Trailing Edge Technology by Rolf Miller A 64 accomplishes 90% of the work done with computers at this desk. The other 10% is done with a pre-Pentium computer cobbled together from discards. It uses Windows 3.1 to accomplish its primary function of sending and receiving e-mail via Juno. The bridge between these two platforms is a 1541 disk drive connected via an X1541 cable to the Windows machine running the Star Commander program. Putting together this pre-Pentium computer necessitated learning a little bit of MS-DOS. And let me say that compared to Commodore's DOS, MS-DOS is a terribly clumsy way of doing things. Nonetheless, DOS allows activity not easily accomplished, if it can be done at all, from within Windows. This explains why Windows contains an MS-DOS icon that allows entering DOS. This also explains a late evening call from a former Commodore user struggling with the MS-DOS prompt on his Windows 95 machine. The sad thing about this is that what he was trying to do is something he used to easily accomplish with his Commodore. Adding insult to injury, his Windows machine was leading edge technology when he bought it just a couple of years ago for well over $1000. That's the injury. The insult is that a similar machine can be had today for a tenth as much. The truth of this is known because a recent development required obtaining a like machine. The need stemmed from the occasional use of certain sites on the web which invoke high security encryption. Recent upgrades to those sites now require the newest web browsers. And you guessed it: Windows 3.1 can no more handle the newest web browsers than can GEOS 1.3 run Wheels.* And if you think loading a program from a datasette is slow, you haven't seen a pre-Pentium computer trying to run Windows 95. I had initially thought to patch together a Windows 95 machine. But for not much more than the cost of an evening out, it's not worth the effort. I also rejected out of hand the option of purchasing a new machine. And in spite of those who make fun of what I choose to call "frugality," cost is not the only consideration. It rather has to do with maintaining the link with Commodore. Commodore fell off the back edge of technology some years ago. That doesn't affect the usefulness of the machine within its capabilities, but the leading edge of technology is rapidly widening the gap that must be bridged if a Commodore is to be used interactively with the other platform. There are, of course, several means to form that link, some more efficient than others. They include telecommunications, direct RS-232 connections, and disk media manipulation via Big Blue (or Little Red) Reader. But for every day use, I have found nothing easier than the X1541 connection. The widening technology gap is beginning to strain this bridge. First, the X1541 cable connects to the IBM-type computer's 25-pin printer port. Newer machines are appearing without this porting. Second, the Star Commander program must run in DOS outside of Windows; to do otherwise messes up the timing requirements of the 1541. This is still possible in both 95 & 98, but DOS is scheduled to be abandoned in newer versions of Windows. Third, the 1541 cannot handle data at the high speeds of these machines. The Star Commander program compensates for this with a built-in delay which is adjustable to a limit. Newer machines exceed that limit. For me, therefore, working with the oldest technology that does the job is essential to maintaining the Commodore at the hub my computer activities. And every time I get a call for help from Windows users, especially former Commodore users, the decision to stay with my 64 is reaffirmed. *The latest version of Wheels can be installed using any version of GEOS, 1.3 or higher (the same can't be said for the Windows 3.1/new web browser incompatibility). (From the Internet, via the Commodore Information Center, http://home.att.net/~rmestel/commodore.html)