Msg: Re: Staying with XP after April 8 2014 (was Win 7 vs Win 8)

That's an excellent thing!

I've never used W2k -- I went from Win 98 to XP -- and hadn't realized it was friendly to Xywrite.

It's reassuring to hear that that virtualization is relatively easy. Can you move seamlessly between your virtual W2k machine and your main OS? Does the anti-virus software on the main OS extend to your W2k virtual machine? (And how readily available is W2k if one wants to buy it new rather than used?)

Lynn Brenner

P.S. The Word ribbon horrors are still in store for me. I still use Word 2003. I write and edit everything in Xywrite and convert it to Word 2003

before filing my copy. I realize that to anyone who doesn't know Xywrite, this must sound like the equivalent of using a horse and buggy and a Model T - but in fact, it's a wonderfully fast system. I have decades' worth of my Xywrite files as well as everything in the XP universe instantly available to me. Left to my druthers I wouldn't change anything.

On Sat, Mar 8, 2014 at 8:44 AM, Bill Troop mailto:billtroop@xxxxxxxx wrote:

I concur that anxiety over working in virtual machines in highly exaggerated. There is no need for us to hoard old machines and worry about their health. On Kari's advice, I use W2K. He's been advising this for several years. It took me until this year to do as he recommended, and I am glad I did because the XyWrite experience is completely satisfactory.

The only point on which I differ is that I have found VMware Player easier to use than VirtualBox. It can't have taken more than an hour to set up VMware and W2K, and XyWrite works perfectly. This is on Win 8.1.

What's the advantage? Well, VMware's video driver for W2K is fantastic, and allows full use of my 3200x1800 15-inch screen. That means XyWrite fonts are clearer and smoother than ever before. (On a 15 inch screen, I set Lucida Console to 36 points and am still able to have a 43-line screen.)

There are also substantial advantages to being able to use the latest hardware.

Win 8.1 is an annoying OS, and for those who have time, it would probably be best to wait for 9 or 9.1. But there really is no need. Virtualization works, it is easy, it is foolproof, it is smooth. And it means you can just stop worrying about the future. Isn't that a good thing?

At 08/03/2014 10:37, you wrote:

Hi,

If you buy a full retail version, you will get both versions, 32-bit and 64-bit. Installing the 32-version may cripple your computer's power, but will enable you to run XyWrite as you have done under XP 32-bit. The retail version can be transferred to a new computer and even a virtual computer (which counts as a computer for lisensing purposes) and reactivated any number of times as needed.

My guess for the future would be that, if you postpone your computer purchase, you will be eventually running XyWrite under some kind of virtual environment. For this you do not need Win7, just a free virtualization program, like Oracle VirtualBox, and Windows 2000 for running a 32-bit environment. Xp or Win7 is just an overkill. Xywrite needs only DOS to run, and that is one floppy, not the enormous resources of XP or Win7 DVD behemoths. W2K is a more friendly substitute for DOS, the minimum for making collaboration between operating systems fluent under a virtual environment.

If you buy a new computer, running the latest 64-bit operating systems makes sense. A multiple-core processor and hardware virtualization will enable good legacy support for 32-bit applications and 16-bit remnants. Keeping the middleware to a bare minimum means that there is no reason to cling to XP in the long run.

Best regards,

Kari Eveli
LEXITEC Book Publishing (Finland)
lexitec@xxxxxxxx

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7.3.2014 18:52, Harry Binswanger wrote:

As I've said before on this list, I am quite happy with Win 7 but it
must be 32-bit (to avoid having to run a virtual machine).

I would think that Win 7 32 bit will always be purchasable on ebay.
Right now, the "buy it now" prices range from $73.55 to a little over $100.

I did find a slight need to learn new stuff when I went from XP to Win
7. It's a bigger transition than going from Xy 3+ to Xy IV but less than
going from the old Word to Word with "the ribbon" (if you are familiar
with that trauma).

Longer term, I'm hoping that Nota Bene will be our salvation.

--Harry