[comp.os.msdos.apps] PCTools 6.0 vs Norton 6.0?

David L. Phillips <PZ2@psuvm.psu.edu> (06/20/91)

In article <1991Jun20.150618.18242@ssd.kodak.com>, herpst@kims.kodak.com says:
>
>I've got to upgrade either PCTools or
>Norton Utilities?
>
>Which Is better for DOS 5.0?
>
PC Tools 7.0 has just been released.  It was designed specifically to work with
MS-DOS 5.0.  In fact, DOS5 includes three of the PC Tools utilities.

herpst@kims.kodak.com (06/20/91)

I've got to upgrade either PCTools or
Norton Utilities?

Which Is better for DOS 5.0?

Which is Better for WIN 3.0?

Any other Thought?

Please post or send e-mail to following address.

Thanks.....

==========================================================
Dan Herpst      (716) 461-2360                I've been down so long,
Rochester NY  (716) 726-6806              that it looks like up to me.
Address:        herpst%kims.dnet@kodak.com
==========================================================

larry@birdsong.Suvl.CA.US (Lawrence T. Hardiman) (06/26/91)

herpst@kims.kodak.com writes:

> I've got to upgrade either PCTools or
> Norton Utilities?
> 
> Which Is better for DOS 5.0?
> 
> Which is Better for WIN 3.0?
> 
> Any other Thought?
> 
> Please post or send e-mail to following address.
> 
> Thanks.....

I cannot talk about Norton, I just do not know. What I do know is
that PC Tools 7 is in very bad shape.  I installed the upgrade over
the weekend, and de-installed it when I had to restore the boot
partition on by hard disk because I believe that PC Tools trashed it
when I ran its windows apps.

That's not all. I installed DOS 5.0 last week. That went on very
clean. After several evenings of fiddling with config.sys and
autoexec.bat getting things to work to  my liking I have found no
bugs.  PC Tools is another story.  There are a number of bugs that
trash the screen requiring a "mode con: cols=43 lines=80" to set it
back straight; the mouse dissappears occasionally (vanilla MS-Mouse
driver loaded high); the PC Shell "prune/graft" directory maintenance
function locked my machine up solid.  The list goes on...

Central Point conducts a support forum on Compuserve.  I checked some
of the messages there over the weekend.  Flame is hardly the word for
it! The problems discussed there make mine seem trivial.  Especially
watch out for CP Backup! According to the discussion there whether
you get a good backup is doubtful.

In my opinion, Central Point rushed this product to market to make
its presence with MS-DOS 5.0.

I called them this morning asking how to get a refund. They would not
comply.

My advice to you is to avoid Central Point's PC Tools version 7.0;
wait for 7.1. As released, I beleive you are putting your hard disk
at great risk. The product will not appear on my machine until they
ship me new product *WITH A LIST OF FIXED BUGS*. Further, I am
recommending to my clients that they not install PC Tools V7.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Regards,
  larry.

+-- Lawrence T. Hardiman --+-- larry@birdsong.Suvl.CA.US -----------------+
| The Birdsong Company     |                                              |
| POBox 2031		   | If it hasn't been tested, it won't work!     |
| Sunnyvale, CA 94087-2031 |   		                                  |
+--------------------------+----------------------------------------------+

Ralf.Brown@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (06/27/91)

In article <2Zo542w164w@birdsong>, larry@birdsong.Suvl.CA.US (Lawrence T. Hardiman) wrote:
}herpst@kims.kodak.com writes:
}I cannot talk about Norton, I just do not know. What I do know is
}that PC Tools 7 is in very bad shape.  I installed the upgrade over
}the weekend, and de-installed it when I had to restore the boot
}partition on by hard disk because I believe that PC Tools trashed it
}when I ran its windows apps.

While I haven't encountered anything that drastic, I did find a dozen bugs
just in my first look at PCT7.	I've been with PCTools since v5.1, and this
is by far the buggiest release.  I haven't tried PC-Cache 7 yet, and I
don't think I'm going to....

Some of the things are really obvious, like the several black-on-black
entries in the default LCD color scheme, missing borders on windows in text
mode (I guess they only tested in the pseudo-graphics mode), and the
appointment calendar in the desktop not accepting color changes.

}I called them this morning asking how to get a refund. They would not
}comply.

Try again.  Considering that their upgrade flyer gives you a 60-day money-
back guarantee, they had better comply.  If you want the refund, hold them
to their advertising.


-- 
{backbone}!cs.cmu.edu!ralf  ARPA: RALF@CS.CMU.EDU   FIDO: Ralf Brown 1:129/53
BITnet: RALF%CS.CMU.EDU@CARNEGIE   AT&Tnet: (412)268-3053 (school)   FAX: ask
DISCLAIMER?  Did  | It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's
I claim something?| what we know that ain't so.  --Will Rogers

ESR@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (Ed Russell) (06/28/91)

In article <2Zo542w164w@birdsong>, larry@birdsong.Suvl.CA.US (Lawrence T.
Hardiman) says:

>herpst@kims.kodak.com writes:
>
>> I've got to upgrade either PCTools or
>> Norton Utilities?
>>  [other stuff deleted]
>
>I cannot talk about Norton, I just do not know. What I do know is
>that PC Tools 7 is in very bad shape.  .........
>  [bug/problem descriptions deleted]

First question is do you really "got to" upgrade? As a general practice,
one is better off waiting a few months after a new release before going
to it unless you *need* to for some reason.  Let other people be on the
bleeding edge of new releases.

I use PCTools version 6.x and it is _now_ quite reliable except for a
couple of little irritating bugs that CPS has never been able to fix.
However, the worst that happens is that the order of my directories gets
reversed spontaneously once in a while when I enter the disk compress
program.  CP Backup is very reliable and the other stuff is too.  If you
can get by with version 6, stay with it; it is fairly stable.

I have also not upgraded my Norton from 4.5.  I saw nothing in release 5
but prettification of the menus and I didn't like the way they combined
functions.  Besides, the Norton stuff is no longer done by Norton even
thought it still has his name on it.

Summary.  Stick with a release that works for you and ignore the hype
about new releases and discounts "if you buy before <date>" unless there
is a NEED for something in the new release.