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Radio Broadcast Technical Consulting and Sales
 
1032 Island Drive, Brainerd, MN  56401
Phone: 218.829.1326    Fax:  218.829.2026

Public Speaking

September 5, 2000

Mark Persons gave a talk on the Microsoft Windows Millennium operating system for X86 computers


The speech was before the Lake Country Computer Club in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota.  More than 50 people turned out to hear the talk, which was well received.

Here are the notes, from the speech.


I am a living proof that working on computers makes your hair turn gray.  I started in computers in the late 1960�s and knew digital had potential, but didn�t know what form it would take.

On my last visit to this club,  I built a computer from parts and made it run.    Before I tell you about Millennium, let�s look at computer history of how we got here.

For Microsoft�Like the big bang�in the beginning there was DOS.  Command Line Interface�type commands rather than use a mouse.   Does anyone remember DOS 3.3?  1984.  We have come a long way since then.   DOS is still used in industrial applications�extremely reliable.  Run for years running a SINGLE application.

Let�s get our terms straight.  New users often confuse an operating system with a program.

Operating System � Software that runs a computer and creates your desktop. Operating systems include: DOS, Windows, Mac OS, Unix, Linux, BE OS.  The distinction is that Microsoft owns 90% of the market. That�s a reality

Program, otherwise known as an Application, might be Word word processing, Excel spreadsheet, Access Database,  Front Page HTML editor, Quicken, Quick Books, Print Artist, or a game like Doom.

Why would I, Mark Persons, in Brainerd, MN be a beta tester for a huge company like Microsoft?  They picked me because I build machines rather than purchase pre-packaged units and because I had complained enough about how previous versions of Windows ran. 

My beta testing experience with Microsoft ran from November of 1999 to June of this year.  In the process, I ran through five versions of the software and received the final code as a gift from Microsoft for my efforts.  Beta testing is done on an extra computer�not on one you need and use daily.  Beta software has bugs and problems are to be expected.

Do you remember Windows 3.0 from about 1990?  I do.  You could installed it from 5 floppy disks before CD ROM�s were invented.   I remember many times typing a document and having the computer reboot in mid sentence. 

Why does this happen? 

Windows is built on DOS.   As I mentioned, DOS is a stable operating system for a single application.  Windows is a GUI Graphical User Interface on top of DOS.  When you run Windows and an application, there is the potential of conflict.  Microsoft has worked hard at smoothing out that wrinkle.  

Probably the big operating system killer is memory.  Windows will use a fair amount of memory.  Applications you run in windows will use memory.  Sometimes poorly written applications will ask for and get memory that Windows is already using.  That is when everything goes wrong.  Macs can have the same problem. 

Windows 98 was slated to be the last edition of Windows based on DOS.  However, clever programmers in Redmond Washington came up with enough new tools and bug fixes to warrant releasing a major upgrade�Windows ME.   Millennium Edition. 

On a separate track, about 6 years ago, Microsoft developed another operating system called NT�New Technology.  They recognized that, for business applications, they needed a graphical user interface that was not based on DOS.  The latest version of that is called Windows 2000 which looks and acts very much like Windows 98. 

Recently, I built three computers with Windows 2000 for our business office in Brainerd.  It is sometimes called Windows 2000 Professional to distinguish it from Windows 2000 Server which is just now becoming available.  Regardless, the results have been excellent.  Our machines run 24 hours a day.  Since February, we have rebooted only one machine once because it was misbehaving.  However, I reboot every machine about once a month just to be sure the reliability remains high. 

Joke of the night:  If at first you don�t succeed, sky diving is not for you.

If you are a gamer, Windows 2000 is not for you.

Windows 2000 does not support as much hardware as Windows Millennium. 

Windows 2000 will not support my digital camera at this time. 

It is hardware picky�this includes motherboards

Most DOS applications will not run in Windows 2000�.Windows 2000 has a DOS emulator, but will not support many DOS functions that call for an application to directly talk to a serial port, printer, or other device.   Applications that violate the Windows 2000 rules of conduct are automatically shutdown without causing harm to the operating system.

Why would I want Windows 2000?  For rock stable computer operation in the office environment.  Typically, we have six to eight applications running simultaneously on our office machines without problems.

Windows 2000 has excellent memory management skills preventing applications from trying to use the same memory blocks at the same time.  The other issue is that it reclaims memory that had been used by applications that are no longer using it.  This high degree of memory management skill prevents a system from slowing down to the point where it needs to be rebooted.  Those of you who run computers 24 hours a day know what I mean. 

The downside is that Windows 2000 needs lots of Random Access Memory.  Our office machines currently have 192 MB of RAM and that is barely enough.   When a machine uses all of the available RAM, it starts using Virtual Memory on the hard drive.  Because hard drives are mechanical and slow, you notice the machine slows down.  If you are like me, you want a machine to be FAST.

What does Millennium have?

Big time support for gamers�the best so far.

Computer networking.   In 1991 we installed Lantastic networking in our office.   It cost $500.00 for two nodes.   Windows Millennium has a home networking wizard to make it easier for those new to networking.  Network cards are now just $25 each. 

Millennium has a new video editor called Movie Maker

It has upgraded video and audio player called Windows Media Player version 7

Millennium has System File Protection which restores system files that have been accidentally deleted or replaced by new program installations.

Here is another one�System Recovery feature allows you to go back to a previous set of system registry files. 

Internet Explorer 5.5

Internet sharing (also a part of Windows 98 Second Edition)�we did that a year ago.  We are using a Linux now with firewall protection.

(WIA) Windows Image Acquisition programming interface is a generic interface to many new scanners and cameras. 

Problems:  When Microsoft introduces a new operating system or upgrade, you usually need to double your computer hardware capabilities to keep the same kind of speed.  Everything they add requires more horsepower.  Examples include:

Menus that grow rather than pop up

Features like power options that put the computer to sleep when it is not being used

Intellimouse with a wheel

High colors�nice icons�there is a new Windows desktop color.

At Microsoft�hardware if free.  They don�t buy it�you do  

What are the hardware requirements for Millennium?

Microsoft says 150 MHz and 32 MB of RAM

My take on it is that 300 MHz with 64 MB of RAM is adequate and 128 MB of RAM is better

Windows 95 required about 100 MB of hard drive space

Windows 98 about 300 MB

Millennium requires 650 MB of hard drive space

Windows 2000 is a 1 GB operating system


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page last edited 11/27/2008