[Dxbase] Laptop/processor/operating system?

[Crownhaven]

Regarding Windows 7 and 64 bit.  First, I'm an idiot and barely know the 
difference between Windows and oak trees.  However, as a user, out there 
in the real world, I see an incredible amount of businesses who won't 
buy anything but XP because Vista and 7, especially 64 bit, won't 
support the programs they need to use and can't replace.  I guess that 
would be the reason that Dell, etc., still sell their business machines 
with XP, right?????  They obviously know what is going on out there in 
the market.

I still think that anyone is nuts to buy a machine with Vista or Windows 
7, especially 64 bit.  My company did just that and it about put us out 
of business.  We are a LARGE outfit and had a plethora of contractors 
and consultants telling us what to do.

I realize this is off-topic but I know how dear our DXBase functions are 
to each of us.  Caveat Emptor.

No disrespect intended to any other opinions or Peter.

Steve, N4JQQ

On 8/13/2010 10:49 PM, Peter Dougherty W2IRT wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 10:19 PM, Crownhaven <crownhaven at bellsouth.net 
> <mailto:crownhaven at bellsouth.net>> wrote:
>
>     Avoid anything that doesn't have XP on it unless you are a computer
>     wizard or like to flog yourself.........I bought a couple of Thnk Pads
>     from Overstock.Com at Neal's suggestion.  They work great.  Price
>     was right.
>
>     Steve, N4JQQ
>
>     On 8/13/2010 6:54 PM, KB2000a wrote:
>     > Howdy,
>     >
>     > Looking for a low end laptop for mobile use, anything to avoid
>     (or recommend) relative to DXBase (7 and ready for 10...)?
>
>
> The answer to your question is that it all depends on your software 
> requirements. Are you're looking for something for today's needs or 
> are you're looking down the road. Most anything you get today will be 
> more than good enough for browsing, e-mail, Office and similar apps. 
> If you need to run DX Base 2007 in a meaningful way then definitely 
> stick with something that has XP on it. The downside is that once DXB 
> 2010 is released you'll have a machine that's essentially obsolete. 
> DXB 2007 is the only reason I'm staying with XP on my radio system. 
> All other apps will run fine, without the need to tinker, under Windows 7.
>
> If you're looking at a longer-term, you'll definitely want Win7/64 bit 
> and as much RAM as you can throw into the box (or 32-bit and 4 GB). 
> All modern productivity apps run beautifully under Win 7 and, speaking 
> as someone who supports Windows for a living, it's a great OS--feature 
> rich, stable and quite intuitive--despite being different than XP in 
> many ways. The downside is that DX Base 2007 can be a real bear to get 
> working correctly under Windows 7 and requires a lot of tinkering.
>
> Since you're getting a laptop, I assume you'll be using it while 
> traveling. My experience has been that Win7 plays MUCH better with 
> WiFi connectivity than XP ever could. To quote the Apple guys, "It 
> Just Works."
>
> As far as processor/hardware is concerned, I wouldn't worry about 
> specs. Virtually everything from a name-brand manufacturer will be 
> good. The trick is finding a machine that's of light-enough weight to 
> schlep around to wherever you need to transport it. A fully-featured 
> machine with a huge display may look great for movies, but if it tips 
> the scales over 6 pounds, it'll be a bear to carry around.
>
> If you're going to stick with an older machine and XP, I'd strongly 
> suggest either the T-60 series from Lenovo or even the older T-40 
> series (which was made by IBM at the time and is my current 
> laptop--T-40s can be hand for under $300 used).
>
> Bottom-line: if it was me, I'd get the best combination of 
> performance, size and weight I could find and look towards the 
> future--and try to slog through a DXB 2007 installation. After all, 
> you'll only need it for a few months (I hope!).