TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: NT vs. 95 From:John Cornellier <john -dot- cornellier -at- PARIS -dot- CARDS -dot- DELARUE -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 27 Oct 1997 11:45:13 GMT
Victoria Inness-Brown asked about NT vs. 95. Here's a comparison on key points:
95 has the edge on compatibility, performance, plug & play, and electricity
management. For most applications 95 is just as stable. NT has more server and
security features.
COMPATIBILITY
Many DOS and some 16-bit Windows programmes cannot be run under NT.
There are still some peripherals (e.g. printers and scanners) not delivered with
NT drivers, only 95 versions. However these are being made available on the
internet.
PERFORMANCE
If you only have 32MB RAM, then 95 is faster. For top performance on 32-bit
apps, you need 64MB on NT, compared to only 32MB on 95. NT is also slower to
boot up because of its security overhead.
PLUG & PLAY
Does not yet exist for NT.
ELECTRICITY MANAGEMENT
This is excellent under 95, and non-existent in NT. After a user-defined period
95 powers down the monitor and virtually shuts down the computer. This reduces
office overheating in summer and saves cash. NT has kewl screensavers and that's
all she wrote.
STABILITY
Windows 95 is extremely stable. NT is a bit more stable. Both 95 and NT have
preemptive multitasking. The only difference is that 95 runs multiple 16-bit
apps in the same memory area - so that the crash of one may domino the others.
In practice this ought not to be a problem even if you will use obsolete
software.
SERVER & SECURITY
NT is better for servers: Most network security (firewall) software is available
only for NT. This is an issue only if the PC will be an internet server. Also NT
is delivered with RAS (Remote Access Server) as standard. NT has some user and
file security management features not found on 95. For normal client use, 95's
security is adequate in my opinion.
