🚀 go-pugleaf

englf@singnet.com.sg (Felix Eng) quotes:
>Users of Windows 95 - which masquerades  as a 32-bit desktop operating
>system - who are looking to migrate to NT Workstation 4.0 (NTW4) face a
>technical nightmare.

That's a nice one! "Masquerading as a 32-bit desktop OS".

>Two months ago when NTW4 entered the beta test phase, Microsoft warned that
>migration from Windows 95 to NTW4 would be plagued by problems.

Microsoft did that?? Sorry, don't believe that. They're only honest about
problems if it's absolutely necessary, which sure isn't the case *before* it's
released.

>Steve Madigan, director of Windows NT program management, told Computer
>Weekly that the architectural differences between the two operating systems
>were so significant that migration would be a major issue.

And we can't tell that to Winvocates!

>For example, a lack of guidance over how and where the Windows 95 operating
>system installs applications creates a major problem for NTW4 when it tries
>to upgrade a computer.  Third-party software, over which Microsoft has
>no control, can install its main code to a root directory, such as
>C:\PROG, but can also install .DLL files within various Windows directories
>which are difficult to track.

Ah, yes, the "it's the ISV's fault" ploy. Office apps don't that, dumping stuff
in SYSTEM, eh? But if an ISV thinks "MS made Windows, they must know how it
should be done" and acts the same way, it's their stupid own fault...

>Because of the different ways in which Windows 95 and NTW4 track these
>programs, information about where.DLL files or data files are stored
>can be lost in the migration.

And it's not as if their ages are wildly differing or anything. Why would MS
redefine the way the newer OS tracks it, especiaaly if it gives these problems?
They seem to think API's en OS subsystems *must* stay in flux...

>Microsoft now believes users wanting to upgrade early should"start
>afresh" and delete Windows 95, install NTW4 and then re-install all
>business applications from scratch.

Chicken out of the backward compatibility issue because they don't know how
to tackle it.

>Alternatively, users could ignore NTW4 and wait until 1997 when

Wait wait wait... "The life of a Windows user"

>Microsoft ships a version of Windows NT currently codenarned Memphis. The
>move to Memphis, the supplier claims, will be a much smoother transition.

Or, in other words, we can't make it in time for us to ship it with NT 4, so
we'll find a nice new codename and get some more upgrade revenue from something
we should have shipped with NT 4 in the first place.
And they dare talk about quality prevailing over shipping dates...

>A  further consideration is support for Plug&Play (P&P), the automatic
>detection of the hardware components within a PC. Although P&P is hardly a
>robust technology, it is one of the key features of Windows 95 and played
>an important  part in persuading Windows 3.1 users to migrate. NTW4 does
>not support P&P and will not do so until 1997, when Memphis ships.

Another example of "we can't make it in time but we'll ship it anyway".

>The technical problems of migration are rather nasty, but obvious. What is
>less clear is whether a user needs to embark on such a painful migration.

What is totally unclear is why people put up with this kind of crap, year in
year out.

>'You have to look at what class of operating system and application you
>want for your users.  For a bank that wants robustness and security for
>their own applications, NTW4 is a good choice.  But for many, Windows 95
>is a good, general-purpose 32-bit operating system," he added.

Then so is Win3.x. Why spend major bucks? Upgrade mania.

>Gartner group stands firm behind the belief that Windows 95 is as good a
>business pperating system as NTW4, so long as a company has considered its
>needs carefully.  Levin is also in agreement with Microsoft that Windows
>95 users should wait until 1997 to see what is on offer, and then make a
>decision to migrate if necessary.

Do they call themselves independent??? Unbelievable!
"My car's engine now and then fails mysteriously, and when I turn on the radio
 it stutters and sometimes even stops"
"We suggest you wait until 1997 to see what's on offer from your car's vendor
 before you decide what to do"
Everybody seems to have forgotten that this release of this particular car
model was supposed to fix all the problems in the previous one, and it was in
fact a whole new design with a 16valve engine. Damn, the engine just looks like
a 16 valve with overhead cam and turbo, but in there is still the same two-
stroke Trabant engine, doing it's best to move this 4000 pound beast.

>Gartner Group believes as little as 15% of desktops in the average UK
>company will be running Windows NT, with Windows 95 and Windows 3.x
>accounting for the rest.

Yeah, sure. No OS/2, no SCO Unix, no Linux, no DOS!
Maybe they forgot the "operating system with 'Windows' in its name" qualifier.

-- 
Illya Vaes  (ivaes@hr.ns.nl)                 Not speaking for anyone but myself
Holland Railconsult BV, Signalling CAD
Postbus 2855, 3500 GW Utrecht
Tel +31.30.2358586, Fax 2357208        "Do...or do not, there is no try" - Yoda