Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

Just an informal poll: how many here are using either Windows
2000 or Windows 2003 for playing FS2004?

The recent upgrade to Reality-XP's Garmin GPS is now Windows XP
only. Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
5% market share, they decided to only support XP. What is even
a worse development is that Dreamfleet's latest airplane only
supports Windows XP (probably because it uses the Reality Garmin,
but they refuse to disclose why). When you ask Reality what API
they use in Windows XP that is not present in Windows 2000, they
refuse to answer claiming it is "proprietary". (How can
Microsoft's public API be proprietary to the vendor that uses
it?!)

I tried to start a thread on Dreamfleet's support forum, but
their policy appears to be to simply answer "tough" and then lock
down the thread so no one can say anything further. They
encourage people to "upgrade" to Windows XP, which is of course a
non-sequitor considering that Windows XP is a consumer system and
Windows 2000 is a more robust OS with a superset of the basic OS
and APIs found in Windows XP.

Before I go out and blow another $1500 to buy a Windows XP
computer just to play FS2004, and before I spend another 40 hours
of my life re-installing the 20 other aircraft and hardware
add-ons to the toy operating system, I just want to be convinced
that very few people are running anything else but Windows XP.
Having a separate computer for FS2004 is probably not a bad thing
in any case, as I can keep the configuration simple and focused,
but if there are any other Windows 2000 users out there I would
like to hear from you.

--
Will
Internet: westes at earthbroadcast.com

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Will" <DELETE_westes@earthbroadcast.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 09:59:35 -0800

Newsgroups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 11:59 AM
Subject: How Many Use Windows 2000?

Just an informal poll: how many here are using either Windows
2000 or Windows 2003 for playing FS2004?

Count me for one.

The recent upgrade to Reality-XP's Garmin GPS is now Windows XP
only. Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
5% market share, they decided to only support XP...

I have a hard time believing that XP has 85% of the market share and
that Windows 2000 only has 5%. Since the last I had heard the
Windows 9x (including ME) still has about 50% of the market share.

... I tried to start a thread on Dreamfleet's support forum,
but their policy appears to be to simply answer "tough" and
then lock down the thread so no one can say anything further.
They encourage people to "upgrade" to Windows XP, which is of
course a non-sequitor considering that Windows XP is a consumer
system and Windows 2000 is a more robust OS with a superset of
the basic OS and APIs found in Windows XP.

I don't like the sound of that!

Before I go out and blow another $1500 to buy a Windows XP
computer just to play FS2004, and before I spend another 40
hours of my life re-installing the 20 other aircraft and
hardware add-ons to the toy operating system, I just want to be
convinced that very few people are running anything else but
Windows XP. Having a separate computer for FS2004 is probably
not a bad thing in any case, as I can keep the configuration
simple and focused, but if there are any other Windows 2000
users out there I would like to hear from you.

Well count me in! I've told people who have XP to go ahead and
install SP2. And in every case I have been called out to fix them.
And XP SP2 was removed to restore them back to operational state
once again. XP SP2 has some good things, but it only allows all or
nothing. That is so sad! I'm glad that I still only use Windows 2000
here.






Cheers!


________________________________________________________
Bill (using a HP Pavilion AMD 1.2GHZ under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

Will wrote:
> Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
> 5% market share, they decided to only support XP.

Where did those statistics come from? I know loads of people on Windows
2000, I reckon the percentage is higher than that.

Huw

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

"Huw Roberts" <f@ke.com> wrote in message
news:uYkZd.21046$3A6.625@newsfe1-gui.ntli.net...
> Will wrote:
> > Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
> > 5% market share, they decided to only support XP.
>
> Where did those statistics come from? I know loads of people on Windows
> 2000, I reckon the percentage is higher than that.
>
> Huw
count me i nIuse win 2000 pro only on all my computers

John

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 09:59:35 -0800, "Will"
<DELETE_westes@earthbroadcast.com> brought the following to our
attention:

Will.. the 85% market comes from where? New sales? Really now.. I'll
bet a LOT of companies still have Win2000-based departments. Back in
1998 I predicted both verbally and in writing that continuously up-
grading hardware, software... and the support to straighten out issues
would WIPE the profits from a company.

Personally I witnessed a company that was mired in serious and
unresolved WinNT/95/95 system and office problems that were killing
their bottom line. So then.. let's venture to say that quite a few
LARGE organizations are still using 2000. (any more data on this?)


