Re: I want to go geek .. and VPC?

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "mhchoate" 
on Tue, 29 May 2007 12:49:10 -0500


> I have learned that while Vista does have a
> "Command Prompt" feature, it
> does not support "Full-Screen" mode.

Not true. Vista does FullScreen VGA (text mode/black
screen/looks like DOS) *perfectly*! And 32-bit Vista runs
XyWrite perfectly. (64-bit Vista does NOT run XyWrite, period!)

I suppose there is some legitimate argument for sticking with
Win9x (not that I can remember what it is, except for the
obvious one: user hasn't got the savvy or skills or
determination and persistence to get XyWrite running acceptably
under a modern OS). But I can think of an awful lot of very
good reasons to go with NT+ (meaning Win2K/XP/Vista), such as
the fact that there's much more to computing than just XyWrite,
and 9x can't do the job anymore. I simply cannot fathom this
notion that XyWrite requires 9x. My XyWrite installations work
the same on every Windows operating system -- which is to say,
very well indeed. You do NOT need VPC at all! That's
ridiculous. And running *real DOS* instead of a modern OpSys is
utterly TOTALLY ridiculous. There are perfectly good DOS
subsystems integrated into ALL versions of Windows (including
Vista -- I don't care what the magazines or salespeople say, if
it looks like DOS and acts like DOS and quacks like DOS, then it
*is* DOS, or such a good emulation thereof that you can't tell
the difference).

All the messages on this list about Win98 and DOS and preparing
for the future by burrowing into the past are just nonsense.
All they mean is that the writers haven't got a clue what they
are doing. The writers went to sleep for 10+ years or paid no
attention because they figured they didn't need to -- and now
they're hopelessly behind. They need to get clued in. They
need to grapple with technological issues. Otherwise, they're
just going to be unhappy, and they shouldn't be using XyWrite
anymore -- they should use NBWin (XyWrite for Windows!) or Word
or something that just works out of the box. Running XyWrite
today REQUIRES a somewhat sophisticated understanding of
operating systems and of DOS -- i.e., more understanding than
99% of today's incredibly ignorant Average Users possess. It's
just a fact of life when you're running old DOS programs. If
you don't believe me, take a gander at Edward Mendelson's
WordPerfect for DOS website. Whew! 

These users need to install XyWrite on a modern box, and then,
ONE BY ONE, tackle the problems narrowly. We've addressed, and
SOLVED, just about every problem you can have ten times over ad
nauseum, and the archives prove it.

Tough love.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------