Hi Junjun,

Define cheaper? Can you post some details about how you'd setup a client in DOS over Windows, with price samples? I'm curious what your clients are using for email, word processing, etc. if they are running DOS.

Not knowing the specifics, I think in a bare minimum situation, your clients are better off in Windows as a general rule.

Let's say they can afford nothing besides Windows 2000 or XP (and your services, of course)...they'll have, out of the box:

A good browser with Internet Explorer.
A decent, basic word processor with WordPad.
An email client with Outlook Express.
Printer drivers for just about any printer (a big consideration with DOS).
A good text editor with NotePad.
...and many, many other things....

With DOS, they get none of these things, plus, you have driver hell - every DOS application has to be customized to external hardware like printers...Over time, the costs to maintain and upgrade a DOS based system may equal or exceed that of a Windows system.


>While dealing with potential clients, I usually encounter this question, 'Would it be better if the company will use DOS based programs than windows based programs?'. Here in the Philippines, companies sometimes prefer DOS based programs over Windows based since it is cheaper. What I answer most of the time is that it wont work with new operating systems and would affect the clients' long term goal. Is my answer right, wrong or needs further justification? I would really appreciate it if you can advise my on this. Thanks in advance.
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>Junjun