[X4U] "Backwards Compatibility"

[Jens Selvig]

On Jun 18, 2008, at 6:17 AM, Linda wrote:

> On 6/18/08 2:26 AM, Christopher Collins wrote:
>
>> keep Classic Mode just
>> to support 1 program for 1 person.
>
> I've got one client, a major publisher, that requires the use of an  
> XTension
> that runs only in XPress 4. So, I have to fire up Classic on my  
> computer a
> couple times a week.
>
> SO that's two programs for two people. And I'm not alone.
>
> Framemaker for Mac was never released in an OS X version. There's  
> nothing
> quite like it out there -- not even after Adobe swallowed it and  
> we'd hoped
> that Frame's best features would show up in InDesign. They didn't.  
> So Frame
> lives on as a completely unique layout program, that, if you're  
> using Macs,
> requires... Classic. Now we're talking *tens of thousands* of  
> people, if not
> hundreds of thousands.
>
> There are plenty of examples of software like this. It's really not  
> just "1
> program for 1 person." My personal choice about the hard- and  
> software I use
> might be different than the choice I have to make in order to make a  
> living
> and do my job. You can admonish people like me to "Move with it!"  
> but you'd
> be better off to direct that at my clients, and at guys like Adobe  
> and the
> XT maker who didn't "move with it!" update the software...
>
> Will the day come when I have to dump those clients? Sure. But, you  
> know
> what? It's hard enough to make a living working for yourself without
> *inviting* that kind of trouble. :¬)
>
> ~Linda


If you have the mission critical software to run then my solution is  
to keep the hardware it runs on and get new hardware/software to run  
the newer stuff.

As an example, I used to use Pagemaker for all of my publishing needs.  
I still have one computer to run it on but I don't anymore because the  
program has been replaced by far superior applications that are many  
times more productive. Would I go back to only using Pagemaker? Nope,  
but occasionally I'll need to open a project from 10 years ago.

I think my trouble is sort of the Inverse of yours. Most of my clients  
are upgrade fanatics, which means I need to continuously upgrade my  
applications so I can stay in sync with them!

Jens

Jens Selvig
...Lost in Montana...