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Simply put, is there a modern browser that runs on Windows 3.1? Sometimes there's situations that restrict the ability for an environment to be upgraded, and web browsing is a must these days. The idea is that that it can render a site such as superuser.com
The existing browsing options for that OS simply break on most sites.
OLD QUESTION
Ok, so I know what you are thinking: "What on earth are you doing still running Windows 3.1?"
Here's the situation. The computer running 3.1 is also the controller for $150,000 bandsaw made in Germany, so any chance of upgrading the actual computer without spending quite a bit of money up front to the manufacture is slim to none. The problem is that the timeclock software is on a web driven platform. Netscape 4.0 does not display the site correctly and does not respond to the button pushes like "login" or "punch".
Things like Java or flash are not necassary. AFAIK, it just needs to support HTML 4 and CSS.
EDIT:
So I figure it might be a good idea to disclose the software being used. It's [Gorrie Regan's Time and Attendance][1] software. They have done some updates since we first acquired them. The service is hosted through a combination SQL server and IIS.
[1]: http://www.gregan.com/timeandattendance/enterprisemanagement.html
It would be harsh to CLOSE this post since got tremendous response both the Question and Answer!! ☺ – Rajesh S – 2018-12-29T10:49:57.810
13You may want to look into a physical clock. They have biometric finger/hand scanners, swipe cards, prox cards. A lot of clocks are wireless and can be integrated with time and attendance softwares. Some also carry the capability of bell timers, door entry, accrual balances, schedules and time restrictions. Probably better to do this than open up this computer with outdated security software to the web. – kobaltz – 2012-05-10T21:23:24.150
Upgrade 3.1 to XP...http://www.winrumors.com/man-upgrades-windows-1-0-to-windows-7-via-every-other-windows-versions/
– Moab – 2012-05-10T21:27:18.77741@Moab not a good idea to upgrade if the computer is being used to control equipment. That computer is better left alone (and unnetworked if possible). – Renan – 2012-05-10T21:27:56.140
5@Renan Image the hard drive to another hard drive to experiment with, not a big deal if you know what you are doing. – Moab – 2012-05-10T21:29:26.030
@Moab that's a good idea, too – Renan – 2012-05-10T21:29:43.160
222The real question is why anyone would use the bandsaw controller to log into your time tracking platform. – Der Hochstapler – 2012-05-10T21:29:45.013
6I think IE 5.0 is the latest version that will actually run on Windows 3.1 – C-dizzle – 2012-05-10T21:32:29.707
4
@OliverSalzburg Two words: Lean manufacturing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing
– Chad Harrison – 2012-05-10T21:32:57.8031
IE browser archive...http://browsers.evolt.org/?dir=archive/ie/win16
– Moab – 2012-05-10T21:35:03.1535
You can get older IE from OldApps. I also second Moab to image the drive for testing purposes. I know that the earliest version of IE that supports CSS is 3.02
– Darius – 2012-05-10T21:36:26.987I designed my own web browser using VB, maybe it would work! :) – C-dizzle – 2012-05-10T21:41:14.343
2Imaging would be a great idea if I could find hardware that would support it. I'm not talking about the machinery, I mean just the computer components. Also, I have not been successful in virtualization with windows 3.1 because it doesn't support the virtuallize hardware. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-10T21:41:47.930
2@C-dizzle What ever you built your application still depends on the runtime library that is supported by the OS. If was built on a 32-bit OS, its a no-go. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-10T21:43:30.317
2There has to be a way, hell they put a man on the moon in 69. Sounds like a coding project for someone. – Moab – 2012-05-10T21:44:09.177
3The computer running 3.1 is also the controller for $150,000 bandsaw made in Germany, so don't preserve its state for the necessary bandsaw operation and don't run new software on it. – Ronald – 2012-05-10T23:04:02.227
2
@hydroparadise - another option is to try to run it under Wine on a Linux machine.
– detly – 2012-05-11T03:05:32.0531"modern" and "Windows 3.1" do not go in the same sentance, IMO. Time to spend some money - if the machine is that valauble doing that amount of work then surely the higher-ups would let some money go? – tombull89 – 2012-05-11T08:32:23.317
3I would tell the owner of the computer and bandsaw that there is complete consensus on this being completely insane. NO ONE in here would recommend this approach, clearly not even yourself.
If they want their expensive bandsaw to operate in a safe manner, then they'll have to upgrade. If they won't pay for an upgrade, then they're saving money on safety. In short; if these are the requirements, then their requirements will cost money.
