Hi all,

Not sure if this has already been posted here yet but here's some great news
for Paradox For Windows Users gonig forward, Virtual PC 2004 is free. Not
only that but Microsoft have announced that Virtual PC 2007 will also be
free and support Windows Vista. Heres the all important link:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx

I haven't tried it myself yet, but the hopeful thing is that it probably
protects Paradox even further under Windows Vista.

Leslie.

Hi Leslie,

I haven't tried Virtual PC, but I do use VMWare and Parallels, which are
similar products. They both work very well. While not free, VMWare has a
free player which you can distribute. I think the main problem with this
approach is that you (or the customer) would need to buy a copy of WinXP
to go along with your Paradox app.

For development purposes, this type of software is extremely usefull as
you can install multiple OS's in their own virtual machines for testing
purposes.

Regards,
Roy F.

Leslie Milburn wrote:

Hi Roy,


"Roy F" <roydoc (AT) NOMORESPAMcox (DOT) net> wrote:

If you think about it, most existing Paradox For Windows Users/Clients
already have a Win98 or XP licence cause they are using it now. So as an
example if they upgrade to Vista it won't be a problem cause they will
already have a workable licence. Mind you I am not really talking about
Vista itself but perhaps Windows 2010 - they could run XP under Virtual PC
2012 and all would be well (theorectically).

Leslie.

Not if they upgrade, no. Only if they purchase a new pc/vista copy would
their win98/2000/xp license still be valid.

But then, how many people have a FULL copy of their operating system?


---------------------------------------------------------
Tony McGuire

Hi Leslie,

Unfortunately that is not usually the case anymore. Most new computers
don't ship with regular OS CD's anymore. They have "recovery" CD's which
restore a computer to the original state that it shipped in. I don't
think you can install those on differing systems.

What are you going to tell your customer? "I have this really
great application but you need to install it on an obsolete 12 year old
OS." That would be like telling someone now that they need to install
Windows 3.1 to run your app. I don't think there would be many takers.

Regards,
Roy F.

Leslie Milburn wrote:

Hi Roy,

"Roy F" <roydoc (AT) NOMORESPAMcox (DOT) net> wrote

Unfortunately for you guys in the USA that appears to be the truth.

In Australia its not quite that bad yet mainly because people here are alot
more savvy about getting OEM copies when going to independant suppliers. In
one particular store (Target) they have an internet machine which price-wise
on the surface looks good until you realise that the internet plan is a rip
off. A few contacts I have, tell me that this particular sales approach is
not successful at all in Aus, yet in the US its very popular.

Also, the retail stores simply cannot match the prices of the very popular
smaller outlets. Only Dell comes close (and maybe Acer with Notebooks), but
given our population size, we have a large number of Magazines that provide
very good advice and so the "general public" are very well educated indeed.
Gee, these mags are even constantly providing Linux Kernel Updates and the
like - and also have detailed sections dedicated to subjects like "Get Rid
of Microsoft Office" - promoting Open Office. To give an example this months
PC World Australia has Visual Studio Express 2005 and Oracle 10G on the
cover CD. This really does make them visible to the ordinary person on the
street, rather than them having to stumble across it via a google search
gone wrong. So, IMO, it appears that it really is different here than in the
USA, which I think is a loss for you guys.

My last word is that I do not buy unless I get original CD's. So Dell were
refusing to provide an original but proide a "Recovery" disk and I said no
way and that Acer would provide the originals. Guess what, Dell backed down
and provided me with OEM copies of Windows XP SP2 and Office 2003 - a small
win for me, but I had to fight for it.


Well, lets face it many (read most) larger Companies still run mainframe
software that is 40 years old. So, if you are talking about a critical piece
of software, then yes they would be glad to have a "way out" - put it this
way, its a lot more realistic (at this stage) than proposing they run using
Wine on Linux.

The reality is that although many applications have a lifecycle of say 5
years, it might take a company with a huge investment in that product about
another 5 to migrate. And that is why Microsoft are giving virtual PC away
for free - because they (smartly) recognise that reality.

Leslie.

Hi Tony,

"Tony McGuire" <png.paradoxcommunity@com> wrote:

Come on, with the way hardware is constantly changing etc whenever you buy a
new motherboard you qualify for OEM software. Gee, even buying a Memory
Stick qualifies for some products. I think you under-estimate small business
if you think they do not fully take advantage of these "offers".

Leslie.

Tony McGuire wrote:

I know I don't have one. My laptop came with a "Recovery" disk. To me,
that's like buying a car and getting a stupid donut instead of a real tire.

~Michelle