[WinMac] Re: Film Bureau and Platforms
Daniel L. Schwartz(expresso[at]snip.net)
Thu, 23 Sep 1999 16:37:05 -0400
At 01:35 PM 9/23/99 -0400, "Aaron Ciesar" <aciesar@stroke.upmc.edu> wrote:
>Dan,
>
>I have responded in line and clipped extra text.
>
>----------
>> Subject: Re: Film Bureau and Platforms
>> From: "Daniel L. Schwartz" <expresso@snip.net>
>> Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 16:12:14 -0400
>> Mime-Version: 1.0>>
>>
>> SCENARIO: Last Thursday & Friday I was at a SoHo design studio in Bucks
>> County (PA). When I arrived after a 3 hour trip in the middle of Hurricane
>> Floyd I arrived at the site... With the power off for over an hour and 3
>> inches of water in their basement, ruining thousands of dollars in
>> photography backgrounds. After the power came back on, I worked for hours
>> on a Umax recovering data.
>>
>> Next morning, the owners went out and wrote a check for >$2000 for a brand
>> spanking new G4 & accessories, which I set up for them.
>>
>> --> Now just imagine their horror *if* when I was unpacking their new
>> production machine I cracked the case! :)
>
>Never underestimate the power of duct-tape. ;)
That's right: It's hard to get out of after it's wrapped around your
wrists, ankles... And neck!
>
>> Well, if you don't call 650,000 beta test copies "released," then what is?
>> Jump to <http://www.ntfaq.com> and see all of the independent Win2k tech
>> support info. And while you're there, check out the extra info that is
>> there for NT-MacOS connectivity, courtesy of yours truly.
>>
>> Besides, Release Candidate 2 (RC2) is already out, and **when installed
>> stripped down** (as we both like to do!) it is quite stable. Almost ANY OS
>> will run with improved stability when all of the gewgaws are stripped out
>> (with few exceptions).
>
>It is just my personal rule, no beta software on the servers (unless testing
>of course). When Win2K is golden master, then I will consider it.
Well, I'd much rather run W2k RC2 than MacOS 8.6: The biggest problem with
Win2k is that it is trying to be all things to all people... And computers.
By trimming down the "features" and running it on hardware that is already
certified for NT4, then it runs smoothly.
The single biggest issue I personally have with Win2k is that it is trying
to accommodate too many video drivers. Up through NT 3.51, the GDI ran in
protected (user) mode - CPU Ring 3. Starting with NT4, the GDI was moved
into CPU Ring 0 - Kernel (real) mode, (along with the server and spooler
services), so that a buggy video card driver would bring the system to a
BSOD. As long as, for a server, stuck to generic chipsets with their
generic drivers, all runs nicely. Going beyond that, sticking closely with
the Windows Hardware Compatibility List
<http://www.microsoft.com/hwtest/hcl> for NT compatibility is critical for
video - And other PCI option card systems such as SCSI and NIC.
Essentially, every machine I've tested Win2000b3 Server on *that has
already been running NT4* runs quite smoothly - And three have been
multiprocessor machines, plus a (now W2k-extinct) 533 mHz DIGITAL 21164sx
Alpha (with AlphaBIOS 5.69).
>>>> OK, what are you running them on, and which MacOS - 8.5.1?
>>>
>>>I use MacOS 8.6 on all my systems. However, I do not use the standard
>>>installation. I custom strip the servers of many unneeded extensions and
>>>control panels.
>>
>> Absolutely... Plus I strip out ALL of the TrueType fonts to shut down the
>> TrueType rasterizing engine. This is not as important as it was in the 040
>> days, but every little bit helps.
>>
>> I'm also a bit surprised that you are NOT running MacOS 8.5.1 instead of
>> MacOS 8.6: The 8.6 Finder uses more CPU resources, decreasing background
>> performance for rendering... And (quite probably) file service as well.
>
>Well, my servers run with ASIP 6.2.1 which requires MacOS 8.6. You can run
>ASIP 6.2 on MacOS 8.5.1, but some of the bug fixes in ASIP are dependent
>upon MacOS 8.6.
That is a bit disheartening, in that the bug fixes in ASIP 6.2 require bug
fixes to be applied to the OS as well. They *should* be independent -
Especially since many companies are in Y2k lockdown, and *cannot* "upgrade"
their OS.
>Plus, the improved multitasking in 8.6 actually increases the performance of
>my print server, as it runs in the background.
Why are you running a print server? For PC's? At least (background)
printing has been the one *really good* aspect of System 7 & 8 due to
AppleTalk's PAP; Desktop Printing notwithstanding.
SEE, Thare ARE a few things I like about System 7 & 8! :)
Balance trimmed
>--
>
>Aaron B. Ciesar
>Data Manager/Analyst
>UPMC Stroke Institute
Cheers!
Dan
* Windows-MacOS Cooperation List *
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2
on Thu Sep 23 1999 - 14:59:49 PDT
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