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[aaronjb]

I suspect I was the first to buy Visual Basic for MS-DOS as well. Brilliant system. I know later (pre .NET) versions of VB had their critics, but I was a big fan

You weren't the only one to use VB for DOS.. I also, once upon a time, used QuickBasic (the full version of QBasic that let you compile to .exe) fairly extensively, for my sins.

[cem_devecioglu]

I'm just over half that, cem, 50k

Trouble is, the runtimes will get phased out, so just delaying it really 

But I don't have the time - I help bro out in my spare time.

a source code with that size must not be converted.. it must be re-designed with object libraries and methods according to new development environment tools and commands or you will loose more time and efficiency.. I have exactly the same problems.. and no one pays me extra if I rewrite it.. 
 
ps: my prediction, minimum 8 months for 50K..

[cem_devecioglu]

I still find vb6 most easy and productive environment..   

VB.NET is more productive, a richer framework. But I still have a softspot for VB6.

agreed.. but if my time is limited I dont prefer it.. vb6 executables still work in win 7/win 2008..(assuming you run them with admin privileges)

[TheBoy]

I suspect I was the first to buy Visual Basic for MS-DOS as well. Brilliant system. I know later (pre .NET) versions of VB had their critics, but I was a big fan

You weren't the only one to use VB for DOS.. I also, once upon a time, used QuickBasic (the full version of QBasic that let you compile to .exe) fairly extensively, for my sins.

Yeah, used QuickBasic up to v4.5, before moving on to PDS 7.1

[TheBoy]

I still find vb6 most easy and productive environment..   

VB.NET is more productive, a richer framework. But I still have a softspot for VB6.

agreed.. but if my time is limited I dont prefer it.. vb6 executables still work in win 7/win 2008..(assuming you run them with admin privileges)

All my brother's stuff runs as non-Admin, but I have to use a GPO to push the registry entries out, as they do need Admin to update.

[cem_devecioglu]

I still find vb6 most easy and productive environment..   

VB.NET is more productive, a richer framework. But I still have a softspot for VB6.

agreed.. but if my time is limited I dont prefer it.. vb6 executables still work in win 7/win 2008..(assuming you run them with admin privileges)

All my brother's stuff runs as non-Admin, but I have to use a GPO to push the registry entries out, as they do need Admin to update.

I discovered that for users with limited rights, if you have to write some files on disk most appropriate way is to use filenames without path so that it writes to working folder only and permissions dont become problem.. our users in organization are totally limited profiles..

[Rods2]

as the subject is related I want to mention about some historical facts..
 
before windows operating systems becomes widely used, the options were as follows;
 
IBM mainframes (assembler,pascal,cobol and jcl) , middle sized systems ; (if we regard AS 400) mostly unix and its million versions that even when you write C code you have to re-compile and re-arrange some segments of code   and dos where borland pascal was the most succesful imo..
 
in those days even transferring simple data files between those systems was considered a  "task"    let alone networking and communicating them.. and beginner programmers had to choose an environment which was mostly Dos as Unix was for pros
 
and mainframes were a different class..     and whatever project you develop you had to write all codes for communications ,networking ,file and data transfers and many other things from scratch.. in those days spreadsheets, mail systems were rare or even primitive compared to todays standards..  data warehousing,distributed processing many other things were beyond imagination..  you accept or not , like it or not microsoft ended all these mess and bring many standards.. of course there were other companies who brought succesful software into use..  but now you can find zillions of software that work both in large and small systems which can easily share data.. even your mobile.. thats a good achievement in my dictionary.. and most software development libraries are nearly standard and your code can work on a large scale of computer architecture without modification..

Never had a problem in using RS232 for the transfer of data from Dec UNIX / VMS machines to the target hardware. Just used to specify the RS232 port on the Dec machine, write an RS232 handler for the target microprocessor system and then it was a case of just starting the loader on the micro system and sending the data from the DEC.

Most of the work I did in the early days was in assembler including 6800, 8080, MIL-STD-1750 and 68000 and also designing and building AMD 2900 bit slice based computers using microcode to construct the instruction set. Then went on to do a lot of C programming, but PC's and Windows were well established by then.

