[AccessD] New Approach

Hi Guys:

To add to your comments there are other methods that you can experiment
with.

I know what you are going to say but why not try a Linux distro? Linux is
definitely the rising star in the computer industry.
 
First, all you will need is a computer or one that you are fine with dual
booting. 4GB of RAM and 100GB hard drive is more than adequate especially if
you are going to be hosting multiple instances of various versions of MS
Access. For full terminal features like shareware you will need an extra LAN
card so you will have two.

My personal choice of Linux distro is Ubuntu 12.04 (there is a 13.x version
out there but too bleeding edge...) How to install it and how difficult is
it? It is like installing Windows but easier. http://www.ubuntu.com/download

You what the desktop version though there are very little (no) differences
other than cosmetic between desktop and server. They are both fully
multi-user and use the same kernel.

Second, once installed check to see if you have the latest version of Wine.
That is the Linux package that allows you to run Windows application. 
The latest versions:
http://www.noobslab.com/2012/06/install-wine-156-in-ubuntu-1204.html
Can it run MS Access? Here are the versions that it can run and be
installed:
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=12
You will have to do a little tinkering:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/156296/how-to-install-microsoft-office-2010-i
n-ubuntu-12-04 (Once installed it will run significantly faster than on a
similarly equipped Windows computer.)
       
Third, install a full terminal (thin client) capabilities. You will need to
add a number of users, how every many in the office or internet will be
using the MS Access and terminal a package. This is where the two LAN cards
become crucial and this is not for the faint of heart but it is no more
difficult than install a Windows server. There are a number of ways to
approach this but this decryption seems the simplest:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP/ThinClientHowtoNAT/ and
http://www.thefanclub.co.za/how-to/how-create-ubuntu-1104-x64-ltsp-server-32
bit-thin-clients
(This is as far as I got as my 30 GB Linux test machine ran out of hard
drive space (unrelated to this install) and I ran out of time but later in
the month this should all be up and running.)

So why would you do this? Well then ask yourself how did the fellow at
www.eqldata.com do it all? I posted a link to an browser page written by the
developer and his explanation is similar (same). He has built a very nice
interface with all the bells and whistles as well but on the cheap and for
your own business you can just roll your own and run your Access
applications indefinitely.

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Jim Dettman
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 8:22 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] New Approach

Dan,

 There are more choices then that...

1. Use terminal services to run the apps.

2. Use a service like www.eqldata.com for remote users.

 And there's no reason you can't use linked tables and ODCB over the
internet.  You do need to write things differently, but you can live with
ODBC.

 On Brad's question, while desktop databases are not going away anytime
soon, it does seem like Microsoft has no intention of improving them.

 I think you'll see some improvements, but I believe they will be minor in
nature.

 Microsoft has one focus at the moment, and that's the web.  Anything they
can do in that area will have priority.  One only needs to look at Access
2013 to see this; everything was on the web side and nothing was done on the
desktop side. That's a trend I believe you will see continue.

 If your not un-happy with desktop databases as is in 2013, then your good.
But if your looking for improvements, I don't think you'll see them unless
they happen to be related to a web feature.

Jim. 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dan Waters
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 10:37 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] New Approach

Hi Brad,

Access should be around for a long time, but because people want to open the
system on their laptops when they are away from the office, Access may not
be the best platform for an application that everyone uses.

You have sort of 3 choices (by increasing complexity):

1) Convert your Access tables to SQL Server and rewrite the Access
application to connect to SQL server w/o using table links.  IOW, write your
connection code within the app.  External users will connect via VPN to your
network.

2) Convert your access tables to SQL Server and rewrite the application in
VB.Net or C#.  This is a good choice but a significant learning curve.
External users will connect via VPN to your network.

3) Rewrite everything and create a web site.  Users will connect directly to
that site.

Hope this helps!

Dan

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Brad Marks
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 8:36 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] New Approach

All,

This is probably a really dumb question.

If a small firm has existing desktop-based applications (including
applications built with Access) AND there is no need to have these
"internal" applications visible on the internet, is there a need to look at
software products such as Alpha-5?

Won't Access be around for a long time for such internal applications?