CompuServe Messages

<< Should be trying it out by the weekend. Let us know how it works out for you! Greg Pyros>> This has been a long and thrilling weekend. I installed the WFW network on my 486-100 and the Dos extensions on both P-100 and it worked. The dos extensions are simple but you just have to try different assignment sequence and re-boots before you find the right way to log-on automatically. Slave rendering went without a hitch on one P-100 and the other kept hanging up at various places. So we changed one thing at a time and tried a new slave render. Well it took 1 mobo, 1 netcard, swapped 1 Ram chip, found something there, then a new HDD, swapped the chip, and change the mobo again! Well glad we were setup at the dealers lots of spare parts handy. If I can recommend something it would be just that. Setup your system at your dealers and try, try and try again until all the hardware bug are worked out. WFWgroups works very well as a host and running 3dstudio inside is good, except for jumping back into 3dStudio from windows, the screen doesn't redraw completely. I'm sure there's a trick, just haven't found it yet. Then I tried the PVR. Good news is: It works great! 1 hitch, it does not want to take more than 156 TGA frames at a time. Is that normal? Bad news: well the manual! I guess if I knew what I was talking about I wouldn't need more, but I couldn't tell you what a field is or an Alpha channel if it bit me! Any good books on Video ? I've read some threads that suggest to do this and that in video post production instead of in 3dstudio, but again I'm illiterate on the matter and I need to get knowledgeable fast! The real unfortunate part is that once I got everything running I started changing the name of the server and each machine as to identify them better and my two associates walked in. Well they were not pleased, because I'm not supposed to be doing that! The network is the HEART of the system and is supposed to be installed by some guy with a BIG "EXPERT" hat on. So they called the local Autodesk rep and got his opinion. We are meeting with him tomorrow. He claims that he does not have Autodesk's backing to put any guaranty on anything but a Novell network. Is that true ? My associates also claim that I cannot guaranty my setup and that "us users" are not to know anything about the network. "An expert gets paid to come and install this for us and configure etc…"."That's how it's done in acounting and lawyer firms" How come you know what you're talking about? ( I know the answer to that one: Because you NEED to know, simple isn't it? ). The situation is: there's only 3 of us! So ? I've been asked to get the best most flexible ( and powerfull ) setup for the lowest price. In one of your answers you told me <<NT, SchmenTee, it doesn't matter what is running on your file server! :^)>> so the solution I found was WFWgroups. I'm sorry if this is a little long, but the whole situation is a bit much for me. I unfortunately do not trust the only Adesk dealer in our region for 3 reasons: 1) He failed to realize that we could not afford the budget he quoted. With his quote on 2x P-75 HP and 1x P-90, 1 Sony monitor and novell 5 users, we managed to get 2-P100, 2x 17" screens, a PVR w/2.1Gb Barracuda, network, a flatbed scanner a Fargo, and we've got money left for another P100 if we need it! 2) He had no idea what a PVR was and tried to sell us his output to tape via framebuffer services at outrageous costs. 3) When I called 2 weeks ago, the sales people there had no clue that MAX existed in fact I send them the promotional letter that Autodesk Canada sent to their dealers to anounce the package deal with the upgrade migration fee. Well Thank God for Compuserve and specially everyone in this forum, because we would be bankrupt in our 3rd month of operation. This forum is the best course I've ever taken ( a little unstructured mind you <g> !). The dealer's ignorance is not Autodesk's fault at all. I know you are tied in somehow with Autodesk and to me your opinion has as much weight as Jonas etc… I just want to know if I'm doing O.K. or if I've gone completely "GAGA" and I should check my screen for harmful emissions? Thanks, Bob Kohl Cedille inc. -Bob Kohl