[WriteLog] Open Letter to Wayne - Networking

[Gary Ferdinand W2CS]

> I wonder how many individuals' (e.g., non-business) systems
> are running Windows 2000 Professional?  My observation had
> been that W2K Pro was pretty much deployed in a business
> environ but not that many end-users adopted it.

At this point there's not much distinction. Win2K appears to be the last,
and most recent, of the Micro$oft systems that do not require "activation."
Said differently, free for most of us. Not having to pay $80 a pop per
system has intrinsic value (compared with XP).

> Windows XP SP2 (aka Service Pack 2)
>
> IMO, this should really be called Windows 2004 ...
> (or whatever the marketing people would like to call it)
>
> There are a lot of changes coming - good changes.
> But enough changes that I would look at this as
> a pretty good revision of the operating system.
> Improvements in security - greatly affecting
> how network software works.

This is my understanding, too.  There are numerous improvements to the UI as
well.  I'm sure there will be some angst created when SP2 is combined with
some older apps.

Overall, I would urge that any improvements not go out of their way to
restrict WL to an XP-based system unless necessary for some basic structural
reason, and if such a basic reason exists, to review it thoroughly with us
first.

I, for one, tend to keep my technology current, but not when I get nothing
in return.  For me Win98 in all its variants is a dead system today, much
like DOS was a year or two back.  There will still be a sizable number of
people arguing about the cheapness and availability of old hardware, but on
balance, if there's new value to be had by requiring Win2K or XP, let's talk
about it, but I would likely support it. The stability of XP or 2K, when
compared with Win98, is dramatic, and consequently I have not had a Win98 or
2K system for about 2 years now (5 computers).  When I operate, I want the
full gamut of internet applications up and running (such as clusters and
propagation alerts), and I don't want to worry about Win98's propensity to
lock up for lack of what it terms "system resources."

73,

Gary W2CS