I must admit I did like Microsoft's MASM 8080 / Z80 assembler and library system and it made me a lot of money.

VMS was a very good operating system, so much so that Microsoft poached their development team to design and program Windows NT.

[Rods2]

# find / -exec grep -H -n 'Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition' {} \;


Oh.. wait, Windows. There's always Cygwin, I suppose.

Backup "My Documents" to a Linux server and use line 1 above. You will then also have a backup for when your HD crashes.

Just bin windows and use a Linux desktop instead.

Linux has a place in life. But its a woeful desktop, IMHO. In fact, as soon as X is installed on Linux, it all goes downhill

Cue the 'real men use the shell'


If you really want to use a *nix like OS, at least run a proper Unix. Have I mentioned Linux is shite? On the upside, its instability helps pay the mortgage

I wouldn't want to use anything else for server admin, but on remote hosting I often have to use Plesk, cPanel or some other form of torture.

[Nickbat]

Back to the original post, I've cracked it. On Win7, it is certainly possible to search for a text string, but it is not enabled by default - and it seems quite a few people are not aware of this.

Go to Windows Explorer, select "Organize", then select "Folder and Search Options", then select the "Search" tab, then check the box "Use natural language search".

Job done.

[Kevin Wood]

Never had a problem in using RS232 for the transfer of data from Dec UNIX / VMS machines to the target hardware. Just used to specify the RS232 port on the Dec machine, write an RS232 handler for the target microprocessor system and then it was a case of just starting the loader on the micro system and sending the data from the DEC.

Most of the work I did in the early days was in assembler including 6800, 8080, MIL-STD-1750 and 68000 and also designing and building AMD 2900 bit slice based computers using microcode to construct the instruction set. Then went on to do a lot of C programming, but PC's and Windows were well established by then.

I must admit I did like Microsoft's MASM 8080 / Z80 assembler and library system and it made me a lot of money.

VMS was a very good operating system, so much so that Microsoft poached their development team to design and program Windows NT.

Brings back a few memories. Cut my teeth on a 6809, and actually used to pinch time on the VAX at my dad's office to cross-assemble for it, until I got a cross assember for my BBC micro.

Came across my old Kaycomp 68000 SBC a while back back. Plugged it into a serial port, fired up minicom, applied power and there it was. Even took a photo or two to preserve the moment

[Rods2]

Back to the original post, I've cracked it. On Win7, it is certainly possible to search for a text string, but it is not enabled by default - and it seems quite a few people are not aware of this.

Go to Windows Explorer, select "Organize", then select "Folder and Search Options", then select the "Search" tab, then check the box "Use natural language search".

Job done.

Well that was so obvious, what took you so long. 

That why I hate Windows Vista and 7 as they hide anything useful in the most obscure ways. Windows is fine out of the box as long as all you want to do is browse the Internet and send and receive emails and use MS Office for very basic things as they have hidden many of the useful functions in these.

In engineering the man-machine interface is the most important thing. Make things difficult and people won't use them, hence why I still use Windows XP. But as this will not be supported for much longer and I unfortunately need windows as some of the software I use only runs on this, where do I go from here? When I upgrade my PC I might have to go the Windows 7 root, but I'm certainly not looking forward to it.

[Bionic]

  You could always do what many others in the industry are now doing and going over to a Linux system. Its not that hard to get used to particularly with the latest ones that have the feel of Windows and best of all most are either free or very low cost.
I do agree with your views though having just tried Windows 8 and that is the biggest load of crap ever released. No wonder the download is a mere 25 quid according to the email offer I got from them.
I presently run Win XP Pro, Win Vista Ultimate, Win 7 Premium as multiple boots cos some of my programs will not work on later ones and also Linux versions Mint and the Windows lookalike I am presently trying out Ubuntu Zorin. Up to now I like Zorin.
As time goes on there will be more and more programs available for Linux and because it is an open scource operating system you can adapt any version to your own needs if you have the knowhow.
Go on....have a try. You might just be surprised.
Anyway....Linux boots and closes down way way faster than the godawful minutes it takes windows and there are no almost constant 'updates' that require you to shut down and restart.
No wonder Bill Gates got out when he saw the writing on the wall..........

