Re: Linux and XyWrite

[Patricia M Godfrey pmgodfrey@xxxxxxxx]

Jordan wrote:
≪It is by far the best at what it does well, and anything else would be
a continually irksome and miserable
downgrade.≫

Amen, brother. The problem is that, no we don't need the latest and
greatest hardware (unlike software, hardware has made steady advances),
but newer hardware doesn't have drivers for older opsyses (98 initial
release could not ID, but would not ignore, some of my latest system's
components, and I was forced to "upgrade" to 2d Ed, which is much
slo-o-ower booting and shutting down). And hardware does eventually die.
Our options seem to boil down to 1) Getting XyWrite working on Linux or
Mac; 2) settling (and paying, again and again) for NB and hoping it gets
fixed, or 3) stockpiling P III systems as they become available on the
aftermarket. There are lots of liquidators out there, but unfortunately,
all they offer are "Big Name" systems. There's a good reason for that:
you can, if the system isn't too old, download the specs, docs, and
drivers from the manufacturer's Web site. But proprietary systems often
have unexpected gotchas; hence my preference for white box systems, made
from industry-standard components. And I simply have not found big name
systems in general more long-lived than those from "Three geeks and a
goat."
Patricia