Re: New PC - What MS OS? -- MIDRANGE-L

Jeff,

IMHO, NT is preferred, but there is a cost.

Certain hardware will not work under NT.  There is a hardware
compatibility list available on the net.  This is a factor in the cost
of switching.  Remember NT is OS/2 (with a new face).  OS/2 is picky,
therefore NT is picky.

For those that do not believe that NT is OS/2, check your directory. 
You will find OS2.exe and you can read/write 2.88mb diskettes.  Before
everyone gets their jets all fired up, NT does run under it's own kernel
but whenever an OS/2 function is required, it gracefully punts the the
OS that can actually do the job.

The upside to 95/98 would be products like Cybermedia First Aid that
fixes a 95 Reg file.  Not available under NT AFAIK.  NT does not come
with a defrag, but search for Diskeeper Lite and you can find a low
priced add-on.

NT can deal with multiple NIC's and IP address' if that matters to you.
Win 95/98 don't AFAIK.

As far as 16 bit 95 applications like Word Perfect, load Win 95/98, load
Word Perfect, load NT over Win 95/98 and it will run.  NT will not let
it install.  You must have the disk FAT16.  Now this is an old rule and
it may not apply for Win98 to NT but did for Win95 to NT.

Now for you Roger:

Roger Pence wrote:
> 

> Here are other drawbacks that quickly come to mind...
> 
> 3. Iffy twinax connectivity. NT won't recognize many twinax cards (or any
> other hardware-dependent cards).

I've found this to be true of 16bit ISA cards, especially with sound
cards that want to grab the available IRQ.  Stealth cards may not create
this problem.  Pulling sound cards and modems to get a twinax card to
work has become standard routine for us.

> 4. No plug and play support (which, although maligned for Win9x has saved me
> lots of time and grief)

My brother-in-law is the data center admin for a local CC and he calls
it "plug and pray". ;-)

> 5. Memory! Win9X reaches diminishing returns past 64MB, not NT. With NT, get
> 128MB!

True, for some reason you will actually degrade a Win95 box if you have
more than 64k.  For NT, the more the better.  OS/2 will run is 32mb a
whole lot better than NT.  IMHO, 64k for NT is a start point.

> 6. No disk defrag included--get one and use it

I've used Diskeeper Lite and to tell you the truth, it runs defrag every
month so I can't tell if I've had an improvement because I've never had
a slowdown.  But I feel better knowing it's been done.  Now this is on
the workstation, not the server.  On the server side, if it fragments
enough that you can actually measure the response and run a trial
Diskeeper and actually measure the improvement it may be beneficial
beyond personal satisfaction of having run a useless MS required task
that no other OS requires.

> 7. Spotty app compability. Generally apps work across platforms, but
> sometimes there is still a stickler. Lotus ScreenCam was my latest headache
> (Adobe Type Manager before that)

Curious, are these 16bit apps?  Haven't used either myself.

> 8. OS cost. For one workstation, the upgrade isn't a big deal. For lots,
> though, bring your fat checkbook.

Now Roger, don't quibble about acquisition cost vs cost of ownership. 
Isn't that the popular arguement of an AS/400 over an NT box? ;-)  But
let's face it, it's easier to tell a committee that it's only $200 each
vs saying it's $20k, one time, for all of them.
> 
> One other thought, MS has backed off its NT-on-the-desktop strategy. There
> is a wave of discontent building for very fat desktops and MS has seen the
> light. Don't be bullied into thinking Win9X goes away anytime soon).
> 
> Having said all that, if you can live within its constraints, I agree with
> Bob that NT is the way to go.

I believe that MS has made it clear that 95/98 is a consumer product and
NT is a commercial product.  IMHO, pick accordingly.

James W. Kilgore
email@James-W-Kilgore.com
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