Windows NT Workstation 4.0

This never seems to end...!

You can complain and moan all you want, but among the ten or so operating systems I've used in the last 9 years, this is the only OS that consistently gets business work done. When I needed an operating system that could handle my graphics apps with their 20+MB files, increase available disk space by 25% while running for weeks at a time without interruption, increase my day-to-day productivity with my writing, handle client databases, business contacts, manage my money and web sites, and then answer my phone when I'm on vacation, NT 4.0 was and is the only one that has stepped up to the plate and gotten the job done.

That is for business usage. For personal projects and fun stuff, I'm going to have to say that Windows is NOT the platform of choice... Click to see which one I do think is the home OS for the future...

Mini-Rants

I've used OS/2...

Not even not quite. The list of near and far misses is staggering for this operating system. Ever since OS/2 2.1, I've wanted to switch from Windows to OS/2, but that was never a practical solution to any of the projects I wanted to work on. If any one company can give Microsoft trouble in the future, believe it or not, IBM is the one to do it. It certainly won't be Netscape or Sun, not the way things look now. With IBM's new copper CPU technology, it even looks like IBM is going to be the main supplier for the new G4 PowerMacs.... Stay tuned on that one.

Just when it looks like the lights at IBM's OS/2 Division might be out for good, a glimmer of hope appears! There is a petition movement to get IBM to reconsider its plans for not upgrading OS/2 Warp Client to version 5.0. There's even a beta version 4.04 of Netscape Navigator. Will wonders never cease?!

If there's going to be any hope, look for Citrix's Winframe agreement with IBM as a means of getting around the OS architecture differences and FINALLY putting 32-bit Windows apps on the OS/2 desktop. Hopefully, common sense will finally find its way into the OS Wars...

Windows 95...?

Compared to Windows 3.1x, this operating system was like manna from heaven! But as anyone who has tried to work for long periods of time will attest to, Windows 95 wastes system resources way too much.

Windows 98...!?

It's faster, more stable, runs USB, DVD, FAT32 and kicks butt on RIVEN... If you're using NT 4.0 now, you're not really missing anything at all. Just hang on until NT 5.0 ships next year.

One question: Why don't more programs have controls and windows that look like Encarta?

Windows 3.x?

Either you need to have your head examined for leaks, or you're hopelessly wedded to your OS/2 desktop. Either way, Windows 3.1x deserves a quiet, but quick death. However, I still believe that IBM's version of Windows 3.1 was far better than Microsoft's. It's a fact that Microsoft's version of OS/2 was a lot better than IBM's.

Mac OS 8.5

Kewl! You've got the best machine that no one could afford until this past April! Apple has been saved from oblivion and is making strong inroads in areas like education and DTP. However, there aren't going to be any "Burning Bill" pep rallies unless Microsoft implodes, is nuked by IBM in a surprise Java strike or gets "sanctioned" by the Justice Department.

Having said that, I've decided that as far as my personal operating system of choice, I've got to go with Mac OS 8.5 over Windows 98. It finally seems as if Apple has gotten their act together enough to trust that they will improve (as they have already) the OS so that it continues to outshine Windows 98. For graphics and the other cool things I want to do, OS 8.5 is my choice from now on...

I must say that there seems to be a strong (and uninformed) feeling of disdain in MIS departments for anyone who uses Macs in a PC-centric office. Maybe if some of those same MIS managers knew that there are ways to network Mac workstations and e-mail other than wasting processor power on WinFrame (and IE for Win3.x), there would be better support for people who rely on Macs to get their work done.

Linux...Unix...Xenix(HUH)?

HP is porting JAVA VMs to  their own UNIX machines and IBM is all gaga about OS/390 again. Wow... Linux? There are dozens of articles about how NT should be looking over its shoulder at its newest challenger. Some of those worries are justified. However, others are not.

