Re: OT - Something actually worked!

None of mine needed such activation. Even if they did that (and survived the legal and PR skirmish that would most certainly unfold) I can always revert to something as far back as NT4. Some hardware may have to run in a lesser mode but who cares?

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
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Joerg wrote:

That's a step in the right direction.

These days, I have every confidence in M$ chosing to do the most stupid thing imaginable.

With folks like Mike Engelhardt (LTspice), Allan Wright (FreePCB) and other *smart* developers making an effort to assure that their Windoze-compatible apps will run under WINE, "the old wisdom" may soon be up against it.

You have jogged my memory WRT the *driver developers community* of the Open Source movement

**Linux Driver Project Status Report** by Greg Kroah-Hartman *-very-active-*-*-*-*+*-reduced-the-barrier-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*+Linux-supports-more-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*+vertical+perception+*-few-companies-*-*-*-*+free+myth+already-*-handled-*-*+difficult+*-number-of-developers-who-*-*-*-*-*-*-help-*-*-*-*-*-*-*+*-*-*-*-well-documented-*+Microsoft-*-*-statement

where there have been some interesting recent developments: "VIA[1] Announces Open Source Driver Initiative"

"Major PC Vendors Push For Open Source Drivers"

As noted above (Re: Dell), vendors are getting tired of Redmond deciding what their business models will be. . . [1] VIA Technologies, Inc., a leading innovator of power-efficient x86 processor platforms

The first time I was surprised that it was possible. The procedure called for an Internet connection that had to be working. So I pretended I had none and turned off the broadband modem. Then I disabled all auto-update "features". I do not wish to have an OS or some program (except for virus protection) to secretly call home.

Not just them. I have a technical inquiry into TI. About two months have elapsed and no response. One design-in is already lost and they are about to lose the next one. I am pondering whether I should also become more cautious in using their MSP430 series.

*-very-active-*-*-*-*+*-reduced-the-barrier-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*+Linux-supports-more-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*+vertical+perception+*-few-companies-*-*-*-*+free+myth+already-*-handled-*-*+difficult+*-number-of-developers-who-*-*-*-*-*-*-help-*-*-*-*-*-*-*+*-*-*-*-well-documented-*+Microsoft-*-*-statement

You can operate a lot of things in plain vanilla mode but if you run into just a single piece of software that you really need in the business but it won't run under Linux that's the end. At least for me. But yes, the links you gave provide hope.

BTW, someone in this thread said XP isn't available anymore. That does not seem to be quite so:

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

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Use another domain or send PM.

A lot of companies don't care much about the little guys. I don't know what your volumes are, but I get the impression that unless your local salesperson or FAE gets in the loop, technical support doesn't put you at a high priority.

The heck with XP. I am still running Win2K on my machines and have very few problems. Most of my issues are with apps anyway and not the OS. I can't believe how bad Adobe Acrobat software is. I used it at a day job where it was an intrinsic part of their quality processes. The durn stuff is so retarded and dysfunctional that even the IT guys didn't know how to make it work. I am using it right now because I haven't yet found anything that can replace it. But I found a new open source program the other day, PDF Creator, and expect to try it out soon. But it is just a replacement for Acrobat Distiller, not Acrobat itself. I use a lot of the commenting features to add content to existing PDF documents. Just yesterday I finally figured out how to add a bitmap image to a PDF so I could add my signature without printing and scanning the thing back in. I swear it took me over an hour to finally figure it out. But I'll ditch the piece of crap as soon as I can find something else that will let me do the same sorts of edits.

If I had anyone that I could ask questions of, I would try Linux. But I don't savor trying to learn it in a vacuum.

You can ask me. I may not know the answer, but I (probably) won't bite.

comp.os.linux.setup is pretty good. Low volume. Not much off topic crap.

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These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer\'s.  I hate spam.

You need to be looking in one of the Linux groups. ie alt.os.linux, alt.os.linux.suse alt.os.linux.ubunto etc.

As far as M$ software is concerned I don't use any at all ! Clients that need a particular application use VMware inside Linux. It also has the advantage that data is usable outside the virtual environment as well.

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Best Regards:
                     Baron.