On 8 Jun 2017, at 09:31, Evert van Dijken <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
So why did the Office 2016 install not remove Office 2010, and why did Embarcadero RAD install not remove earlier versions. The answer to that question is relatively simple: 1. Microsoft Office is an industrial strength product from which massive profitability comes with the level of use by Commercial and Public Sector organisations, which tend to take on upgrades slowly because of their dependence on mature products. They also have a business need to retain full compatibility with other organisations and individuals who will, inevitably, upgrade at different times so, for many of these organisations and their IT support teams, it is essential to them to be able to run, support and transition between multiple versions of office software in the medium to long term. 2. Embarcadero RAD is development platform and developers that continually use and support it have a genuine need to test their work across multiple versions of the software and provide ongoing support to end users. Most end users of software products developed using that, or any other, development platform would not have a clue what Embarcadero RAD was and would care even less. All they want is their software to work as intended. Neither of the comparisons seems particularly relevant to the installation of 'relatively cheap’ software designed and targeted primarily for use by non-technically minded home users who just want to use it to aid their research as quickly as possible. Is such an ability essential to most home users when using hobbyist software? In my opinion; and in general, the answer would be no. Yes, some products may allow 'side-by-side' installations. However, such installations are only normally supported where software dependencies are not compromised by multiple version installations; and where data compatibly can be fully supported. I’m sure the average user would be far more upset if they were able to open and thereby corrupt a Legacy 9 database by inadvertently using an earlier version of the software, simply because the default installation allowed both products to co-exist. Not to mention the possibility that users of many software upgrades may well find that the licensing terms mean that they are not permitted to install and use multiple versions of some of ’their' software at the same time. To use another Microsoft comparison, an Upgrade Licence from Windows 7 to Windows 10, precludes the use of both Operating System Licences at the same time, and; once the Windows 10 upgrade installation has been performed the Windows 7 Licence is voided. But one can, of course, still revert to using Windows 7 by re-installing it and erasing Windows 10! If someone wants to take advantage with generous software discounts for early adopters/upgraders, in most cases, it is usually quite possible to purchase those upgrades and simply not install them until ready and there is confidence that the product has matured sufficiently. However, in my experience, most users who choose the early upgrade route will then choose to take the simplest approach: Install, learn, adapt (where necessary) to newer methods of working; and report the ‘bugs’ that will inevitably be found and then install the updates. It’s what you need to do with your Windows operating system continually.
-- LegacyUserGroup mailing list [email protected] To manage your subscription and unsubscribe http://legacyusers.com/mailman/listinfo/legacyusergroup_legacyusers.com Archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
