Kali (software)
Kali is a software game browser for DOS, Windows 95, 98, NT, and XP enabling online multiplayer of IPX compatible games over a TCP/IP network. Versions were also created for OS2 and Mac, but neither version was well polished and are not maintained today. The original Kali was created by Jay Cotton in the early 1990s to play Doom. The name of this initial program was iFrag. After the release of Descent, iFrag changed from a game specific program to a generic IPX – TCP/IP tunneling application and became Kali. Many games that support a LAN connection can be played over Kali.
In the mid-nineties, it was an extremely popular way to play Command & Conquer, Descent, Warcraft 2, and other games over the Internet. Since it was the only way to play Warcraft 2 against people outside of a LAN or dial-up connection, Blizzard actually included a copy of the program on the CD.
In the early part of this decade, Mr. Cotton decided to sell Kali to a company that would have the capital to expand the program and make it a force to be reckoned with in online gaming. However, this move proved to be disastrous for Kali as the company it was sold to folded shortly after the purchase. It was close to a year later before Mr. Cotton could secure the rights to the Kali software and system again. Since then he has been working on Kali and has recently released version 2.613.
The Kali software is free to download, but has a time-based cap for unregistered versions. For a one-time $20 fee the time restriction is removed. Kali features an Internet Game Browser for TCP/IP native games, a buddy system, a chat system, and support for 400 games including Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, Battlefield Vietnam, Counter Strike Condition Zero.