It's just that simple. – Teekin – 2012-05-11T10:52:27.617
3I still upvoted the question because it's kind of interesting, if only for curiosity's sake. – Teekin – 2012-05-11T10:52:59.693
1The cost of supporting this machine is higher that buying a new one. – Lukasz Madon – 2012-05-11T12:40:31.183
2lean manufacturing Yeah, this has to be trolling – Ben Brocka – 2012-05-11T13:04:33.170
1@lukas I don't think so. Have you ever had to put one these things into production? You have to account for TOTAL cost of ownership which includes shipping, setup, support, and time. All the sudden the the new $150,000 saw costs $200,000 before its even used. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-11T13:06:51.537
3Management has asked about this in the name of lean manufacturing. I didn't say I agreed with it. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-11T13:11:15.993
5Just consider that you don't have a computer with a bandsaw attached to it. You have a bandsaw and some things that are used to control it, including a Win 3.1 computer. It's not "yours computer", it's the bandsaw controller. – woliveirajr – 2012-05-11T13:27:25.067
3@hydroparadise Why don't make a descent comparison and show it to management(with good analogy like "20 years for OS is like 50 for a car"? Take into account the risk. What is the risk of failure(pretty high when you add not-supported functionality to this OS)? What is the cost if production stops and the company cannot fulfill the contracts and lose customers? What is the cost of your and others time that you have to spent upgrading it(you have out-of the-box browsers in other OSes)?New device use less power and produce more usually. Very often companies stop making spare parts after 25 years – Lukasz Madon – 2012-05-11T13:44:11.040
"20 years for OS is like 50 for a car"? <- Awesome analogy. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-11T13:51:23.650
By 2038, none of this will matter because you'll overflow signed unix timestamps on 32bit systems. Good luck entering your timesheet then! – Yamikuronue – 2012-05-11T14:11:38.947
5I thought the question was "do you know a browser than runs windows 3.1 ?". – jokoon – 2012-05-11T14:37:08.610
@Yamikuronue the server might be on 64bits, that's not relevant – Clement Herreman – 2012-05-11T15:32:31.693
2@Yamikuronue: Luckily, the timestamps used by MS-DOS go up to year 2107. – user1686 – 2012-05-11T15:45:39.067
Make the timeclock use simple HTML and JavaScript. – Joshua Drake – 2012-05-11T16:26:06.027
6Why can't you use a different computer to log into the timecard application? – Sam Skuce – 2012-05-11T16:37:39.133
38If management have asked this in the name of "lean manufacturing" then simply tell them that the cost of making this work far outstrips the cost of using another more appropriate machine to do the timekeeping job. Trying to use a spanner to hammer a nail isn't lean manufacturing, it's stupid manufacturing. – Mokubai – 2012-05-11T16:39:07.793
4I would say @Mokubai is 100% correct here. You've already probably spent more of their money (in the terms of the cost of your time) discussing this issue here than the cost of buying a cheap desktop to use for your time app. You can buy a modern computer for $250 (maybe even less) nowadays. – Charles Boyung – 2012-05-11T18:51:59.527
4And while we're at it, by definition, wouldn't requiring time to be tracked be something that should be eliminated if you are doing "lean manufacturing". Tracking employees' time really doesn't create value for the customer... – Charles Boyung – 2012-05-11T18:53:47.217
1Well, the numbers that get tracked help with estimating efforts for future projects. They see it as necessary overhead. Not exactly value added, but the pojects vary greatly in scope so numbers collected are rellied on heavily. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-11T19:22:02.447
1@hydroparadise
the numbers that get tracked help with estimating efforts for future projects... but the projects vary greatly in scope
numbers collected are relied on heavily
, the first two negate the last one. – Joshua Drake – 2012-05-11T19:50:21.327@JoshuaDrake Are you saying no data is better than some data when doing projections? We aren't talking widgets here. – Chad Harrison – 2012-05-11T20:02:22.070
2@hydroparadise I am saying that heavily relying on past numbers when projects are known to vary widely is a very poor practice indeed. That said, I cannot think of any situation where wrong data is better than no data. – Joshua Drake – 2012-05-11T20:04:11.093
16I voted this up because either your life sucks or you've done a terrific job entertaining me. Either way, it's wroth an uptick. :) – tewha – 2012-05-11T20:53:45.227
6I would honestly consider finding another place to work before your management's shoddy approach causes someone to get injured when this crazy setup inevitably breaks. – Daenyth – 2012-05-11T23:19:30.717
1Mount an iPad next to the unit's regular display. Or one of the computers with built-in screen (or vice-versa) such as those seen often in Dr's offices here in the US. – Daniel R Hicks – 2012-05-12T12:07:37.000
@hydroparadise Maybe you elaborate on the code used by ""login" or "punch" Can you simply use another computer to slave to the said BANDSAW terminal using 3.1 compatible "Remote Desktop" Is this the Mebor sawmill for Cheminis ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tw4l7BsD0cw
– Tony Stewart Sunnyskyguy EE75 – 2012-05-11T15:36:55.597