Well.... Virtual PC, the one MS bought from Connectix at some point, is
already dead.
You can run it on Win7 with some tricks, but it is EOL since mid 2008 or
so. It was replaced with the HyperV tech (Server or Win8 desktop only
btw...).
My best bet would be, future wise, is the 'open source' Oracle
Virtualbox, unlike e.g. VMWare.
But it's still a gamble, as you already said, who know's what happens
with the OS and software in the future.
"There may be trouble ahead....." ;-)
Rob
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On 23-12-2014 18:15, Luc-Eric Rousseau wrote:
I don't have a library of softimage assets worth keeping, but if I did
I would certainly make sure I have a copy of Softimage in a Windows 7
VM like you mention, which I would archive and keep a backup copy
off-site . Never update that copy of Windows, never work with it
except to get assets out. I worry that Softimage may not function at
all in a few years, as some components it relies on might be broken in
a Windows update where Microsoft favours security over compatibility.
I have Softimage 2010 at home and it is already broken; every
workflow that prompts for a file browser just hangs, and I can't fix
it user-side, I've tried everything already short of re-installing the
OS, which I won't do.
The file format is binary and practically encrypted, so only the app
can load those files. Worse, there is a design flaw whereby the app
can crash if a required plugin is not installed or has a problem while
loading a scene, then there is no way to load the scene.
Safe keeping the installers is no security, they may not run at all in
the future, being tangled in microsoft "MSI" installer tech and other
things. Older 32-bit Softmage installers already don't run because
they have a 16-bit component which won't run on 64-bit Windows. Now
the trick is finding a VM product that you can trust will continue to
work for 10 years. I'm not sure if I trust Virtual PC to still be
around in the future.
On Tue, Dec 23, 2014 at 4:36 AM, Rob Wuijster <[email protected]> wrote:
Just to add some thoughts on this...
I started building virtual pc's for this 'occasion' some years ago, just to
be on the safe side.
I still have a Win95/98/NT/2000/XP virtual disk lying around with some
'critial' software installed, just to be able to open up that one program
from years ago.
Or to run some other stuff that's impossible in the newer version of Windows
now.
At some point I had to convert my virtual pc 'disks' to a new virtual pc
program, but that was less hassle than doing all Matt described. ;-)
I think we're all in the same situation at the moment. I also have a boat
load of assets, created over the years going back to Softimage 3.0.
All neatly packaged in a separate project as scenes or models. All shaded
and textured, ready to go. The more 'beefy' assets are now models linked to
a Arnold .ass file for quick handling and rendering.
At some point we sadly have to leave Softimage behind, so what to do with
all these assets? Depending on what's next, there's probably a slow
conversion to this new 3D application. Or conversion to .obj or .fbx for
longer, more app agnostic storage.
For me, having the virtuals pc's/software lying around is the easiest
solution at the moment. How this all will play out in the next years is
another story ;-)
cheers, and happy holidays to all!
Rob
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