Win 95 vs. NT

[Dennis Brantley]

DEANNE LUCK wrote:
> 
> We want to upgrade our library lab (which is used for BI as well as
> individual student use) and our public PAC stations to NT (they are 3.11
> now).  However, all the other labs on campus are going to be Win 95
> so the group funding this is reluctant to let us go to NT.  Our
> arguments are:
>  - NT is easier to administer
>  - NT is more secure
>  - we'll all be going to NT eventually
>  - all the programs we plan to run (MS Office Pro, web browser, telnet,
>    library apps) are fine on NT
> 
> They argue:
>  - 95 is just as easy to administer and secure
>  - all the student labs should be the same
>  - you can't run DOS or 16-bit applications
> 
> I hope some of you ahead of us can help me.  *Is* NT better for administering
> and security?  What are the realistic limitations on the programs that
> can be run? How much difference would an average student see between 95
> and NT?  What other arguments can we use?
> 
> Thank you, thank you to anyone who can help.
> 
> DeAnne Luck
> Electronic Resources Librarian
> Austin Peay State University
> LuckDL at apsu01.apsu.edu

Some of the arguments are political, rather than technical, and will
leave those for another day ;-).  However, the comment that NT can't run
DOS or 16 bit applications can lead to some discussion.  _Most_ DOS and
16 bit applications run fine on NT.  The ones that will fail are the
ones that attempt to talk directly to hardware, such as a COM port or a
video card.  NT won't allow that.  Experience shows that the biggest
culprits are DOS-based.  Unfortunately, often there is no good way to
know in advance which of your legacy DOS/16 bit applications are
sneaking around and doing these sorts of things until you actually try
it on NT.  You can ask the publisher, and some will know; many won't
(after all, if it's still DOS based, what do they know about NT?).  If
the publisher has a windows version, try it...it is more likely to work
(unless it simply calls a DOS level program).

--
Dennis Brantley
Data Access Technologies, Inc./CD Solutions
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