Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    I don't know specifics about any of the s/w you use.  However, the
    heuristic I use is: Don't use public domain software.  The second rule
    is, if you use public domain software, it should be an application, not
    a system interface, an application that I wouldn't use often.  The
    third rule is, buy commercial applications for things I do frequently.
    The last rule is, don't use public domain mouse shells, public domain
    cli shells, public domain editors not shipped with the system.
    
    Basically the best public domain software is not as robust as
    established commercial s/w with a history and support team.  People who
    pile up PD s/w on their system as a routine matter, have more gurus and
    viruses than people who don't.
    
    Avoid pd stuff like a viral plague.
    Tom

    
    I always have QMouse, Snap, and MyMenu running.  MyMenu (and
    HandyIcons) mess with Workbench Intuition stuff, so you proceed at your
    own risk.
    
    Browser is very shaky, so I'd start by pitching that and replacing it
    with either SID1.06 or DiskMaster.  Other common utilities that have
    known bugs are wIconify and Mach.
    
    If you are using MoreRows, you may be running low on chip memory in
    some applications.  I found that upgrading to the Super Agnus chip gave
    the single largest shot in the arm to my system's robustness.
    
    Ed.
    

    If you think the problem is QMouse, I suggest replacing it with DMouse
    or perhaps MachII.  I have had DMouse 1.07 running in my system for
    well over a year with no problem.
    
    As for Tom Jantzen's advice to "avoid PD software like the plague," (am
    I paraphrasing?) I beg to differ.  Tom is entitled to his opinion, but
    in my own experience anything that stands up to a week of use has
    turned out to be problem-free.  The problem with PD and its near
    cousins is, IMO, that you can never tell in advance if a given piece of
    software is wonderful, awful or somewhere in between.  Commercial
    software at least raises the floor from awful to mediocre :-).
    
    Good thing Tom doesn't have an MS-DOS machine and suffer from the
    dueling TSR syndrome :-).
    
    Wes
    (not trying to pick on T.J.)

    
    I agree with .3, a week of use is a good measure.  It's a good idea
    to stress test it to save on finding out the nasties later.
    
    The pd stuff that has been showing up lately seems to be a lot more
    solid, almost like people are following the "what not to do" rules
    so that it works on all amigas instead of only some of them.
    
    -Dave

    I agree in part with .1, at least as far as using any pd stuff that
    interfaced with the system software (or even commercial stuff for that
    matter).  I'm referring to the mouse accelerators, 32,000,000 color
    workbenches and anything else than runs while I'm doing other
    applications.  In my opinion, anything that deviates from a "standard"
    system runs the risk of causing compatibility problems.  The problem
    may not be due to the pd stuff itself, but to the commercial software
    writer not following the rules completely.  There are a lot of pd
    programs that are a h*ll of a lot better written than some commercial
    programs.
    
    In short, my suggestion of minimization of guru's is the old KISS (Keep
    It Simple, Stupid!).
    
    Ken

    On my system QMouse1.6 works fine with arp1.3 and other
    products.
    
    The only problem I recognized is QMouse with RemoveGadget() of an 
    activated string gadget.
    
    Any suggestions
    Gerald

    I agree with Tom on most points. Living near System Eyes gives me
    very easy Access to the Fred Fish library,but I run very few of
    the programs on my system. I find them valuable as reference for
    C programming,and I like a few of the Tetris clones but I also
    avoid interface packages. Arexx can be used to offer you menu 
    enhancements etc ,and still maintain compatability with Amigados.
    Wshell is my CLI of choice now,and I find that between it and the
    workbench I am able to do anything I need. My feeling is that if
    you are a new user don't complicate life by using any of the fancy
    PD stuff as an alternative to learning Amigados,and the CLI. When
    I got my hard drive I did install ARP on it because then the ARP
    library was available all the time. A single drive user will find
    ARP to be a real pain. ie: run a command and get the old Arp ver...
    required . If you do feel you want to run in the PD lane.I'd suggest
    you use only the latest versions,and pick an choose carefully. OH!
    I do use TurboBackup,PoPCLI,and VT100 ver 1.6 and find them to be
    excellent packages. However I gave up on all the fancy workbench
    enhancers when my GURU count went up. I very seldem see a GURU now.
     When i needed a backup utility I purchased QuarterBack,and so far
    have not found it necessary to ask for help. Look back over this
    note file carefully an you will see many  request for help with PD stuff .
    Of course this could be because most of the PD stuff does not have
    a tech support line to call.BOTTOM LINE run what you want,but back
    up everything.
    								bill

    Just thought I'd let you know where I got to with the Gurus...
    
    I stopped using MoreRows and this has been the single largest
    contribution to a stable system.  Perhaps it was lack of Chip RAM
    ... I'll try again if I fit the new AGNUS.
    
    I changed to DMouse from Qmouse which now means that I can run Deluxe
    Video III without the instant crash feature.
    
    Changed to SID from Browser .. don't know if this has had any effect.
    
    End result is that I haven't seem the Guru since.  SID, Snap, DMouse,
    HandyIcons all live in perfact harmony.
    
    Thanks for all the advice.
    Peter