liber@darth.PGH.PA.US (Eric Liber) (04/13/90)
There has been a large volume of noise in this group about Windows VER3 (here in after refered to as WV3) and its features, cost, release date, etc.. Here are some things I KNOW. I am using it as I type as a beta tester so I can spead with some authority. For those of you who have Microsoft Bashing as an avocation (or vocation as the case may be) you may not like this but here it is anyway: 1) release date and delays: The release date is indeed going to be the last week or so of May. Reason: Microsoft is indeed concerned about turning out the most bug free product possible. The current beta test version is very stable but they are still not satisfied. Furthermore, Microsoft does not want to release until the product is on vendor's shelves. That means freezing the software, producing the "shrink wrapped " release version and distributing it BEFORE IT IS ANNOUNCED. There is no ulterior motive here just good responsible business practice. Cost: Very close to the current version Features: Installation and setup has been GREATLY IMPROVED. As a matter of fact it is now rather pleasant. After it has been installed it no longer needs to be reinstalled you simply click on the setup icon! and answer the appropriate questions etc. The software is auto configuring for the systems you are running on. That is if you are running on a 8086 it knows that and installs itself as needed. There are three modes : The real mode: basically for 8086 computers and this is the compatible mode with version 2.x. The standard mode: for 286 machines The Enhanced mode: for 386 machines All of these are part of the normal distribution of WV3. If you upgrade your machine you can simply reinstall on the new machine and it will take full advantage of it. Bad news: One result of the NEW MEMORY MAPPING TECHINQUES is that version 2.x or lower applications do not run well if at all in the standard or enhanced modes. WV3 can detect this and warns you. There is a way to force WV3 to run in the real mode on a 386 machine so you can still run your V2.x apps. As a matter of fact you can run WV3 in the real mode as a task under the enhanced mode! Two copies running at once! I have tried it and it works, however the second copy is a little slow. When running in the Enhanced mode (386) you can now set the priority of the foreground and background tasks (individually and default settings). The range is something like 1-10000 so there is plenty of leeway. New memory mapping: WV3 now looks at all memory (up to 16Mb) as LINEAR extended memory on a 386 machine. It takes care of simulating expanded memory internally. Also on a 386 (not sure about a 286) it allows for a type of VIRTUAL memory. On my 6Mb 386 I show about 12Mb of available memory! The swap file can now be preallocated for speed. The look and feel is very much like MOTIF. (not too supprising since Microsoft has been involved with the motif spec.) Push buttons are now 3 dimentional and press back into the screen. The desktop (yes there is one) is customizable as to colors, background (wallpaper even!) etc. WV3 allows for program (or screen) groups so you can create a window of programs. (Unfortunately you cannot have subgroups of groups.. but they are working on it!) In general this is a completely new product and is very slick. It is really designed for a 286 or above computer but it will run on your 8088 / 86 machines. It will work on a machine with 640k but 1 or 2 meg is recommended. From personal experience, if you are going to only run a couple of things at once then 1 meg may be adequate. If you really want to do multitasking (386 type) then 2 megs is fine. Of course more is better (probably a truism with any multitasking OS). You are going to need several megabytes of free disk space to install WV3. I am probably forgetting many features. I really shouldn't be commenting on it because or non disclosure but I am a little tired of the misinformation and bashing that has been going on and it is one of the world's worst kept secrets.. It will be released soon but if anyone has it now and is not an official Beta tester then it is a PIRATED COPY! Standard disclaimer: These are my comments and not those of my employer, microsoft, the owner of this system or Donald Trump.
wct1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (William C Tom) (08/19/90)
Having just bought a PC and windows 3.0, let me make a few comments regarding the two. If I had known about the limitations of Win3 and the weirdo bugs which keep cropping up, I would have just gone and bought a Mac. I thought that Win3 would give me the best of both worlds: a Mac-like GUI and all the software available to DOS. That this is nor true becomes obvious quite quickly. The inescapable fact is that DOS, with all its insufficiencies, underlies Win3. Luckily, after 2 weeks exposure, I've become accustomed to restricted file names, bizarre file manager manipulations, frequent crashes and screen lock-ups, and a "Terminal" program which borders on the cretinous. Windows 3.0 is certainly an improvement over plain-vanilla DOS, but I'm eagerly waiting for 3.2, or 3.3, or 4.0.....