larwe wrote:
>
>Alex Colvin wrote:
>
>> They were thinking that with solid DRM they could get the RIAA and MPAA to
>> sign on, and deliver a killer media box. That's a much bigger market than
>
>And what exactly have movies and MP3s got to do with a workday [for
>most people with a day job]? If they put it all in Media Center
>Edition, no problem! They're making a set-top box and that's fine.
>Putting it in all OS variants - instant unviability.

If Microsoft only put the DRM in Media Center Edition, then you
could circumvent the DRM by repacing Media Center Edition with
one of the other editions.  

Guy Macon wrote:

> What will we be running in the 2020s?

I think one trend is ubicomp
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquitous_computing). You'll not buy single
computers, but just computing power, maybe integrated in clothes etc.,
which integrates nicely in your environment. And if they manage to build
quantum computers and develop better light switches and holographic memory,
everything will be smaller by magnitudes again. Maybe not in 10 years, but
in 20 year. Nice challenges and possiblities for software developers like
me.

-- 
Frank Buss, f...@frank-buss.de
http://www.frank-buss.de, http://www.it4-systems.de

Jonathan Kirwan wrote:

>My business model has me using a separate hard disk for each client
>and just racking it in when I work.  This absolutely guarantees that a
>system crash or hard disk failure will not impact any other client's
>work.  Microsoft's operating systems, up through perhaps Win2000,
>supported this -- I don't need to call Microsoft to get a new ID every
>time I set up a new hard disk for a new client -- but the rest do not,
>so I use them... sparingly.  But I do have a few purchased machines
>where I do keep WinXP loaded, where I'm forced to use tools that will
>no longer run on the older OS.  (Though I also keep a large number of
>older tools from Microchip and so on, as well.)

If you set up a standard starting disk with, say, XP (and of course
all your favorite apps) on it, register your cpy of XP, get all the
updates, run "Windows Genuine Advantage" and then use XXCOPY (XXCOPY, 
not XCOPY) to clone it multiple times, all the cloned disks will boot
and run just fine.

Jonathan Kirwan wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:26:49 -0700, Joerg
> <n...@removethispacbell.net> wrote:
> 
>> Jonathan Kirwan wrote:
> 
>>> At some point the final straw is added.
>> I feel the same way and I'd love to ditch MS. However, there is so much 
>> stuff that won't run on anything but Windows. Hardware as well as 
>> software. Even if only few clients would need it I'd be stuck.
> 
> Well, as I said, I'd do "as much as possible."  I agree with you about
> some of the difficulties.  But so far as I'm aware, I can use Win2000
> right now for everything.  Or, if forced, WinXP.  Gradually, that may
> very well change with Microsoft pushing this hard.  However, that time
> is a ways out -- particularly with Microsoft's willingness to sell a
> WinXP downgrade for some Vista purchasers.  Even a few doing that, if
> enough are out there, will mean support continues elsewhere.  So I
> think I'm probably going to be fine for another decade -- which is
> enough to see where the market has moved by then.  A lot can happen in
> that time.
> 

I have a wee hope to be able to cling to XP until I retire. The idea may 
not be too far out. The only reason I decommissioned a 10+ year old NT4 
box here was that there were some signs of impending hardware failure, 
worn out fans and so on. Still got it, might fix it up again for lab 
use. One of the other PCs around here runs Win2K and is still humming 
along just fine. Must be 6-7 years old now.

Old SW is sometimes a blessing. Bought a CAD package from a liquidator, 
for about ten (!) bucks. 2-3 versions back, total overkill for me with 
3D and all that, type the license request in, license key arrived within 
60secs and, voila. All I needed was AutoCad file format compliance with 
editing privileges and now I've got that. For ten bucks ...

-- 
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:55:24 +0000, Guy Macon
<http://www.guymacon.com/>; wrote:

>Jonathan Kirwan wrote:
>
>>My business model has me using a separate hard disk for each client
>>and just racking it in when I work.  This absolutely guarantees that a
>>system crash or hard disk failure will not impact any other client's
>>work.  Microsoft's operating systems, up through perhaps Win2000,
>>supported this -- I don't need to call Microsoft to get a new ID every
>>time I set up a new hard disk for a new client -- but the rest do not,
>>so I use them... sparingly.  But I do have a few purchased machines
>>where I do keep WinXP loaded, where I'm forced to use tools that will
>>no longer run on the older OS.  (Though I also keep a large number of
>>older tools from Microchip and so on, as well.)
>
>If you set up a standard starting disk with, say, XP (and of course
>all your favorite apps) on it, register your cpy of XP, get all the
>updates, run "Windows Genuine Advantage" and then use XXCOPY (XXCOPY, 
>not XCOPY) to clone it multiple times, all the cloned disks will boot
>and run just fine.

Hmm.  Didn't know about that.  Keep in mind that I do NOT run with any
other disk in the system, so there is no single "boot disk" that is
kept in the machine.  There is only the one disk, itself.

That said, and assuming I understand you correctly, I'm going to try
out your suggestion.  If it works out well enough, then that will
greatly enhance WinXP in my use here.