* * * *

Personally.. am quite happy with a Win2000 Advanced Server and
5-client Wkstn License.. and run the Server on a BIG boat-anchor of
a box with 6-bay horizontal SCSI cage in front. Not to mention a dual
Xeon Workstation which is the main-line machine! Here's the `Lab'..


http://home.comcast.net/~g-abbey/dual_Sim.jpg (dual 21" tubes)

* notice Sidewinder Precision 2, and mini-stick (arrow) for spoilers



As for DF.. installing one of their latest packages in Win2000 Pro
damaged the OS to a `near re-install' condition. (see post in this NG)
With some Admin tricks and Recovery Console.. was able to repair the
OS fully. T-o-M for instance works ok now.. but like you said.. NOT
ready to shell out 1'000s of $$ for a new LAN and OS license.


This isn't a rag on DF.. just a reply in support of the Win2000 OS.


-Gregory


p.s. been wanting to post that pic.. just had to find it!!

----------
>Just an informal poll: how many here are using either Windows
>2000 or Windows 2003 for playing FS2004?
>
>The recent upgrade to Reality-XP's Garmin GPS is now Windows XP
>only. Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
>5% market share, they decided to only support XP. What is even
>a worse development is that Dreamfleet's latest airplane only
>supports Windows XP (probably because it uses the Reality Garmin,
>but they refuse to disclose why). When you ask Reality what API
>they use in Windows XP that is not present in Windows 2000, they
>refuse to answer claiming it is "proprietary". (How can
>Microsoft's public API be proprietary to the vendor that uses
>it?!)
>
>I tried to start a thread on Dreamfleet's support forum, but
>their policy appears to be to simply answer "tough" and then lock
>down the thread so no one can say anything further. They
>encourage people to "upgrade" to Windows XP, which is of course a
>non-sequitor considering that Windows XP is a consumer system and
>Windows 2000 is a more robust OS with a superset of the basic OS
>and APIs found in Windows XP.
>
>Before I go out and blow another $1500 to buy a Windows XP
>computer just to play FS2004, and before I spend another 40 hours
>of my life re-installing the 20 other aircraft and hardware
>add-ons to the toy operating system, I just want to be convinced
>that very few people are running anything else but Windows XP.
>Having a separate computer for FS2004 is probably not a bad thing
>in any case, as I can keep the configuration simple and focused,
>but if there are any other Windows 2000 users out there I would
>like to hear from you.

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

Will wrote:
> Just an informal poll: how many here are using either Windows
> 2000 or Windows 2003 for playing FS2004?
>
> The recent upgrade to Reality-XP's Garmin GPS is now Windows XP
> only. Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
> 5% market share, they decided to only support XP.

<snip>

I'm guessing here, but maybe they are referring to the home PC market? I'm
sure lots of business users have 2000 on their machines, but not so many
home users perhaps? Even so, those figures still seem a bit skewed.

Tim

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

Here is the thread I started on the Flightsim forum asking why
did they fail to support Windows 2000:

http://forums.flightsim.com/dcforu [...] 33/86.html

They refer to the statistics I am quoting in the thread.

From what I understand the Dreamfleet airplane runs under Windows
2000. They just don't support it. The problem is that Reality
XP actively *blocks* Windows 2000. Not supporting is one thing.
Deliberately crippling is quite another, and it seems just petty.
He is going to make people spend thousands of dollars to buy new
hardware and run a second OS just to avoid three or four days of
programming?

--
Will
Internet: westes at earthbroadcast.com


"Huw Roberts" <f@ke.com> wrote in message
news:uYkZd.21046$3A6.625@newsfe1-gui.ntli.net...
> Will wrote:
> > Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
> > 5% market share, they decided to only support XP.
>
> Where did those statistics come from? I know loads of people
on Windows
> 2000, I reckon the percentage is higher than that.
>
> Huw

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

"Will"
> They refer to the statistics I am quoting in the thread.

From the 2004 Avsim survey:

Windows 95 0% (0)

Windows 98, 98SE 5.9% (90)

Windows ME 1.1% (17)

Windows NT 0.3% (5)

Windows XP Home / XP Pro 87.1% (1326)

Windows 2000 5.4% (82)

The survey size is only 1522 responses... you might have an argument with
the small sample size. You might also argue out of (guessing) 20,000
sales 5.4% represents 1080 lost customers and that's $25 grand gross in lost
sales.

Money talks.

Dallas

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

"Dallas" <Cybnorm@spam_me_not.Hotmail.Com> wrote in message
news:iAmZd.8837$oO4.2667@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:35:26 GMT

"Will"

> They refer to the statistics I am quoting in the thread.

