VISUAL NEWSLETTER –
NOV 2001
We have acquired our first Pentium IV, which came preloaded
with Windows XP Home Edition. So far the reviews are mixed and we have
requested an upgrade to professional edition to eliminate some problems.
Nonetheless a single Windows platform is something to applaud.
It seems that Home Edition does support small networks, file
and printer sharing, but it is missing some key components such as support for
Novell Netware Servers. It also seems less willing to connect to older LAN
topologies such as coaxial cable and older versions of Windows 9x even though
it states that it will do so. An all Windows XP environment would probably be
easier.
As such, we would strongly recommend that business users
stick with the professional edition unless their computers are strictly
standalone and don’t require networking. Professional edition is about $150
extra but in corporate networking environments it is money well spent.
Until the professional edition arrives, our new computer is
basically a standalone so we can’t comment on its network savvy, but basic
operations seem sound. Reviewers have
stated that it is much more difficult to crash and even when individual
programs go down, the operating system stays up.
Because Windows XP is largely based on the Windows 2000 platform it shares much of its internal complexity and general reliability. But be forewarned that it has a lot of features, settings and adjustments that will be foreign to most Windows 95, 98 and ME users. Changing some system settings could disrupt operations unless you know what you are doing.
Windows XP supports multiple user profiles with much higher degrees of
security than the 9x versions. At least one user needs to be set up as an
administrator and other users with lesser rights can be limited from making
substantial Windows adjustments or loading unauthorized or pirated software
programs. This is something that technical support personnel will appreciate.
As with most previous versions, Libra seems quite happy
operating under Windows XP. We still want to do some testing when we have it
fully networked, but it is running fine in several locations on Windows 2000
while networked without any significant problems.
One adjustment that may need to be made in Windows 2000 and
Windows XP has to do with screen display properties. If setting the Libra Icon
to full screen gives you half a screen, try changing the font type and or the font
size in the properties of the Libra Icon. On some machines if you start in
windows mode, then press <ALT><ENTER> to go to full screen, this
will fix the problem for the day.
Since networks can be set up using different types of
servers, windows workstations, and printer sharing methods, you may need to use
a variety of techniques to print from Libra to these printers. In either case
you need to define printer #’s, types and network locations within the Libra
System Configuration Program.
E.g. printer 10 =
Epson FX-1050
printer 11
= LaserJet Portrait
To connect the Libra Printer No with its location on your
network set up the following commands in the System Environment Parameter
Set-up Screen.
1) For local printers use:
SPL10=LPT1
SPL11=LPT2
2) For shared Windows 9x printer use:
SPL12=\\Computer_name\Printer_name
3) For Novell Netware printers from Windows 9x:
SPL13 =
/Q=Queue_name/NB/NT/NFF/TI=10
4) For Novell Netware shared printers from Windows NT,
Windows 2000 and Windows XP workstations use:
SPL14=\\Server_name\Queue_name
5) For shared Windows NT, 2000 and XP printers use:
SPL15=!NET USE LPT1
\\Computer_name\Printer
ENDSPL15=!NET USE
LPT1 /D ( Optional )
If this causes problems, you can create a batch file called
NETUSE.BAT in the Libra1 folder, which contains the following commands:
NET USE LPT1 /D
NET USE LPT1 %1
In the System Environment Parameter screen use:
SPL15=!NETUSE
\\Computer_name\Printer_name
In this case leave out the space between NET & USE.
The numbers in the SPL commands must correspond to a Libra
Printer Numbers that you have defined above.