Author Topic: To help us plan for the future, we want to know which Operating System you use. (Read 20488 times)

Markham · « **on:** February 08, 2010, 10:46 AM »

As the subject says, we are in the process of formulating our plans for Circle Dock and part of that means we really need to know what platform(s) our users will be using in the future. Hence, we don't want to know your current Operating System but rather the Operating System you'll be using six months from now - of course, you may not be planning to change, so just indicate your current OS.

We do know, from our site statistics reports, that the greatest percentage of our users have Windows XP (52%) and far fewer with Vista or Windows 7.

You can only vote for 1 Operating System and you'll see the current results of the poll after you have voted.

Mark

sgtevmckay · « **Reply #1 on:** February 08, 2010, 04:18 PM »

I am a multi-booter

Windows 7 64
Ubuntu
Mac

I use now, I will use then...
Unfortunately this does not leave a single answer $:-\$

worick · « **Reply #2 on:** February 11, 2010, 10:42 AM »

Well so far I think the poll shows people with Win7 vote on polls more often.
As a side note I voted for Win 7 x64 because I consider that my main OS. I do run CD on win 7 32 bit, Win XP 32 bit, and Vista 32 bit also.

kbsg · « **Reply #3 on:** February 24, 2010, 12:01 AM »

I am also multi booter. I've WinXP, WinXP, Win 7. All 32-bit. I may upgrade one installation to 64bit

BTW Circledock looks very nice!

Kamel · « **Reply #4 on:** February 24, 2010, 12:10 AM »

I voted for vista 32 bit, honestly my vote shouldn't count since i don't really use circledock.

I have absolutely no desire for a 64bit OS, not that I'm against it, but honestly, what's the point? epenis is the only true explanation, except for those with over 4gb of ram, which is consequently closely related to the former reason listed.

JavaJones · « **Reply #5 on:** February 24, 2010, 12:59 AM »

Believe it or not some people (and I'm not saying "a lot" necessarily, but some) actually do *need* 64 bit. People like me doing demanding 3D rendering. People working on big complex images in Photoshop or complex layouts in InDesign. Etc. Eventually it's pretty much a given that memory use even for "normal" apps will get high enough to justify it.

- Oshyan

sgtevmckay · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2010, 04:27 PM »

Here is a simple truth.
64 bit is coming on full
32 bit is going to die
it is just a matter of when!?!!

I am a firm believer in killing 32 bit
I believe that Windows 7 should have killed off 32 bit support, and I suggest that Windows 8 will altogether
So be prepared!
NOW is the time to invest in the future, with your software and systems!

Please let me explain.

Quite simply it is for change and advancement.
How many folks realize that we could actually have 128 bit NOW, if there was a call

The full induction of 64 bit is well past due, and 64 bit has been available for well over a decade now.
As we make more demands on our collective and individual systems, more needs to be produced to advance towards those requests, hence 64 bit.
As we require more, more will be needed, hence the more memory, larger HDD, and deadly fast processors.
it is just the law of averages.

Not to deeply date myself, but i remember the days of BASIC, FORTRAN, and 8 bit programs.
I remember a time that a GUI was just a pipe dream, and the 30+ pound word processor with the vomit green, 8 inch screen, was the SH*T!!!
I remember when Texas instruments was on the top of the electronic consumer food chain.
I still have a commodore 64 lying around collecting dust somewhere
I remember the death of 8 bit

I remember a company (Sun Valley Communications Inc), the BBC, and the introduction of 16bit
I remember windows 3.X and the GUI dream come alive.
I remember that company (Sun Valley Communications Inc) becoming AOL
I remember a lot of good programs in 16bit
I remember leaving a lot of those programs behind, and the same complaints then as I hear now; "Why change if it works"
I remember the death of 16bit

I remember Windows 95 (unfortunately) and the introduction of 32 bit into windows 98 SE
I remember thinking back to some of those 16 bit programs and wishing I had them, but the programmers of the time refusing to update there software in the face of advancement.
I remember the first Unix 64bit, and the game consoles that have shown us just how far behind desktop technology was! and still is today!
I look back at the authors of some great 16 bit programs, and wish they would have swallowed their pride and moved forward as technology does.

I remember Windows 2000 server and XP Pro
hands down: the best Windows OS's ever. To date
I look back at the explosion of the true 32 bit era.
Fondly I am remembering a lot of programs already abandoned, either by time, or refusal to move forward.
and again I am hearing the same old arguments; "If it work why change!"
I am seeing the death of 32 bit.
In a few years I will have a few fond memories of great programs left behind by stubborn authors and programmers who have refused to progress with the technology, but I will not remember their programs and names in time.

