Take the typical PC user, let’s call her Peggy. She uses Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access) or one of the competing suite of applications from Novell or Lotus Development Corporation. Her PC is a Pentium 90 MHZ (Megahertz), has a 750 MB (Megabyte) hard drive with about 400 MB of free space, and has 8 MB of RAM (Random Access Memory). All application programs run fine, and Peggy is comfortable with her software programs and her configuration.

Peggy wants to upgrade to the new version of Microsoft Office to take advantage of the new features, like filenames that can be up to 255 characters long, improved performance, and better integration among the programs. She wants to more easily link spreadsheet data into her word processing documents and database records into her mail merge files. Office 95, the new software version can do all this.

But Office 95 requires Windows 95 to be the base operating system. Peggy will have to give up her favored Windows 3.1 and upgrade to Win95.

Well, so far, not too bad, Peggy has heard that Windows 95 is easy to learn, especially because she already knows Windows 3.1. She can attend a short seminar to learn the new tricks in Win95 and she’ll be on her way in no time.

This scenario is playing itself out every day with our customers. Computer users interested in upgrading their favored software applications are finding that almost all new versions require Windows 95. And new computers have Windows 95 preinstalled. We’re all being strongly encouraged (i.e. forced) by Microsoft to use the new operating system because of licensing agreements with the computer and software manufacturers.

Windows 95 really is a much better operating system than Windows 3.1; however, it is different, and will require a learning curve before most people return to or exceed their old productivity level. The bad news is that, for many people, Windows 95 will create a computing nightmare. These include accountants, insurance agents, and lawyers. Many of the specialty applications for these professions are available only in versions for MS-DOS.

Yes, Win95 can emulate DOS; however, without a memory management software like QEMM, it may not leave enough conventional RAM free for the DOS applications to run. Or the applications may load, but lock up during a critical operation, like adding a new customer record. Professions that use DOS applications have a tough choice to make: encourage software vendors to design Windows versions of the applications, buy memory management software, or stick with DOS, foregoing the features of Windows 95.

Another “gotcha” will catch Windows 3.1 users who have older, less powerful, hardware - or those with almost full hard drives. Windows 95 requires a fast 486 or Pentium computer with 8-16 MB of RAM and at least 150 MB of hard disk space free. Many computers in use today, don’t meet all of these criteria.

But like it or not, if you’re a Windows 3.1 user now, you will use Windows 95. We all will. New applications are being designed for the 32-bit operating system that Win95 offers. Programs will run faster, share memory more equitably, and new features will be developed that will make our computing much more efficient.

Looking into the next year, I’m hopeful for the legions of Windows 95 users who will be much more productive than they are today. But the road to increased productivity will require patience and planning. Are you ready?

David Stephen Murphy is President and CEO of Damar Group, Ltd. which presents computer training classes, publishes computer learning guides, and helps organizations do business on the Internet. The website is http://dgl.com, and Mr. Murphy may be reached at dave@dgl.com or 410.567.5366.

updated November 2, 1996
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