Windows XP only with 800/900??

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

>>did some editing...what a grammar nightmare!LOL<They probably have not responded due to the fact that they>have it posted in the OIC.Terrific! Thank you for pointing that out!In reality out lack of answer has more to do with the current workload on final testing and build out of the 737-800/900..... Our decision vis a vis WinXP ONLY is a bit fluid. I'm hesitant to get into a discussion on the topic because everyone has a strong opinion in favor of whatever operating system they are using, so no matter what thoughts I offer they will be immediately assailed by those who disagree..... however...... :-)Running PMDG is not simply a matter of writing some computer code and offering it for sale. We also must be mindful of workflow issues, support commitments and distributable file size inflation as we start adding compatibility with multiple simulators/platforms....FS2002 will not be supported by any future PMDG product release. In fact, if you try to run the PMDG 737-800/900 on an FS2002 setup- it's going to create mayhem for you. We have pledged our support for FS9 only in order that we can continue to take advantage of advances in the "State of the Sim" without having to spend significant amounts of time trying to find ways to also ensure backward compatibility...As for operating systems, we keep close track of "support issues trends" and Paul Gollnick helps me to identify areas that are "continual issues" reported to us at our support@ address. For obvious reasons it is of great interest to us to identify trends so that we can find common resolutions to make our customers lives easier!We have found that there are such a broad array of issues with non XP windows setups. As such are spending a disproportionate amount of time handling technical support issues for nonXP problems.Example: We have virtually no platform compatibility issues with winXP. We have dozens of potential platform compatibility issues with non XP platforms. Average customer tech support issue: 1 email response. 1.5 minutes.Average non XP tech support issue involving a platform problem: 6 email responses. 7.5minutes.Now imagine for a moment that we have 10 customers with a platform problem on any given day..... we will spend 25% of our daily tech support time trying to help only those 10 individuals, even though they may represent less than 7% of the total support requests for a given day! Additionally, it can often take upwards of 4 days to make all the email reply/response/reply connections until we find a solution.....So it becomes a problem that needs a business decision very quickly.....As such, we are moving toward ensuring only that our products are compatible with windowsXP. This does not mean that they will not work on other platforms..... (In 95% of cases I think that will mean they are compatible with win2000 and winME.... maybe 80% of the time with win98....)HOWEVER: we only guarantee compatibility with winXP....so be mindful of the refund policy and your own comfort level with your platform!The question you guys are really asking is this: Will it run on my Win2000/ME/98 machine?If you have the 6/700 running? Yes.....If you can't run the 6/700- then NO....Given that you need the 6/700 to run the 8/900- you should already know the answer to that question! ;-)

[JayBirdski 1]

Gentlemen, RR makes a valid point as far as the quagmire that is older MS OS's and I for one support their decision completely. The fact is, even W2K is more than 4 years old now, expecting cutting edge developement to support legacy OS's while ideal, is not very realistic, and uses an extrordinary amount of resources that might otherwise be directed towards additional features and ultimately lower developement costs and in turn lower consumer costs with a much better product. Just look at the all the pain our friends a couple forums above had getting their Airbuses flying for everyone. :-hang If you're still one of the unfortunates who are still stuck with ME or older, save your milk money and by a nic or HD and an OEM copy of XP. ME was junk when it came out and it's certainly no better after 5+ years of running on your old computer. For those of you still using W2K, as I am on one of my older machines, the differences really are minimal between that and XP. It's my opinion and only an opinion, that you'll most likely be ok with the 800/900 product. At least that's been my general experience working with both OS's. I wish you all good luck and blue skies.Jay Eklund

[Guest phorovsky]

Dear RobertMany thanks for your very long and very clear explanation of the situation. This has certainly clarified the position for me.I shall just have to save a few pennies every week to upgrade to XP PRO!Once again, many thanks for your so very excellent products and the wonderful support.Greetings from Jo'burgpaul