Help TZ

[efc]

I am requesting help for a friend of mine. She owns a small gift shop. She has kept her inventory, sales and accounts payable on a dos version of Fox Base for about 6 years. She has script applications that accomplish several tasks that are critical to the operation. She paid for the programming to accomplish those tasks from a local programmer.

The computer that she is using is on its last leg. It is time to move her to a faster cpu, more memory and xp. The worry is that we will not be able to find a good alternative data base program that will work with xp and will fit her budget. It will also have to run DB/Fox Base script or be a non programming solution.

Any suggestions?

[Big Booger]

Well efc,
These are my suggestions.

1) tell her to keep the old PC just in case something were to happen.

2) I'd tell her to go ahead and get a PC with windows XP. Load the FoxBase DoS program and scripts on it and try to run them in compatibility mode:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/gethelp/appcompat.asp

She or you will have to help her, do some file editing and batch script making to get the program to work, but all it takes is a little tinkering and I think it will save her bundles of money and time.

3) If that doesn't work.. she may have to sacrifice the way she does things now and move on to a new solution. I am not sure exactly what the scripts she has does, but I am sure that MS Access can make up for it.
She would need to convert her existing database to MS Access format:
http://www.computertimes.com/oct00edchoiceconversionsplus.htm

She'll of course need to "purchase" Office 2003 which includes MS Access. Or she could get an older copy of Office XP, 2000, or even 97'. Anything with access in it.


4)She could refurb her old PC. But I don't think this is a good idea. It will be slow and the dated technology is really not worth the investment.

5) She could buy a new PC and install Windows 98 on it. She could even dual boot 98 and XP if she wanted to.

[efc]

Those are all good suggestions. I will follow up on them.

[cash_site]

You also look into some fancy cash-registers... you can get computer based ones that do all your inventory and cash-accounts etc, can even order stock if you run out or warns u if stock is low etc. Even prints out invoices and Year-to-date reports.

this might be a good alternative, and simple to implement.