Thomas wrote:
(Jake wrote):
>> For a laptop with 8MB RAM but a dead hard drive I use Arachne
>> exclusively, thereby keeping a machine from a flight into a dumpster/skip.
>> With 12MB RAM (and a working HDD) I keep copies (several) of Arachne,
>> plus Opera3.6x, MSIE3.x and NN3.x. I've tried NN2.x but it's too outdated.
>> MSIE3's Java Virtual Machine requires 12MB RAM.
>> The laptop with dead HDD is a 486DX4-100 that arrived with Win95.
>> I should've timed it, but with only 8MB RAM, 32-bit versions of
>> lean software like Opera and FoxMail all seemed slower than their
>> Win3.1x equivalents on a 486-25.
> I suppose you follow Clarence Verge's recommendation to install Arachne
> onto a RAMDRIVE (or VDISK, if using DR-DOS) and ZIP back onto a floppy?
I found new enthusiasm for actually using Arachne fairly recently. She's
less sleepy and is better at laying the table ;-) So, I wanted to see
what I was missing by not using a RAMdrive. The first trial used XCOPY to
send Arachne "up there", and then the zipped version was made, which has
the minor disadvantage of needing to remember to update the archive, and
keep versions synchronized. I cut out files that I don't anticipate
using, including several Ikons. For a floppy version, documentation can
be kept on a separate floppy. Hotlist and History are backed-up and
copied to RAMdrive from disk. I didn't know any batchfile writing when I
started (and haven't devoted the time to learn much more). There was a
buzz about RAMdrives at Arachne Chat and Ben's AFC a few weeks ago,
which might've prompted Clarence to venture forth and spout words of
wisdom and clarity. I'm using TDISK at the moment on the machine with
working HDD. VDISK on the floppy - but it's a M$-DOS 6.22 system disk.
If it was DR-DOS then an extra gizmo could be used to auto-find the
RAMdrive "letter", which could be useful for a demonstration version.
(I tried an ISP here in the UK last year, which didn't use CallerID, so
could be accessed from any location.)
> Assuming it's an old machine, it wouldn't be worth the cost of a new
> hard drive (unless you have a usable old hard drive to spare).
It had had very light use when I was given it, and I'm sure it would've
failed within the warranty period, given normal usage. The brand is "Opti"
and finding drivers was quite time-consuming. There's very little
information available, but it shares many features with other machines of
its age e.g. IBM, Toshiba. It has a removable HDD, so I'll be able to
retrieve the data, one day. It's the HDD controller that has failed, so
a new motherboard is required. Should be able to get one for less than
U$25, but I need to identify it first, and keep my eyes peeled. I'm not
(yet) into hardware. Incidentally, there aren't many laptops with a
removable HDD on the second-hand shelf locally, so this Opti seems quite
a well-specced machine. I know where it can be repaired professionally,
but it's not economically viable. I could also get the drive contents
transferred to CD-ROM.
> Every time you want to run Arachne, you unzip onto a RAMDRIVE, and
> useful downloads including mail are copied to another floppy(?)
Exactly - though there _is_ a bit of space on the bootable floppy. I have
the mail and downloads going to the root of the floppy, so there's no hassle
creating directories when a new floppy is required. The first mail that
needs trashing is "moved" and the "trash" folder created. I quite like the
instant archiving to floppy. Again, synchronizing between machines requires
some discipline.
> What is NN? Do you mean NS (Netscape)? I've wondered if it might be
> worth downgrading to Netscape Navigator 2.02 for OS/2, whose features
> are comparable to other Netscape 3.x versions: probably not at this stage.
NN = Netscape Navigator. NN2x for Win3.1x is behind the times with table
rendering, but so is NN3x (to a lesser extent), which is also slow,
especially on a compressed drive. I need to multiwindow, usually with no
images, for which I find Opera to be best. Arachne is best for heavy
pages - graphics (which usually crash Opera for me) and text (where IE
and NN run out of steam, but Opera is faster at rendering and returning
to the page). I have a simple page with a JPEG image (not my bike!) at:
http://www.wymondhamleics.freeserve.co.uk/triumph.htm
On a good day it loads in 21 seconds (usually 24). The Windows browsers
take 2 - 3 times as long.
> Java Virtual Machine with newer versions would be hard-pressed to crawl
> on 12 MB RAM. HotJava 1.1.5 browser was too clumsy for me (Cx486DX2 at
> 66 MHz, 20 MB RAM) on OS/2 Warp 4.
This Java-curse :-( Recently someone said his site-stats showed only 2%
without JS, or JS disabled, so no wonder pages are often designed without
alternative navigation. Also, most people are using the latest versions
(you can no longer get the 1.1(?) JDK from Sun) so you lug around the IE3
JVM without it being much use for anything. A couple of clicks in Opera
to disable "scripting languages" - and a return to the sanity of no pop-ups.
Back on topic, the bootable floppy uses components from QEMM, which slows
the startup, but provides 159kB free memory (at the dial-page, offline).
I am considering the use of digital camera flash memory, which fits in
the floppy drive.
I use the DOS Controller, the editor Pedit and ViewHTML (useful for wide
pages and 250kB mail digests). I don't load drivers for mouse or keyboard.
There's 3MB for Cache - more if XMS wasn't required for aniGIFs. I've not
yet tried Clarence's suggestion of compressing the RAMdrive.
Others use a more rigorous and less cavalier approach. The "kitchen appliance"
discussion arose from the talk of WebPads and Arachne-folk not wanting to
lose control of their machines. It's been the exact opposite for me with
this "WebPad". Not a "fitzall" solution, and a little time-consuming...
but fun. And it saved that laptop from a premature burial ;-)
Regards,
Jake
A haiku:
I start Arachne
then send and receive my mail.
Now the Web awaits
-- Arachne V1.64, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
