Windows XP and WiFi on the shop floor.

Just hit my inbox

Two emails from Belden about the continued use of Windows XP and the increasing WiFi communications on the shop floor may be of interest.

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FWIW -- if your boss, or you if you're the boss, have had enough of the cyber version of "planned obsolescence*" for open source [free] operating systems and apps at least equal to the commercial ones, see below, and make *ONE* more change/update.

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and a bizillion more on google

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Reply to
F. George McDuffee
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"F. George McDuffee" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

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Reply to
Jim Wilkins

F. George McDuffee fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

FWIW, XP may have found new legs. Since the Chinese have rejected newer versions of Winblows, and since many US institutional users have refused to abandon XP, Microtheft is re-thinking their strategies.

I got a new 'critical update' to XP just yesterday (no, not to Outlook or IE), after they cancelled maintenance of the product!

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

A number of machines run on dos or unix. XP is running many others. Funny thing, one can't install or run some older programs on this new stuff. So if you have to use this or that CAD or CAM or QA program for another 5 years due to law.... What is one to do ? Stay on what works.

I have three xp machines, 8.1 and a 7 pro the 7 is now my main computer. Shop in xp and micro and telescope on 8.1. Fish tank on 8.1. Mom on 7 dad on 7 son on 7. One xp machine (old main) is in house as a backup for 7 and shop.

I think at one time I had over $10k software on my xp machine. Who could afford that today ? It stays on the xp.

Martin

Reply to
Martin Eastburn

NOT professional. Besides what idiot uses pro over ultimate?

Anyway, windows 7 is a catch all software designed to catch every computer user under the sun. for every process running you need for your cam, there's 50 more running for things like seeing if a smart device is hooking up every 50 milliseconds. The best thing to do would be to develope a linux dist along side of your cad cam proggy designed just for that product.

I beleive this was tried before successfully, it was called making a workstation. They married hardware, the OS and the cad cam into one product. Dec Alpha. Now that was a machine dedicated to cad cam top to bottom.

To go from that to bloated windows 7 and 8 is just sad.

Shit, windows 7 and 8 were designed for laptops. They park the cores so your battery wont die. Frig, I HAVE NO BATTERY! Stop trying to save what I dont have.

And who would want an os with every conceivable product driver known to man already installed just in case you want to hook up a smart toaster someday.

As far as 64 bit, pffft. We only need 32 gigs of ram because of all the shit running. Give us a dedicated box and we can go back to 32 bit and prolly 1 gig of ram, and our boxes would rock.

Reply to
vinny

Mom was in the Hospital for a few days, every computer in there was displaying the Windows XP screen saver.

My Garmnin map updater keeps telling me win-xp is no longer supported and I should update, yea, sure. All I need is a new computer and all new software to go on it.

Remove 333 to reply. Randy

Reply to
Randy333

================== While somewhat of a learning curve, you only have to do it

*ONCE*, and if you get/burn the live cd, you can try before you install. O/S is free as are tons of software in addition to the office suite that comes with the free install. As a windows user you can start using immediately, but some maintenance items are different.
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make life easier and buy (28.06$)
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Reply to
F. George McDuffee

F. George McDuffee fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Oh, really? And all the _dozens_ of software packages I paid BIG money for will all run flawlessly on 8, as well?

I run a business, and I have things like the MS office suite (et. al.) and tons of CAD and CAM software, much of which I have been assured I will have to purchase new to "upgrade" to a perverse and defective OS that is so full of personal invasion softwares I wouldn't want it if it DID work with my other softs.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" on Thu, 17 Jul

2014 12:42:09 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

That does seem to be a problem, doesn't it? It isn't the initial expense (new computer, new OS) but the upkeep (new software, new licenses, reinstalling, finding what setups don't work anymore, then al the time spent configuring the new install so it does not get in your way when you're working.).

Hear, hear!

I had to upgrade to Win7 - I needed the 64bit architecture. (If I had upgraded XP to 64-bit when it settled down, I would not have needed the new machine.) Some parts of it I like. But the interface

- sorry, I'm trying to get some work done. Fortunately (for me) I'd already downloaded the "icon snagger" - that let me snag the icons from XP and put them in Win7. I dunno, after a decade of looking for a particular icon to do something - it is nice to not have to try and figure out what it is here. Mutter, mutter, it's half-vast. In a nutshell, I don't care how efficient a dvorak keyboard might be - I'm not here to learn a new keyboard, but to pound out a report. My desk top is populating with shortcuts - because Windows doesn't seem to know how to open a tree unless you start at the top - which now has starting points. Arrgh.