[Rods2]

You could always do what many others in the industry are now doing and going over to a Linux system. Its not that hard to get used to particularly with the latest ones that have the feel of Windows and best of all most are either free or very low cost.
I do agree with your views though having just tried Windows 8 and that is the biggest load of crap ever released. No wonder the download is a mere 25 quid according to the email offer I got from them.
I presently run Win XP Pro, Win Vista Ultimate, Win 7 Premium as multiple boots cos some of my programs will not work on later ones and also Linux versions Mint and the Windows lookalike I am presently trying out Ubuntu Zorin. Up to now I like Zorin.
As time goes on there will be more and more programs available for Linux and because it is an open scource operating system you can adapt any version to your own needs if you have the knowhow.
Go on....have a try. You might just be surprised.
Anyway....Linux boots and closes down way way faster than the godawful minutes it takes windows and there are no almost constant 'updates' that require you to shut down and restart.
No wonder Bill Gates got out when he saw the writing on the wall..........

I'm already heavily into Linux where all the websites I develop use this and I've been configuring and using my local and public Linux servers for the last 12 years. But for these where possible I use the shell.

The next desktop PC I build will definitely be duel boot with Linux and I'm not sure what flavour I will use yet along with Windows 7 or 8. I will ask on here for advice at the time.

I'm going to wait for the comments from real users on Win 8 before I make a decision, but I have got the feeling I'm going to really hate it even more than Vista and Win 7, but I've got an open mind and I'm I willing to give it a try.

Once an operating system is not transparent then to me it fails as that is its job. An easy to use intuitive interface from which I can launch programs to get a job of work done, that's what I want and need. MS has been steadily deviating from this path. Now if they had had any sense with Visa and 7, instead of just hiding everything, so a 'tard can use it, they would have had three complexity settings:

1 Basic - The current default so even the Microsoft marketing department understand how to use it.
2. Average - Useful settings enabled to allow the average business person to be able to quickly get the job done.
3. Expert - Everything possible turned on.

Setting 3 may have saved a Windows 7 PC or 2 ending up in TB's bin. 

I would be interested in TB's comments on Windows 8 once it is released as he normally likes MS products and thinks they are the B's & E's.

[TheBoy]

Brings back a few memories. Cut my teeth on a 6809, and actually used to pinch time on the VAX at my dad's office to cross-assemble for it, until I got a cross assember for my BBC micro.

Bloody rich kids. The rest of us had to had the Spectrum instead

(Although it taught me a lot about Z80, basically a 8080 clone, which itself grew into the lastest Ivy Bridge i7

[TheBoy]

You could always do what many others in the industry are now doing and going over to a Linux system. Its not that hard to get used to particularly with the latest ones that have the feel of Windows and best of all most are either free or very low cost.
I do agree with your views though having just tried Windows 8 and that is the biggest load of crap ever released. No wonder the download is a mere 25 quid according to the email offer I got from them.
I presently run Win XP Pro, Win Vista Ultimate, Win 7 Premium as multiple boots cos some of my programs will not work on later ones and also Linux versions Mint and the Windows lookalike I am presently trying out Ubuntu Zorin. Up to now I like Zorin.
As time goes on there will be more and more programs available for Linux and because it is an open scource operating system you can adapt any version to your own needs if you have the knowhow.
Go on....have a try. You might just be surprised.
Anyway....Linux boots and closes down way way faster than the godawful minutes it takes windows and there are no almost constant 'updates' that require you to shut down and restart.
No wonder Bill Gates got out when he saw the writing on the wall..........

For the love of god, why do people who say how wonderful Linux is, then go and promote Ubuntu

If you must go with a Debian based Linux, at least go for Debian, as its more up to date, and has far better stability and support.

That said, Linux's desktop market share is shrinking, not growing. Its not a viable desktop for most.  Some might say its not a viable server for anything useful, but it's uselessness helps pay my mortgage

Most Linux distributions are actually far more expensive than Windows, which is one reason why you're never likely to see it entering into large businesses, the other being application support. Very few will develop good apps for it, because it will never gain a large enough market share.

And, because the desktop is built on top of X11, for historical reasons, it will always be lethargic. X11 is a great system, just not for running locally.