Sincere thanks,
Jon

Guy Macon wrote:
> Boudewijn Dijkstra wrote:
> 
>> If you need more expensive and power-hungry hardware to be able to perform  
>> mostly the same tasks, then I cannot possibly consider it an "upgrade".   
>> And if you really need eye-candy to prevent you from becoming depressed,  
>> then there are IMHO better ways to spend your money.
> 
> So you are saying it's *not* a good plan to replace a two dollar 
> deck of playing cards with a multi-thousand dollar PC running 
> Solitaire?  What a concept! :)
> 

Reminds me of "talk-thru". Many of my classmates bought these expensive 
Walkman type devices, effectively tuning themselves out of social life. 
Plus depleting pretty much their whole savings. Then came _the_ 
breakthrough: A button that allowed the wearer of said device to 
communicate with the people around him or her. Just like it was before 
the Walkman came to market. What a concept!

Of course now that privilege of socialization commanded premium pricing 
for the device and regular purchases of batteries. That's called 
progress ...

Vista isn't all that different. Remember when writing a letter required 
a pencil for, oh, maybe 50 cents? Now you first have to make sure that 
there is at least 1GB of RAM. If you want to sketch something up the 
pencil needed no upgrades. With Vista plus a graphics or CAD package 
chances are that those 1GB aren't going to cut it.

-- 
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

On Jun 20, 8:34 am, The Real Andy <thereala...@nospam.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:12:54 +0200, "Boudewijn Dijkstra"
>
> >If you need more expensive and power-hungry hardware to be able to perform
> >mostly the same tasks, then I cannot possibly consider it an "upgrade".
> >And if you really need eye-candy to prevent you from becoming depressed,
> >then there are IMHO better ways to spend your money.
>
> >So how can you say that Vista is fine?
>
> Sigh..... The hardware is cheaper, your microwave draws more power...

That is a specious argument.  The purpose of a microwave is to *heat*
food.  In fact, part of the utility of a microwave is measured by how
fast it can heat food which means how much power it can consume.  So
of course it uses a lot of power... duh!

PCs use a lot less power than a space heater, or a heat pump or...
well, not a lot of other electrical stuff in the home actually.

A refrigerator uses less power than a PC.  A HiFi uses less power,
even if you have it cranked up to anything below the threshold of
pain.  My TV uses less power than a PC and even the old fashioned 100
Watt incandescent lightbulb I have lighting the room uses less power
than a PC.

I think the point is that PCs are finally headed in the direction of
using less power.  New software, such as Vista, requires even more
processing, memory and storage which push the power demands back up.

Let's leave microwave ovens out of this...

Rick

On Jun 20, 12:39 pm, Joerg <notthisjoerg...@removethispacbell.net>
wrote:
>
> That's why I love DOS. Pretty much all of the DOS routines from the late
> 80's I still need run flawlessly on NT4, Win2k and XP. I've heard they
> won't on Vista but that wouldn't matter because that's off limits in
> this office anyhow. Ok, there is the occasional Borland compiler bug
> (runtime error) but that is quite easily fixed.

If Vista is "off-limits" in your office, how do you buy new
hardware?   It is pretty hard to buy a new laptop with anything other
than Vista now that Dell has quit selling XP.  I can build my own
desktop and run any OS I want, but I can't do much about a laptop.

Rick

rickman wrote:
> On Jun 20, 12:39 pm, Joerg <notthisjoerg...@removethispacbell.net>
> wrote:
>> That's why I love DOS. Pretty much all of the DOS routines from the late
>> 80's I still need run flawlessly on NT4, Win2k and XP. I've heard they
>> won't on Vista but that wouldn't matter because that's off limits in
>> this office anyhow. Ok, there is the occasional Borland compiler bug
>> (runtime error) but that is quite easily fixed.
> 
> If Vista is "off-limits" in your office, how do you buy new
> hardware?   It is pretty hard to buy a new laptop with anything other
> than Vista now that Dell has quit selling XP.  I can build my own
> desktop and run any OS I want, but I can't do much about a laptop.
> 

Easy: Go to the next PC wrench shop. They'll build whatever you like. Or 
order the pieces including something like this:
http://store.purplus.net/miwixpprwofa.html

Heck, if you'd like to go totally retro and rock-bottom cost:
http://chicagocomputersupply.com/c78-00002.html
IIUC it's for 20 clients so that would come to about $17 per seat. Can't 
beat that I guess.

I could imagine Dell losing quite a bit of revenue, starting yesterday. 
$50 more for the "privilege' of not wanting Vista can push very savvy 
buyers over to the local markets. Of which there are plenty.

Old American saying: If you don't listen to what your customers want, 
someone else will.

-- 
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

Guy Macon wrote:
> Andrew Smallshaw wrote:
>> MC  wrote:
>>
... snip MCs over long lines ...
>>
>> But what about "Thou shall rant against posts that are not wrapped
>> to under 78 columns"?  In a standards compliant newsreader your
>> post above is two long lines.
> 
> Worse, some Usenet news servers truncate overly-long lines.

Maybe better.  That might train some users.  BTW, the actual
recommended limit is 80, better is 72, and I consider 67 superior.

-- 
 [mail]: Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net) 
 [page]: <http://cbfalconer.home.att.net>;
            Try the download section.


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