Subj : Re: Now I'm really pissed about Windows XP Beta
To   : Geo.
From : Robert Comer
Date : Fri Mar 30 2001 03:15 pm

From: "Robert Comer" <bobcomer@mindspring.com>

> You are further off. I'll explain.

Probably. <g>

> If you run DOS, then you will never find anything that is 100% compatible
in
> the NT world. If you run Mac then you will never find anything that is
100%
> compatible in the PC world.

No problem here.

> The complaints of old software that don't work, those aren't complaints of
> old software that don't work those are complaints of a platform that isn't
> 100% compatible with another platform. Dos based windows and NT are not
the
> same OS even though both are called windows.

Also no problem -- I agree that they are very different beasts with a somewhat 
common API.

> W2K is fully backwards compatible, all the old NT apps run on it.

I'm afraid that's not quite a true statement, I have some Norton stuff that 
does not run at all in W2K and Norton File manager, while usable, is pretty 
weird looking.  (It's my file manager of choice.)

> It's not
> 100% cross platform compatible in that some of the old dos games and some
of
> the low level dos based windows utilities will not run.

I would say "somewhat compatible", but close enough. Most of my Win9x games and 
some other software doesn't run either on W2K, and none of my DOS games do.

> It always bothers me when someone says "backwards compatible" referring to
> NT and DOS programs. DOS is not where NT came from (and for some reason I
> find the comparison a little insulting <g>). It's like talking to a Unix
> type and telling him that his unix isn't backwards compatible because it
> can't run some dos app.

I think we agree more than disagree actually.  Does it bother me that W2K 
doesn't fulfill the above, no, but it also makes it so I don't want to run W2K 
as my main platform at home.  (I do run it on my PC at work, different tasks, 
different OS.

- Bob Comer


"Geo." <georger@nls.net> wrote in message news:3ac55669$1@w3.nls.net...
>
>
>
>
>
> Geo.
>
> "Robert Comer" <bobcomer@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:3ac53c50@comertower....
> > <I hope I have made my point clearly this time>
> >
> > I think I'm further off now.  I kind of like playing games and using
cool
> > new hardware at home. (which has never been possible with the NT
kernel.)
> >
> > - Bob Comer <I run W2K too at home, but not on my main PC.>
> >
> >
> > "Geo." <georger@nls.net> wrote in message news:3ac5363e@w3.nls.net...
> >
> >
>
>

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