From the 2004 Avsim survey:

Windows 95 0% (0)

Windows 95 hasn't been updated as far as Windows Updates since the
late 2000's. As far as modern hardware, it isn't so good. But I
still have one machine (not connectioned to the Internet) that still
runs Windows 95 (no MS FS though).

Windows 98, 98SE 5.9% (90)

I have a hard time believing that this number as I believe it is too
low.

Windows ME 1.1% (17)

This is an odd ball OS from MS. Some "hate" it and some "love" it.
Rumors have it it MS spent too much time on Windows 2000 and not
enough time on ME.

Windows NT 0.3% (5)

No experience here whatsoever.

Windows XP Home / XP Pro 87.1% (1326)

It's big, but I doubt if it is that big!

Windows 2000 5.4% (82)

That is hard to believe. Since Windows 2000 in many ways is better
than Windows XP.

The survey size is only 1522 responses... you might have an
argument with the small sample size. You might also argue out
of (guessing) 20,000 sales 5.4% represents 1080 lost customers
and that's $25 grand gross in lost sales.

Money talks.

Dallas

Well I don't know about the above... but I only know about those
that I know of.






Cheers!


________________________________________________________
Bill (using a HP Pavilion AMD 1.2GHZ under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

BillW50 wrote:

> Well count me in! I've told people who have XP to go ahead and
> install SP2. And in every case I have been called out to fix them.
> And XP SP2 was removed to restore them back to operational state
> once again. XP SP2 has some good things, but it only allows all or
> nothing. That is so sad! I'm glad that I still only use Windows 2000
> here.

Hey Bill.... Are you saying *not* to install XP SP2????

Every time I start my computer the balloon pops up telling me I have an
update to install. I always click the X

--

boB

U.S. Army Aviation (retired)
Central Texas - 5NM West of Gray Army Airfield (KGRK)

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

Will wrote:

> Try signing up on Dreamfleet's forum and start a new thread
> making the request. They aren't going to listen to me, that's
> clear. It's only if many Windows 2000 users get in their face
> and make a stink that they are going to understand isn't just
> used by three geeks in a closet.
>
> http://forums.flightsim.com/dcforu [...] 33/86.html


Will, I read the whole thread. Am I correct in reading that the majority
of user complaints logged on their Web page was from Win XP users? It
seems THAT should tell them something. I won't be buying anything from
them.

--

boB

U.S. Army Aviation (retired)
Central Texas - 5NM West of Gray Army Airfield (KGRK)

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

boB wrote:

> Hey Bill.... Are you saying *not* to install XP SP2????
>
> Every time I start my computer the balloon pops up telling me I have an
> update to install. I always click the X
>

Installing SP2 only broke Norton Antivirus for me. That wasn't a
problem though, as I was planning on switching virus scanners anyway and
that was the kick I needed.

Huw

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

"Will" <DELETE_westes@earthbroadcast.com> wrote in message
news:t8WdnSfCffyVTKjfRVn-1A@giganews.com...
> Just an informal poll: how many here are using either Windows
> 2000 or Windows 2003 for playing FS2004?

I use W2K Pro on my only computer.

> The recent upgrade to Reality-XP's Garmin GPS is now Windows XP
> only. Because XP has 85% market share and Windows 2K has only
> 5% market share, they decided to only support XP. What is even
> a worse development is that Dreamfleet's latest airplane only
> supports Windows XP (probably because it uses the Reality Garmin,
> but they refuse to disclose why). When you ask Reality what API
> they use in Windows XP that is not present in Windows 2000, they
> refuse to answer claiming it is "proprietary". (How can
> Microsoft's public API be proprietary to the vendor that uses
> it?!)

Guess I'll avoid those products, then. Oh well, they sounded nice, but
if they won't work with my OS...

--
Earl Needham
Clovis, New Mexico USA

Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (More info?)

Huw Roberts wrote:

> boB wrote:
>
>> Hey Bill.... Are you saying *not* to install XP SP2????
>>
>> Every time I start my computer the balloon pops up telling me I have
>> an update to install. I always click the X
>>
>
> Installing SP2 only broke Norton Antivirus for me. That wasn't a
> problem though, as I was planning on switching virus scanners anyway and
> that was the kick I needed.
>
> Huw

I switched over to AVG Free and am as pleased as punch!

--

boB

U.S. Army Aviation (retired)
Central Texas - 5NM West of Gray Army Airfield (KGRK)