At last I no longer have to tiptoe through Windows. I have got Windows to run as its should _ no thanks to Microsoft.
Windows for Workgroups is worse that Windows but both programs have a habit of frequently bombing out with General Protection Errors or Application Errors. Inevitably it would erase some critical data _ the 1990s equivalent of Coleridge being interrupted by a visitor after composing the first verse of Kubla Khan and never being able to get the words right again. Two new programs have done the trick: MagnaRam and RamGate.
MagnaRam compresses code as it goes in and out of memory. It makes Windows work faster and use less memory. For example I now have Word 6, Excel, Lotus Organizer, FaxWorks and a special Canberra Times program open and I still have 31 per cent of computer resources available. I also have Plug-In running. Among other things this warns you if resources are running low.
Without MagnaRam that number of programs would have consumed all of Windows resources. The program’s compression _ like all compression programs _ works better with data. The important point about that is that once you have four or five programs open you can open more files within each program (especially Word or text files) without a sudden consumption of resources that would cause a crash in ordinary circumstances.
MagnaRam is testable. You can click on Help, About, System Info and see how much memory is left. You can compare with or without MagnaRam.
RamGate complements this. It reworks the way Windows uses resources it a way that stops it from crashing with general protection faults. I have just added ISYS, a memory-hungry database-searching program to the five programs listed above. So I am now running six Windows programs plus the three Windows enhancers and I have only 18 per cent of resources left. I have switched between them with speed and ease. This is unthinkable for ordinary Windows users. A crash would have occurred long ago. Instead you get a polite warning from Plug-In on loading a 10th program that you really are pushing your luck now and you better close something.
Without these programs you would be nervous running Word and Excel together. Even with 16 megs you would still get crashes. I have not had a crash since loading RamGate and with MagnaRam I have keep loaded far more programs without slowing to a walk.
It adds to efficiency and productivity. All within a mouse click I have tomorrow’s editorial, a telehone list of contacts, a depreciation schedule for next year’s tax return, a 1993 article about Richo’s health plans, a e-mail list and a fax that has just come in and I am about to tempt my luck with a search of Britannica on CD for Henry George the US tax reformer.
But it comes at a price and a very annoying price too because Windows should just work like this anyway. RamGate is $79 (02 9571400 or fax 02 9593168) and MagnaRam is $149 including a free Windows 95 upgrade (02 8995888 or fax 02 8995728).
These two programs make me wonder whether the agony of changing an operating system to Windows 95 is going to be worth it _ now I have got Windows working the way it should. Touch wood.