platforms and calculators. The project strives for accuracy and portability and therefore is not always the fastest emulator for any one particular system.

As of version 0.104 released February 6, 2006, MESS supports 154 unique systems with 445 total system variations and is growing all the time. However, not all of the systems in MESS are functional: 111 of them are marked as not working in the current version.

[edit]

MESS License

MESS is distrubuted under the same license as MAME. While MESS is available at no cost, including its source code, it is not open-source software or free software because commercial use and redistribution are prohibited. That is, its license does not meet the conditions of the Open Source Definition, nor is it "free software" as defined by the Free Software Foundation.

In particular, MESS may be redistributed in source or binary form, either modified or unmodified, but: "Redistributions may not be sold, nor may they be used in a commercial product or activity." Also, redistributions of modified versions (derivative works) must include the complete corresponding source code (similar to a copyleft). [1]

[edit]