Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Windows 8

Yesterday my computer quit on me. OK, it was 8 years old and I was overdue for a new one.

So, I hit about 3 stores and found that Windows 8 was on everything that I looked at.

So, I bought a new one. I still don't have Email capability. I
called my ISP(Charter) and they had no clue. They hadn't seen it yet. So, today I'm calling Microsoft.
I'm very slowly learning a few things about it. Nothing is the same and, like all new systems, I expect there are a fair number of things that just don't work.

This sucker is a character builder.

I bought 3 OEM copies of Windows 7 64 bit last week. Business world will stay away from Win 8 in droves.

Dave, I hope you get Win 8 rolling, and let us know how it works for you.

I don't do social, so I really am happy with Win 7. It's rock solid, and it still has a start button.

It's gonna really suck when support for XP Pro SP3 is officially dropped.

We work with a lot of "old" control systems that the new stuff just don't work with. A couple weeks ago, we had to have one of our older service laptops "rebuilt" because the software won't work on Windows 7.

We got stuff out there that is still DOS based, so that's digging out the old dinosaurs.

If it were not for some wiz kid on the internet, my 1800.00 cable that plugs into my serial port (remember them), and the other end into a port on a PLC would be useless. It was a software issue when the manufacturer of said cable decided not to support the drivers when XP SP3 came out. He wrote a little fix that swapped the files from SP3 to SP2. The programming software won't work with SP2. Quite the genius he is.

We have an awful lot of fun with software/hardware/operating system conflicts. I have my hard drives cloned and had to swap them out a half a dozen times or so in the past 18 mo and start over. Fun!!!

JKB, I didn't even throw XP out there. City of Dallas still runs XP on around 14,000 boxes, and we're just now testing systems with Win 7.

Migration of profiles, security settings, software, etc. costs big bucks and I'm sure we would still be running LINC if all the programmers were still around.

When I wrote (technically developed) our payroll and staffing software 8 years ago, we had to do a dump to a .csv file just to get the info in the main DB. Nothing's changed since then.

I hope Microsoft thought this whole Win 8 thing out, because if not, this could be a big oopsy for them.

We still have quite few clients on Xp but are migrating them to 7 as their finances allow. I learned many years ago that adopting a new OS early is very bad juice. Businesses need to get their work done, not help MS debug operating systems.

Good luck in your beta testing Dave!

We have three relatively new computers that came with Windows 7, but with free upgrades to Windows 8. I'm waiting as long as possible to migrate to 8.

I haven't read a good review of Windows 8 thus far. I am happy with Windows 7 so much more than I was with Windows Vista. I plan on holding onto Windows 7 as long as possible like Ken.

I am still an XP fan as well but think we are moving to 7 soon. Not sure 8 is going to do all that well, but I am sure it will eventually happen and when it does we will just have to bare down.

Just got out of a meeting on upgrading.

If you don't like Windows 7, you really won't like Windows 8.

The meeting was actually about managing all our revisions of software we use. Some clients still have older programming software, and are not going to upgrade. (pretty expensive)

The recommended solution is to buy new puters with 7 or 8, and install vmware and create a virtual machine environment.

Just another forced expense, and a few more headaches.

Vmware is pretty cool tho. I can take all my old computers, yank the hard drive's, run a utility, and my new computer will have all my old computers in virtual on it.

Yes but vmware is a dog in my experiences with it. Also, be very careful in running IPsec tunnels. Don't expect the tunnel you establish in windows 7/8 to work in the virtual XP and visa versa.

Essentially, the reason for going this rout is so we can have many rev levels of our Rockwell Software on one machine. It's the only virtual machine software they support, and our support contracts are a chunk of change.

The local Rockwell guy will be in to help set all this up. He works with this stuff every day. Supposed to work great with Ethernet/IP (Industrial Protocol) We don't use internet protocol.

Next step is to research some new workstation class laptop's and get them ordered.

I work at O’Reilly Automotive and we are still using XP. We have migrated a few folks to Windows 7, but not too many.

I'm learning; but slowly.

Dave - Once I get past month end I plan to install windows 8 on a system for R&D purposes. By then you will probably have it all mastered and I can call you for technical support?

I'm gonna get a new desktop for home and do the same thing. Work out all the bugs and such. HP has some nice workstation stuff for under 2K, for the box.

When we get new laptop's at work, I'll be buying my own. I own all the software I use, and it would be a PITA to license everything to a corp. computer. They have the same stuff, just that this adds another seat. They pay service, and keep it upgraded. Not like I can sell this stuff, because licenses don't transfer! Call it a hidden bonus for both of us

I like HP's higher end stuff, but would never walk into a chain store and get something off the shelf.

Another puter adventure

I like windows 7 in the "classic windows" theme mode....I still can't do tabbed windows...:(

Understand the reason for doing it just trying to set expectations that it is not a fix all.

Just have to see how it goes I guess.

It should work after screaming a bit

Ever hear of Blue Hose?

Last night I installed Office 2007 and it works. I'm familiar with it and don't want to just buy the latest and greatest. Maybe later.

I still haven't figured out how to really bookmark anything.

Dwight; Who, me? I'm more of a utility user of puters.

Editing here. Figured out bookmarks.

Dave, I think staying with Office 2007 is probably the right idea. I'm clouded, socialed, ribboned, and shared out. I'm sure keeping docs in the cloud is great for tablets that have urban access, but I still need files when there's no signal, and trusting an off shore server farm still doesn't instill a lot of trust from me.

Office 2012 pushes the cloud, and I still can't figure out all the macro stuff I need in Excel 2003 as it is.

Even PC games require internet access to play. I paid $60 for Starcraft 2, and unless I login to the Blizzard servers, I can't play.

So hang in there, I'm sure this will all settle out in a few months when people get used to the new interface, but there are already programs out that will revert Win 8 desktop back to the more "comfortable" XP/Win 7 look. New OS's are supposed to be better, not necessarily prettier.

Never heard of it.

Al, sooner or later I will figure out enough to make this thing servicable.

I still have a radio amateur (ham) license, and I still know Morse code. From my Navy days of 40 years ago, I think I can still read a signal lamp, and I can still recognize most flag semaphore messages.

Now my truck turns its headlights on automatically when it gets dark, and I don't have to use my clutch foot to dim the bright lights for oncoming traffic. It is just a serious bummer if they quit working. When I was seven, we got our first phone. It didn't have a crank like some of the relative's phones, but it also didn't have a dial. We just picked up, and Mrs. Swanson put us through to whoever we wanted to talk to.

Life was a lot simpler way back when Dave and I were younger.

Probably a lot more fun too!!!

Ken, that was before Windows 8.