Program software

[Carving4fun]

I'm new here and I am looking at purchasing the engraver. I just purchased a computer and the computer has the Windows Vista instead of the Windows XP. My question to you all.....Will the software work fine with Vista? What other programs do you all use to help create new designs such as photos, vector or rastor artwork? Will those programs work with vista? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Carol

[Jeff_Birt]

I have found very few programs I use that won't work just fine with Vista. Most of the SW companies will have some sort of FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on their main website that normally covers questions like this. I've pasted the information from CW's FAQ: http://carvewright.com/cms/faq. I would suggest checking with each SW vendor for such a FAQ page. Please note that some software companies purposely make sure that their SW will only work on certain Windows versions to force you to upgrade to their new version (in other words there is no technical reason it won't work, they just have the SW check which Windows version is installed and then refuse to install/run. CW does not do this.


What operating systems does the software operate on?
The software is available for Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Specifically the software will run on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista (testing), and Mac OS X version 10.4 or higher. We are currently testing compatibility with Windows Vista and have many customers that are using the software on Vista. However we are not Vista certified at the moment. Please contact us with any Vista installation issue.
What are the computer system requirements for the software? Windows Operating System
• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2, Windows 2000, or Windows Vista
• 128MB of RAM (256 MB or greater recommended)
• 75MB of available hard-disk space
• CD-ROM compatible drive
• Internet or phone connection required for software activation*
• Internet connection required for software/firmware upgrades (Broadband recommended)
• Graphics card with OpenGL support for GPU-accelerated playback

[Carving4fun]

• Internet or phone connection required for software activation*

I have to have internet connection in order to use this software? Was hoping I didn't have to do the internet thing because I did not want a virus to attack my new system.

[Audie]

• Internet or phone connection required for software activation*

I have to have internet connection in order to use this software? Was hoping I didn't have to do the internet thing because I did not want a virus to attack my new system.

I can appreciate your concerns about viruses....so you connect to the Internet long enough to activate your license and then you can stay off-line or .....do not use your that computer to browse the Internet or check email. I find it helpful to connect to the SW site and this forum while working in the shop. Just my opinion and thoughs.

Audie

[SSB2121]

You can register your software over the phone.

If you are worried about a virus get yourself an anti-virus program. There are several companies that offer free anti-virus software.

AVG
AVAST!
AVIRA

[henry1]

Are the phone still down :):confused:

[Carving4fun]

I can appreciate your concerns about viruses....so you connect to the Internet long enough to activate your license and then you can stay off-line or .....do not use your that computer to browse the Internet or check email. I find it helpful to connect to the SW site and this forum while working in the shop. Just my opinion and thoughs.

Audie
I thinking access to the CW site might be a plus at home in case I have a question or concern.

[Carving4fun]

You can register your software over the phone.

If you are worried about a virus get yourself an anti-virus program. There are several companies that offer free anti-virus software.

AVG
AVAST!
AVIRA

Thank you for that information...I did not know that.

Carol

[SSB2121]

Are the phone still down :):confused:

Yes they are. Restoring power to the area seems to be priority number one for the Houston area. At this time the electric company is still trying to restore power to 2 million plus people. There are several people in the office that are without power. Be patient with us and before you know it we will be back to normal.

[Jeff_Birt]

• Internet or phone connection required for software activation*

I have to have internet connection in order to use this software? Was hoping I didn't have to do the internet thing because I did not want a virus to attack my new system.


As others have eluded to, not having an Internet connection is no guarantee that a computer will stay virus free as I have recently personally discovered. In the last few weeks a virus made its way onto my thumb drive which I use both on campus and at home. I plugged the thumb-drive into a freshly built computer that had never surfed the net and it too was infected. Just the process of transferring files between computers can cause problems too.

After trying a few different anti-virus programs I settled on nod32 through the recommendation of a friend and have found it to work very well. It costs around $60 for the software and two years of updates. I might also recommend Windows Defender which is built into Vista and a free add on for XP. It is a very good anti-spy-ware program that Microsoft update on a regular basis.

[Amonaug]

I've been using Avast! for a couple years now and no virues. It's free for the home edition with only having to get a new key every year. There are regular updates and one of the few AV's that run on a 64 bit OS.