Operating System - 2000 or XP

[bazooka]

I am not a know it all and I never claimed to be.

[tekkieman]

Deaf ears....

[bazooka]

Deaf ears....

That is ok.

[Nilfennasion]

Really, this bickering about the differences between Windows XP and Windows 2000 is pointless. When I had Windows 2000 on my hard drive, I had no end of problems with it because my motherboard had been improperly flashed to run Windows XP, or something along those lines. So I cannot say whether 2000 worked for me or not.

Windows XP is little more than an overpriced point release of the same kernel that drove 2000. All that has been added is a few bells and whistles. Bundling together things in the OS might seem like a good thing at first, but it is actually a flaw in modern computing. With all the stuff you use being bundled together in the one program, it is harder to replace mediocre components (*cough* Internet Explorer *cough*) with better ones. The argument that the bundling saves us money also doesn't hold water. When the instability of the bundled software comes to bite, the lost productivity can easily wipe out savings. So having more "stuff included" does not necessarily make an OS better.

Unfortunately, Linux also demonstrates a need to make an OS easy to come to grips with, without oversimplifying the interface as has been done with Windoze. Manipulating the system configuration in Linux is at least as difficult as it is in Windoze. By the time you've figured out how to install things in Linux, you feel like you've completed a marathon. Then again, at the moment, after installing the driver for my video card, I'd kiss the hands of whomever told me how to stop Windows/the driver program to stop loading up the folder into which the driver was installed as a window.

[Cole]

I would like to try an alternative OS for the experience, but in the grand scheme of things... I just don't have the time.

I use both W2000 and XP and both (as I put above) have their pros and cons, but I spend most of my time on my PC either on the Internet or making DVDs/XVCDs.

I asked my original question to find out if anyone had any titbits of information that would let me know of any issues regards video encoding.

For example, I have had some instability with XP recognising my Canopus ADVC-50. Would W2000 have been any better, or would the problem be with the Canopus itself? Or, would the encoding time be shorter in 2000 as there is less automatically running in the background?

There are so many different configurations within a single PC that sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees if you get any problems.

As for Linux, my own dabbling fell at the first hurdle. There was a CD-Rom given away with a UK PC magazine which was a Linux OS running from the CD itself. It couldn't give a signal to my TFT monitor - end of attempt!

Based on this, I don't really feel that I want to give over the time to investigating an alternative OS - I am happy with the various Windows OSs, as it does what I want, however, I have abandoned the crash site that is 98, but have been happy since going with 2000 and XP.

[bazooka]

but have been happy since going with 2000 and XP.

That is all that matters.

[vhelp]

I think that your issue with OS's in regards to your capture devices
were driver specific and the lack of knowledge in fine-tuning
it (resolving the issues) and getting back into busness. Please
don't take that the wrong way. Truely.

I'm still using WIN98Gold and I don't really have any major problems.
I do have crashes though, because of the many confounding things I
do inside it. It's know wonder. Really. Anyways.

As long as I can:

* first MISC
* Capture
* Edit
* Encode
* Author
* combining Misc

and all under WIN98Gold, I'm a happy camper. Unfortunately, I *am*
resitricted, when it comes to *new* software/devices. Take a look
in the areas of Authoring to DVD and the Misc. They two have issues
w/ Win98Gold because its a *new* generation of things. Well, sort
of. Many are sort of vearing away from 98 and I'm am (in a sense)
running out of options. But, I still forge ahead. To author my
DVD's, I use ifoEdit. I get away with it, *and even chapters* all
because someone made it possible to do so.

Having an OS to include "stabalization" is a nice feature (though I
see it as a Bell and Whistle) ..But it all boils down to Driver
stability (for each OS setup) ..yours was a coensidence that you
stumbled w/ your ADVC-50 device. That and couple it w/ driver
support for your given Firewire card (or on-board one) and your
given Motherboard (and it's drivers) were respetive to your issues
But you didn't have to blame it on the given OS at the time of the
insidence. Why I say that, is because there are many people with
the same (or very similar) Mobo and Device you have, and had no
issues.

Still, I have no real problems w/ my OS version that I don't have
enough hairs to pull out with. I can capture greater than my OS
given limits (ie, 4gig; FAT32; etc) thank in part to "segmentation"
capturing (which is dependant upon the given software features)
and the knowledge to know how to get their. I got their.
.
Just like how I defeated the ability to capture through
firewire using AVI_IO and VirtualDUB from my TRV22 CAM and ADVC-100
devices. And, all through the advantages of "segmentation" capturing
with these apps. I was able to over come this feat, thanks to my
knowledge in "fiddling" with drivers and other things. But, a
newbie would not have so easily stumbled across this feat.
Still, no one has come forth and claimed to be able to capture
through Firewire w/ AVI_IO and/or VirtualDUB. So in a way, I seem
to be King in this *small* area (at least under Win98Gold)

I don't beleive that there is only ONE os that does it all. I do
believe however, that ALL os's can do it. It's just a matter of
those that create such things, design them w/ ALL os's in mind.
And do them w/ QUALITY and with no BUGS.

What ever the OS, Knowledge is KEY to *any* success!!
..whatever the issues may be. (oh.., with a little luck too)

-vhelp

[Cole]

@ vhelp

I think that your issue with OS's in regards to your capture devices
were driver specific and the lack of knowledge in fine-tuning
it (resolving the issues) and getting back into busness. Please
don't take that the wrong way. Truely.

Not at all; it was why I asked my original qusestion.

But you didn't have to blame it on the given OS at the time of the
insidence. Why I say that, is because there are many people with
the same (or very similar) Mobo and Device you have, and had no
issues.

Again, blame wasn't automatic, but I posted here to see if that was the case. I have seen this particular problem raised before, but have never seen a solution to it. However, in another way you have said that the Canopus incident is not the fault of the OS, but the drivers or firewire port.

As the Canopus doesn't need any software installed, then this mush be down to the firewire. Well, one thing that does work to get the item recognised is to unplug the firewire cable wait a few moments and plug it back in again. It may take two or three goes, but eventually it works. That does give the impression that something withing XP (whether it be the Firewire or the OS itself) is not picking the item up straight away.

But I won't take anything the wrong way as you have taken the trouble to reply and in the right spirit, which I thank you for. Any help on this matter is of interest.