Someday, maybe, a future release can be can improve to work like XP.

I may take the time and see what I can do to a Unix box.

-- pyotr filipivich. "I wish you wouldn't use the mind control device - I get these terrible migranes until it's finished." Jonathon

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

?????????????????

Not sure what you are saying. I am suggesting a one time switch to Linux. Ubuntu is one of several free distros, but is very popular.

I can understand your angst about having to upgrade or replace your software if the 8 you are referring to is windows 8 from Windows 7. The switch to Windows 7 obsoleted not only the statistics add-in I used with Excel [WinStat

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-- had to upgrade to 64 bit version, but also my PowerBasic console compiler
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and it also forced me to replace several peripherals that were working fine because the required drivers were not available.

Most versions of Linux include a Windows emulator called Wine which has steadily improved over time. Programs do run slightly slower under Linux/Wine than they do in their native Windows environment, but in most cases this is not noticeable by the user.

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Even without wine, you should be able to open text/data files from within Linux, and I have had no problems opening Microsoft Office Suite documents saved under windows in Libre or Open Office under Linux on my dual boot Windows7/Ubuntu14.04(Trusty Tahr) box.

FWIW -- it appears Windows 8 and its follow-ons are being developed for the touch screen environment common to tablets, and for "super" cell phones. This is causing significant problems for those of us that remain in the keyboard/mouse environment out of choice or necessity (in addition to obsoleting our software and peripherals).

FWIW: My upgrade to Trusty Tahr lunched GRUB, so be sure to get your GRUB, MBRs, chain loaders, etc. backed up first.

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

F. George McDuffee fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

George, First of all, I was an "early adopter" of Linux. I was using Slackware in the 1990s, professionally, as a support platform for terminal emulation software. Also SCO Unix and AIX (by IBM).

WINE emulation WAS faster than native Winblows, but it hardly runs everything. In fact, most of my modern apps won't run reliably under it, if at all. And yeah... I know about updating and drivers, and the like.

You probably need to 1) update your apps to something more recent than Win3.1 levels, and 2) catch up on RedHat, and what it can and cannot do.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Personally, I think you need to get your head out of your ass. The trival word processors, spreadsheets and graphic programs don't pay the bills. In my case Solidworks, Inventor, AutoCAD, MasterCAM do and they don't run on LINX, not even using the WINE portion you prfess is so great. Solidworks and Mastercam will not run on any version of Lynx that I'm aware of. I've been trying for years to move away for Windows but can't because of the software I'm forced to use for compatability with my customer. Find a version of Lynx or any of the other OS flavors that will run Solidworks, Inventor, AutoCAD, MasterCAM as well as Windows and I might change my mind but it'll need to be proven on my machines. WINE does not work. Office and the other trival programs have direct replacements but not the high dollar, native programs. R. Wink

Reply to
rwwink

rwwink fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Wink, we make fireworks manufacturing equipment. That's the machining end.

But I run a "whole business", not only the machining end of it. The 'trivial' software is important for paying the bills, since I also do consulting and forensic work for the fireworks industry.

And you're right... WINE doesn't work for half the stuff we need to do -- either the CAD/CAM stuff OR the office productivity software.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

rwwink on Sun, 20 Jul 2014 10:04:40 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Missed it by ... quite a lot, actually.

I had to upgrade hardware "to pay the bills". The Software I need to run didn't run on XP. You don't always get what you want. Been there, done that - had to replace perfectly good working environments because they no longer meet the spec.

What I really, strongly, and vehemently object to, is the long process of figuring out how to get work done with the new interface. It is very much like trying to get "anything done" after one changes offices. Nothing is where it was, nothing works the same way, and one has to stop and recall what it was one was about to do, and figure out how to do it "here."

I hates the interruptions it forces into my work flow.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" on Sun, 20 Jul

2014 10:44:29 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Thanks for that report, I'll keep it in mind.

Fnord. There is a lot of bad software (IMOSHO) but for what ever reason - it has the market share, and you have to use it. Period.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

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