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Confirmed: you CAN run Windows 95 on Virtual PC!

(last: Jan. 2008); See also About Vista's Windows Experience Index

So TurtleTracks and I were talking about problems inherent in running old games made for Windows 95/98 on current Windows operating systems (e.g. the limitations of 'compatibility mode' ... and it occured to me that I had only been thinking about [VMWare] and [Virtual PC] in terms of hosting [Vista] on your XP O/S, or vice versa.

What about hosting [Win 95] or [DOS] on your current Windows O/S, and running the games that way?

So, here's what I found from MicroSoft's websites:


From http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831461/en-us (as of Jan. 19, 2008*):

You can use the following operating systems as a "guest operating system" in
a guest PC [do they mean 'on a host PC'? - Editor]:
• MS-DOS 6.22
• Windows 95
• Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2
• Windows 98
• Windows 98 Second Edition
• Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me)
• Windows NT Workstation 4.0
• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Windows XP Professional Edition
• OS/2 Warp 4 Fixpack 15
• OS/2 Warp Convenience Pack 1
• OS/2 Warp Convenience Pack 2

APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
• Connectix Virtual PC for Windows 5.2

[Note that it doesn't list Virtual PC 2007]

*
Article ID : 831461
Last Review : May 9, 2007
Revision : 3.4

See also:
"How to Install the PC DOS 2000 Guest Operating System That Is Included with Virtual PC"
"Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7.0.2 (Update)"

Update:
Okay, the list of "guest" operating systems for [Virtual PC 2007] was cryptically hidden under the button "Product Specifications":
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/overview.mspx?wt_svl=20323a&mg_id=20323b

According to this page, with the "2007" version:

1. You have to be running XP Professional, XP Tablet Edition, or Vista (no [XP Home] support)
2. The earliest you'll now be able to run are [Windows 98], [Windows 98 Second Edition], [Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me)], or [Windows 2000 Professional].
   :-(

BUT, the page also mysteriously states (emphasis mine): "Virtual PC can run most [? could you be more vague, please? -Editor] x86 operating systems, not just the operating systems listed below, in a virtual machine environment."

On a side note, the "FAQ" states, for the question "Why are you making Virtual PC free for everyone?":

"Microsoft is investing strongly in virtualization technology for hardware and applications across client and servers. The value in virtualization technology moving forward will be in the management and the operating system rather than in the virtualization stack."

What do you want to bet the real answer is "To distract you from the other offerings that let you run other operating systems like Linux (because we're afraid you might like those other operating systems more if you tried them)." Plus, of course, you have to buy each one of those 'Virtual PC' operating systems from Microsoft...

Links:

• Virtual PC 2007 Home Page {http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx}
• "You must have a validly licensed copy of Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 installed on your computer in order to install Service Pack 1 for [Virtual PC 2004]." - from the Service Pack 1 download page.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~posted 19 Jan 2008, by Liberty

Why Nero application is called Nero

You know what I only recently figured out?

I've been using the software called "Nero" for about a decade now, but I never got the joke about the name, beyond a vague idea that the pun was clearly about "Nero" and "burning" ....

See, the main program in Nero's "suite" of applications is (and always has been) "Nero Buring ROM". The app was originally used for "burning" CD-ROM disks.
And, of course, the old cliche is "Nero fiddled while Rome burnt" (see "The Great Fire of Rome").

But it turns out that the German name/pronunciation of "Rome" is "Rom" ...

So the program name should actually be read as "Nero Burning Rome"! (where "ROM" is pronounced "rome").

So maybe it's not hilarious, but still amusing enough if you've been using the thing for years ;-)

About Vista's "Windows Experience Index"

Title: About Vista's Windows Experience Index (Nov. 2007)

File Under: Microsoft (MS) Windows, Vista, tech

As I explore Vista (recently upgraded), I came across this little tidbit about MS Vista's "Performance Index and Tools" dialog page:

(adapted from mshelp://Windows/?id=60d9b045-e2fe-4f7a-9111-e2f2222851991033", by John Swenson, undated.)

System Specs and Bragging Rights

It’s always been difficult to measure exactly how fast a PC is and to compare its speed to other computers. Sure, you can examine all its hardware components, but that gets complicated, and it’s difficult to compare different brands of hardware. There are various speed benchmarks, but it’s not always clear what those mean or how to measure your computer against them.

It’s a tough situation for any self-respecting power user. How are you supposed to brag to your friends that your PC is faster than theirs? Well, Windows Vista introduces a new way. You can just check your Windows Experience Index score. Your computer’s performance is distilled down to a single number."
In the quest for PC bragging rights, some power users are striving to achieve a perfect Windows Experience Index score. Many are gamers or PC enthusiasts willing to plunk down $500 or more for the latest 3-D video card—or two cards running in tandem ... [et cetera]... All for the elusive goal of achieving a Windows Experience Index score of 5.9.

Wait a minute—5.9 ??

As one person on a Gizmodo.com forum wrote, “What marketing genius decided to make it a 5.9 scale?”

The technical wizards on the Windows team who designed this new tool for measuring the speed of a PC settled on a scale of 1 to 5.9 -- not 1 to 10, as you might expect -- because "The index is designed to expand and evolve over time."

At some point in the next 12 to 18 months [as of when? - Editor], the Windows team expects to push the maximum score to 6.9, and eventually to 7.9 and beyond. Maybe someday the index will actually reach 10 (or 9.9).

(This will not change any scores on the low end. A PC rated 2.8 will still stay at 2.8 unless it is upgraded with new hardware components.)

[Blah Blah Blah (like Microsoft would know what makes a good tweaked computer)]

As more people post their index scores on ShareYourScore.com, the percentage of people achieving 5.9 is going down, not up, showing just how hard it is get a perfect score. For more information about what your own score means (assuming it’s not perfect), see Understand and improve your computer's performance in Windows Vista.

Well, okay then: here's mine!

(click to view)

~

OMG! I bought the wrong video card!

[ posted by Liberty, Monday October 29 2007 ]

According to the folks over at Gamespot.com, today's retail release of the nVidia 8800 GT video card comes with some surprises...

...
(article removed; you snooze, you loose.)
...

Easily Add A Storage Hard Drive to Your Home Network

[posted by Liberty on 23 October 2007]

The 'NetDisk Enclosure' from xiMeta appears to be an easy and cheap way to add a Hard Drive for network-connected storage. The difference between this product and most 'USB HDD Enclosures' you can buy is that you can plug this one into your network using an Ethernet cable instead of having to have it connected directly to a computer using a USB cable. And unlike some other networked drives, this one provides a device that's (supposedly) 'plug-and-play' (no IP config). And it even supports RAID!

Here's the marketing description (slightly modified by me):

NetDisk Enclosure is a single drive Ethernet/USB 2.0 combination enclosure that allows you to use the internal (3.5" IDE) hard drive of your choice. Each model includes advanced 'NDAS' technology for central, simple and secure network storage -- with no IP configuration or server required!

• 3.5" IDE HD Drive Enclosure
• External network storage for home and office
• Fast Ethernet (100-BaseT \ 802.3u 100Base-TX) and USB 2.0 interface
• RAID 0,1, and JBOD
• Use for backup and/or media storage

http://www.ximeta.com/products/ndenclosure1_en.php

http://www.ximeta.com/products/ndenclosure4_en.php

Buy direct: ($80): https://www.ximeta.com/ecommerce2/

You might be interested in the Linksys "NAS" (Network Attached Storage) product instead... The "Linksys Network Storage System with 2 Bays (NAS200)" will let you put in two drives, supports 802.3u 100Base-TX, and sells for $130 -- but be sure to check out the user reviews at amazon.com before you decide.

Time for a Flash-based ("Solid State") Hard Drive?

from "Solid State Disk Drives Are Here" (SanDisk) by Patrick Schmid & Achim Roos; August 13, 2007 at TomsHardware.com

"The time saved when launching applications such as Windows is reason enough for me to purchase one of these drives for my notebook soon. Indeed, real enthusiasts have no option but to invest in a SSD, because the performance is noticeably better than with any other hardware upgrade. For everyone else, I recommend waiting until these products become more affordable, because $400 for a 32 GB SDD is pretty much the cost of a 1 TB hard drive."

> read more (12 pages)

Recommended site: www.SamsungSSD.com

"
64 MB Solid State Drive -- Learn More About Samsung's New SSD W/No Moving Parts! Official Site."

"Leading PC manufacturers are introducing Samsung SSD-based notebooks in the 4th quarter of 2007.

Check back to see where you can buy models driven by the all-Flash SSD. "
(see also http://www.samsung.com/us/business/semiconductor/ )

One thing I noticed was that Dell started offering some thing they referred to obliquely as "Intel Accelerator" or something like that... as it turns out:

"Samsung's 2.5" SATA, 64 GB solid state drive (SSD) is now available with Dell and Alienware notebooks. Alienware has a 128GB SSD configuration with dual 64GB SSD drives, as well as a 64GB SSD combined with a 200GB drive. Dell is offering the Samsung SSD on its XPS™ M1330 ultra-portable, and expects to use it on additional XPS, as well as Latitude™ corporate notebooks and Dell Precision™ mobile workstations soon. "

A quick check on the Alienware site (now owned by Dell) shows the m5550 laptop is now being offered with new drive choices:

You can get a 120 "GB" SATA "1.5 Gb/s" 7,200 RPM drive with 8MB Cache OR, for
$400 more (!) you can get a 32 "GB" SATA Solid State Drive. 32 GB not enough for you? No worries; for a measly $1,000 more than the 320 BillionByte 7200 rpm drive, you can get the 64 "GB" Solid State Drive. ;-)

Footnotes: "GB" means sizes are actually BB (Billion Bytes). The term "1.5 Gb/s" is way to distinguish SATA types and is not an actual reflection of access speed.

[posted by Liberty Miller, Oct 19 2007]