Amiga vs PC

[pyrre]

@ amigaksi

Unfortunately, not all old software is crappy like your program may have been.  And VirtualBox doesn't run unless you have some Professional Version of Windows 7 64-bit so haven't seen what restrictions that has when it does run.

I use Win7 x64. and i run VMWare. and i run Win98se. and play diablo, quite well i must say. I also run dosbox. in win7 X64. and play old 16bit dos games, and it works quite well.
I have not tried UAE yet. but i bet ya a dollar it works just fine. Then i can play most amiga games on my win7 x64 install.

Nor can you request people who buy machines with 64-bit OSes to  partition their hard drives afterwards.

Partition hard drives afterwards?
Exactly what do you mean by that?
I run the same disks with the same partitions as i did with xp. (some disks even W2K) I have just reformatted them with an updated version of ntfs, or converted them on the fly.

Many don't even give the original OS Cd with the machines even if they wanted to.

Is it the OSs fault that some retailers don't include the OS disks?

Dropping compatibility with old software (16bit and/or 32-bit) was a mistake

What compatibillity has been dropped?
I still use old software. Name some REALLY usefull old software that don't work under win7 x64.
(I still use windows commander 4.0 (which i did under 98se)).
For those rare software (read games) not working on modern computers, i like you have a shitload of old computers. ranging from p133 and up.
Plus my amigas.

That's the other crap pulled of my Microsoft-- certification of software.  I originally thought that was to prevent viruses/spyware but nope.  They give warning and sometimes fail to install perfectly fine usable software.

The certification referred to in previous post is certification of drivers. If someone want to have certified drivers, they must make both 32 and 64bit drivers for their hardware. Uncertified drivers still works, though.

[pyrre]

Looks like VMWare also requires installing the older OS as well as VMWare itself which doesn't look like freeware.

Yes and no. you download VMWare server (i think it was...) and request a key from VMWare site... you install the software and run it. quite simple..
Though, the enterprise versions are quite expensive.
And BTW if you already have the old 98se install cd collecting dust. its nice to be able to use it again..

I need to run 16-bit and 32-bit software that works on Windows 3.x like Photoshop and most of my stuff.  Windows 98SE and XP run my software fine but not 64-bit Windows.  One proposed solutions were partition the hard drive, but that also still requires installing/buying Windows 3.x OS and head-ache repartitioning for customers that may not be so technically inclined.  They basically went and bought a new computer and told me my software no longer works.  Unfortunately, they bought a machine with a 64-bit OS.

I am puzzled by this. i dont understand where that comes from.
Out of curiosity i installed photoshop 5.5. the oldest photoshop i have.. been with me since 98se days. it work like a charm...
And i installed sonicfoudury vegas video 4.0 video editing suite. it works like a charm to. and it has been with me since 98se/W2K times...
I just cant understand what the problem is.... So far there is one thing i have been unable to get to work in my pc. that is my SCSI II controller. not because its incompatible. but because adaptec just ain't writing drivers for it to W7... (it does not work with 32Bit vista either)
And BTW partitioning the drives. do you really expect Win 3.x to work on modern hardware? Even 2K have problems with that. (mostly driver availability of modern motherboards). The answer is quite simple; virtualize it. Or even emulate it.. (dosbox)

Yes, it's the OS's fault that there was no solution given to run old software that doesn't need any upgrade or newer OS features to run with full functionality.  The fact of the matter is, when I benchmark my software on Windows 98SE w/64MB and Windows XP w/1GB RAM, it runs better on Windows 98SE.

1. No, it aint the OSs fault that retailers don't include the disks with the computer when purchasing it!
2. Compatibility can be achieved by selecting compatibility mode.
3. Benchmarks is just a figure... So far my newer PCs have graveled any W98se setup in any benchmark. (3D benchmarks like 3Dmark 99, 2k, 01....)
Rendering: Vegas video have increased performance at every step i have upgraded so far, even OS upgrades.
That goes for working with photoshop as well... I would like to see you edit a RAW format 18mp image from your canon eos... in win 3.11 with a P90 and 16mb ram... i would pay to see that.. the image is 30MB in size...
4. What software are you talking about? photoshop is the only software you have mentioned so far... give me examples so i can compare with my figures..

Yeah, most uncertified drivers like belkin WIFI still work but those dialog boxes sure try to create doubt in people's minds with messages like: "WARNING: Press continue to install, but if your hard drive crashes or monitor blows up, don't tell us."

The warning message actually serve a purpose.. false written drivers have existed...(from 3rd party writers...).
It just tells you to be aware of what you are doing. if you are in doubt, ask a friend with computer knowledge, or call tech support..

[pyrre]

Not sure what all this is about.  I'm using a 2.8 GHz Dual Core running Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit. I was abit surprised, but Mechwarrior 4 runs just fine. That was released on November 24, 2000. Almost 11 years ago. No compatibility mode.

I just build a new computer for a friend this Spring to replace her 7 year old Dell. The new computer is slightly better than mine. Same OS. I installed all the software that was on her old computer. A good bit of it was from 1995 to 2000 release programs. All of it ran, no issues, no comparability mode.

Another Mech warrior 4 player... cool. i play that too.. (on W7 X64)

Do you play perpetuum? (MMO game, currently in beta)

[pyrre]

People seem to forget era and function.

Amiga was unique in its time and badly managed

PC is popular and badly driven

Thumbs up. best comment so far.

[pyrre]

No, I don't want to install 98SE and VMWare on an already bloated Windows 7 64-bit and hope it works.  The more compact the OS, the better for my stuff.  And I am talking Windows 3.x not Windows 98SE.  



Yes, I expect Win 3.x to work on modern hardware.  That's what compatbility means.  I shouldn't have to buy some other emulation scheme (assuming it exists).


It's the OSes fault that it's incompatible with previous windows API.  I won't even mention I/O ports yet, but suffice to say that up to windows 98SE, they were backward compatible on API level as well as I/O port level.  Windows 98SE was the LAST good OS by Microsoft.  It allowed direct port I/O and APi access just like Amiga OS.

Compatibility is NOT achieved for Win 3.x through selecting compatibility mode.  And even for many Win98 stuff, it doesn't work.  Windows 3.x will beat Windows 98SE given the same hardware setup since you can do 32-bit stuff in Windows 3.x.  So editing an image of 30MB using 16MB machine and a more bloated OS will degrade performance.

OMG...
To all of us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnhF1QAEZjU