The growing pains of 64 bit in recent years was not helped at all by MS, Vista was and remains a tragedy!
BUT, 64 bit is the way to go.
32 bit has seen it's time, and it's limits are quickly being realized...we stood still in the 32bit era too long, and now it is a race to advance before we hit a collective limitation wall.

64 bit offers so much more, so much faster, and with more capabilities from our equipment.

I say to you:
Any one who says to stay with 32 bit is an enemy of progress.
Any Company that refuses to move to a 64 bit platform does not deserve your money or respect.
Any programmer that tells me not to explore 64 bit solutions, is no friend of mine
Any one who suggests to me to stay with 32 bit....well they just set themselves up for a famous Sarge Tongue Lashing

Already we are seeing the effects of software that is incompatible with 64 bit, and programmers that refuse to upgrade their software.
Ultimately these folks will be left behind, and may be lamented for their great software.
As I have done so many times before in the past.
Apparently I will again

This is the price of change, and advancement, under stubbornness, and I willing pay that price

I have already been working with 64bit Unix and linux distros for several years, and this is the way to go!

Ultimately I would see the death of Rainmeter 32bit and Circle Dock 32bit, and full on support to 64bit, that is my future priority, but I will make every attempt not to leave 32bit users behind, but this is something to consider as we move towards the future!
One day I would even love to see a cross platform solution, but knowing how Circle Dock works now, I can not see this with out a ground up rebuild solution.

"If it works why change!"
Because that is the way of advancement, of change, of growth, and that is where I am going.
Please come with me on this marvelous journey as well.

JavaJones · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2010, 06:25 PM »

My question about 64 bit is more like "Why not?". Sure, it's not going to make a big positive impact on everyone's computing, at least not yet, but it's certainly not going to *hurt*. What does hurt is the fragmentation. I agree with you, Windows 7 should have been 64 bit only, at least for all SKUs aside from Starter (netbook CPUs like Atom are not 64 bit, are they?). 64 bit capable CPUs have been around long enough to be in the vast majority of systems that could even support Win7. If they don't go all 64 bit for Win8 I'll be really pissed. Those of us who *are* "early adopters" have to suffer with lack of driver support because hardware vendors don't see it as a priority due to MS not pushing it. It's up to MS to end the chicken-or-egg issue.

- Oshyan

Archon of Fate · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2010, 07:59 PM »

I completely agree with this, however I do not have the money to change to windows 7 64 bit but this is something I WILL do in the future.
change is what preserves us all, we cannot allow ourselves to become stagnant.

To the Sarge... Well said! Had we all just said "why change if it works" computers would still be the size of a room (if they would have been invented at all)
technology is the future, and it continues to advance every day as you said... if we stop advanceing we are on the quick path to doom.

Markham · « **Reply #9 on:** February 25, 2010, 12:48 AM »

The problem is, Sarge, that Microsoft's support for 64-bit is half-hearted. Ask yourself this, how many 64-bit applications do they produce and, more importantly, how many development systems do they produce specifically for 64-bit application development? Visual Studio 2008 is a 32-bit application as is the forthcoming Visual Studio 2010.

The only 64-bit compiler they have (and it, I believe, is licensed from Intel) is for C++. A few years ago, I and a fellow journalist, were invited to the Microsoft Development Lab in Cambridge, UK, and we talked to several of the people working there. Much of what I saw and heard can not be disclosed even now save to say that I saw a demonstration of compilers and other development tools that many developers would sell their grandmothers/wives/right arms to get hold of! A key employee told us he could not understand his company's blinkered fixation with C++ arguing that C# was specified to be a far superior and more robust language but that it had been "neutered" and relegated to the dotNET framework.

Mark

worick · « **Reply #10 on:** February 25, 2010, 06:34 PM »

I agree Markham. I finally bit the bullet and went 64 bit for the extra memory. I do video editing/encoding, work with insanely huge files in adobe products, and multitask out the wazzo. If it wasn't for the memory limit on 32bit I wouldn't have changed. Like you said on the application side its just not supported enough. Same goes for multicore CPUs for most single applications. My multitasking habits make up for that though.

Markham · « **Reply #11 on:** February 26, 2010, 03:02 AM »

If they don't go all 64 bit for Win8 I'll be really pissed.
-JavaJones (February 24, 2010, 06:25 PM)

Then prepare to be really pissed! Microsoft lost credibility big time with Vista, so much so that Corporates are far more wary now of anything that company says or does. It also lost credibility with the hardware manufacturers which accounts for patchy support these days for "minority" operating systems.

