Reply to note from Harry Binswanger Sat, 25 Oct
2014 14:18:51 -0400
Harry:
> For some reason, I can't quite get my head around what this is
> for.
To answer your second question first, it's only relevant if you're
running XyWrite in a virtual machine (because XyWrite won't run in
your 64-bit host operating system).
As for your main question, the usefulness of frames like OPE,SWI
depends on how Xy-centric your digital life is. And, as Kari said
the other day, it's largely a matter of custom and habit. Of course
you can always "click out" of the VM machine to work in the host.
But I've always used Xy as a launchpad for other programs. In the
DOS era, when you could only run one program at a time, XyWrite's
DOS command magically allowed you to open another program, work in
it, and return to a still-running XyWrite. When multitasking OSes
came along, you could launch Windows programs from XyWrite with
DOS /C CMD.EXE /C START [program_name]. In the brave new virtual
world, however, it's a different story. DOS /C CMD.EXE will run
commands and launch programs only in the VM. Since the guest OS
running in that machine is usually more or less antiquated, it's
often not possible to run the latest versions of Windows
applications in it. (Cf. my example of washed-out images in Firefox
12 running under W2K.) The U2 routine demo'd in the video
circumvents that limitation by allowing me to cross the 32/64-bit
barrier directly from the XyWrite CMline. It's as if XyWrite were
running in the 64-bit OS -- but with all the advantages of speed and
familiarity that come with running Xy under W2K.
Personally, I find this equally or more magical -- and useful -- as
"shelling" out to DOS programs was in the early days. But if, over
the years, you've become less command-driven and more hotkey- and
mouse-oriented (as I suspect many XyWriters have -- if "many
XyWriters" isn't an oxymoron), then this may not be any great shakes
for you, even if someday you do run Xy in a VM. At a minimum,
though, I've demonstrated that it's possible. And thanks to the
geniuses at Oracle who did all the heavy-lifting in the innards of
VirtualBox, it's a snap to get XyWrite running this way. I'll post
details and files later in the weekend.
--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxx