Windows, Windows and more Windows
Well, by this point you've probably heard about Linux as an Operating System, especially since this is LinuxWorld Week. You may have even heard of the BeOS as well, which found online for free. As a side note, Corel's version of Linux is also a free download (if you want to download a 325 meg file). Also, in mid 2000 Corel will have the ability to run from a NT Server Windows applications on the Linux client computers across your existing office network, so while Autodesk may not write a single line of code for Linux, they may not have too. Instead of going with one of these more obscure OS's, you'll want to consider where Microsoft is taking Windows. You see, currently there is Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE and NT 4 (not counting those few of you still on NT 3.x, Win 3.11 or DOS). Now, in February MS will be introducing the latest OS named Windows 2000. At one point this was to have been an all-inclusive Business and Home edition. Then it turned into a Business solution. Now, it's being billed again as an OS for both locations. However, in a couple of months MS will also introduce Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME). This is primarily for Home users. If you are currently using either 95 or 98 you'd probably be best holding out for WinME. If your on NT then you might consider switching to W2k, but keep in mind that most programs out there will NOT run on W2k. To check which applications you have are compatible, run this small program from MS. Note: the more applications you have on your computer the longer this will take - mine took about 1/2 hour to complete the test cycle. You may need to sign in with MS's website before you can download their file. At this point parts of AutoCAD are not compatible with Win2k along with Norton AntiVirus, HP software for their 8x00 CD-RW drives, Creative Labs DVD player, Iomega Zip drivers, my Plustek scanner, the MS Sidewinder gamepad, Wacom's Intous graphics tablets, SupraMax 56I Voice PCI Modem, Diamond Monster Sound II, ELSA's Winman software for your graphics card, Corel Draw 8's Media Folder will have problems and finally Adobe Type Manager will glitch. Now, Iomega already has some new drivers out that you can download, but don't hold your breath for much of your hardware and software to become compatible, because there is no guarantee that your existing hardware will ever be compatible with Win2k. On the other hand, you're not much better off with Linux's list of compatible hardware either. In good news MS is shelving (at least for the time being) two other OS's that they have been working on called Neptune and Odyssey.
Well, by this point you've probably heard about Linux as an Operating System, especially since this is LinuxWorld Week. You may have even heard of the BeOS as well, which found online for free. As a side note, Corel's version of Linux is also a free download (if you want to download a 325 meg file). Also, in mid 2000 Corel will have the ability to run from a NT Server Windows applications on the Linux client computers across your existing office network, so while Autodesk may not write a single line of code for Linux, they may not have too. Instead of going with one of these more obscure OS's, you'll want to consider where Microsoft is taking Windows. You see, currently there is Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE and NT 4 (not counting those few of you still on NT 3.x, Win 3.11 or
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