Given that many, many users worldwide, including corporates, are either running XP or earlier 32-bit OSes, Microsoft would commit fiscal suicide if it tried to impose 64-bit. As it is, there's a growing shift to Linux - especially in the public sector - and Microsoft needs to reverse that trend, which it won't do if it tries to dictate.

It may come as a shock to you, Microsoft doesn't pay much (if any) attention to the needs and wishes of ordinary users. The only people it listens to are the big institutions and corporates who spend mega bucks on licences.

Mark

JavaJones · « **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2010, 05:41 PM »

It comes as no shock - I know how the game is played.

Still, I'm not so sure businesses wouldn't like to see a shift to 64 bit as well. Just because Vista was crappy (and yes they have lost some trust) doesn't diminish the value, especially for businesses.

- Oshyan

Auskalo · « **Reply #13 on:** March 25, 2010, 11:52 AM »

Getting a bit envious here!!! I use this magnificent piece of software on XPSP3(32) on a Mac via Parallels, and I still wonder why isn't it possible to have it directly on MacOSX?
I'm sick of the Mac dock.

Markham · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2010, 02:07 PM »

Glad to hear you've got Circle Dock running on your Mac! The only way for a native OSX version would be a port to the Mono runtime and that, sir, is a major undertaking and may not even be achievable. Circle Dock is pretty much reliant on the Windows and Net Framework platforms.

Mark

Auskalo · « **Reply #15 on:** March 26, 2010, 12:24 PM »

Thanks for the information. BTW, I use this other thing for bookmarks on my Mac: Circles . Do you think flash could be a workaround?

sgtevmckay · « **Reply #16 on:** March 26, 2010, 03:40 PM »

Thanks for the information. BTW, I use this other thing for bookmarks on my Mac: Circles . Do you think flash could be a workaround?
-Auskalo (March 26, 2010, 12:24 PM)

I myself have seriously considered this, but knowing what I know and understand of the Circle Dock code.....I fear that any flash based replication would be so bloated that only a small percentage of computer on the marker would be able to use it properly, at least at this time.
Of course I am speaking of use of IBM/Windows OS based system....I am unaware of how MAC handles Flash, but I hear that MACs do not handle flash well at all.
My information could be wrong concerning MACs

Now; this is not to say that if someone wanted to try and program a Flash Based version that we would hinder them in any way....In fact I would support them in any way I could

bleh75 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 29, 2010, 03:15 PM »

I'm on a Vista 64 quad core with 8 gig of RAM.Somebody tried to explain it all to me me once.Is it correct that most programs only use 2 cores ?

Archon of Fate · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2010, 12:00 AM »

most do... however some programs and games are starting to use quad core processors.

Tuxman · « **Reply #19 on:** April 01, 2010, 09:02 PM »

Vista 32-bit on this machine, Debian Linux in a VBox (which would never have a Circle Dock anyway because I don't want my Linux to be a Windows clone), XP 32-bit on the family PC.

markpayton · « **Reply #20 on:** April 17, 2010, 02:19 PM »

For what it's worth, we are going 64 bit Win7 on all of our school's Tablet PCs next fall. I'd love to see consideration for the pen's capabilities-or have access to the code to put them in myself.

sgtevmckay · « **Reply #21 on:** April 17, 2010, 03:28 PM »

For what it's worth, we are going 64 bit Win7 on all of our school's Tablet PCs next fall. I'd love to see consideration for the pen's capabilities-or have access to the code to put them in myself.
-markpayton (April 17, 2010, 02:19 PM)

Greetings markpayton
School reps are most welcome

I would ask; Have you tested with the tablet pens as yet?
Other than getting Circle Dock to spin....I believe it should work just fine, as pen tablet use is little different than touch screen, and Circle Dock is currently touch screen compatible, or as far as I know it is.

Let me know

Regards

Markham · « **Reply #22 on:** April 25, 2010, 04:32 AM »

Well this Poll has been interesting as it shows that over half of you are, or will be, using Windows 7 with a bias towards the 64-bit version.

However, by far the largest numbers of downloads over the last few months have been by users with XP installed.

Both these conflicting facts will be taken into account in our future development work.

Mark

Poll

Which Operating System will you be using with Circle Dock in 6 months from now?

Author Topic: To help us plan for the future, we want to know which Operating System you use. (Read 20488 times)