LINUX is an improving and emerging platform on the PC horizon. There's no disputing its growth and potential. But there is as much fiction as there is fact about its potential:

1. The prevailing feeling among the LINUX developing community wants to keep the OS out of the hands of one monolithic corporate structure. This means that you won't be seeing IBM (or Red Hat or anyone else for that matter) putting out a standardized version of LINUX anytime in the near future.
2. It's "PC" to mention LINUX in the corporate world without getting laughed out of the building. This is fine for people who can afford or need to find less high-powered ways to get PCs networked, or who don't want to run NT (and by default give Microsoft any more money). This does not mean that those networks will work any better or make anyone's life any easier. Even the creator of the LINUX OS is putting the penetration of office suite-level products at the 3~4 year range.
3. If there's any doubt about the intentions of the AMC, you can rest assured that they would just as soon set up their own little cabal and rake in the same profits that Bill Gates has if they got to make their own monopolies. The main reason that all the challengers have failed so far is that they all tried to butt heads with a mountain. Instead of playing Microsoft's game (which is to learn as much about their competitors' technology, and then exploit its features against them in return), Apple, Sun, Netscape and IBM and all the others want(ed) to shoot it out with Microsoft like the Clantons at the OK Corral. Needless to say, they all failed miserably. Before throwing in with the LINUX camp, it might be prudent to see if they have any more common sense than the rest of the others did...

DOS Anything...

Dead. It should have died a quick death 3 years ago, but no such luck. If you think that playing with command line switches is worth your time, don't bother writing any e-mail.

Jesse Berst has a different take. Check out his reasoning why DOS is going to make a big comeback.

Java

Java is definitely a programming language. But an operating system? Go ahead and prove that one to me. It hasn't even been independently certified by anyone as a programming language yet, let alone had a shakedown running computers or devices, so how can SUN it claim it's an OS?! In the meantime, I'll be sipping Mai Tais at the Sheraton Waikiki next April waiting to see how this all sorts itself out.

Sun has gone to the most unbelievable lengths to make Java sound like it is out in the real world, booting and running machines all over the place. Even magazines like Business Week are touting it for all it's about to do. Where are these devices? Do you own one? Have you ever seen one advertised or used one personally? Sun's Scott McNeely demonstrated a cell phone (on a TV show 8~10 months ago) that supposedly had a million lines of Java code that booted in one second. Okay. Who carries that phone? How much does that phone cost? Where are all the useful devices with little "Java™" labels on them? What NCs or other PC look-alikes that say "JavaOS Inside"? NCs have been roundly panned as being completely worthless of anyone's attention. As others have noted, Java is still just a pretty gem that, so far, has been nothing more than a computer subsystem up to this point.

For all of its drawbacks, at least Windows CE is something you can see and use. And it is only getting better.

Microsoft FrontPage 98

As close to complete a web site design and management package as there is. It was chosen as a PC World Top 100 product for 1998. All the pages of this site were created using it.

Microsoft Word 97

There are other word processing programs that are good (I happen to like Lotus WordPro 97), but when it comes to doing everything I need, nothing beats Word 97; all of the Japanese pages for this site were done using Word 97 - it supports Unicode character sets under NT 4.0

Adobe Acrobat Exchange & Reader 3.01

The truest platform-independent format in the world today. For saving and exchanging data, this is the best solution you can find.

CORELDRAW! 7.0/8.0 for Windows9x-NT

All of the artwork on this site came either from my head, or from Corel PhotoPaint and Draw, version 7.0

Photoshop 5.0 may be the standard that everyone follows (at $599 ~ $699 compared to the COREL v8.0 upgrade), but Corel has put together a much less expensive, and broader set of design tools for Mac OS and Windows; all for an upgrade price of about $229.00

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0/4.0x

Bitch all you want about Microsoft's business practices, but with this browser, they've got web design and layout nailed; Netscape is definitely now playing catch-up.

For a comprehensive rundown on the comparative differences between the two browses, go visit my HTML section of this site.

ULEAD GIF Animator 2.0

For I don't know how long, I dreamed of a simple, elegant and powerful program for making cool animated GIF files... Well, don't wait as long as I had to - get this program and make cool animations like the RIVEN clone on the INDEX page and the LEVEL 42 animation on the LEVEL 42 Page.

Kai's PhotoSoap 1.0

Simply the coolest interface and best touchup tools I've ever used. All of the black and white photos in the Photo Gallery were retouched with this program.

Asymetrix WEB3D 2.0

All of the 3D logos, banners and text were done using WEB3D. I've always liked how simple it is to create quick effects with this program. Luckily, I got a free copy with my VIPER V330 video card!