No more incompatability. (Practical Technology).

My client uses the native Windows 98 backup program to back up his files. I'm running the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows XP Professional, on my desktop. The built-in backup program on Windows XP is not compatible with my client's Windows 98 backup program. So, how can I continue to support my Windows 98 clients? I could keep an old Windows 98 machine around the office, but it certainly does not run as fast as my new desktop. A better solution is emulators and virtual machines.

I use a program called VMware to load a fully functioning copy of Windows 98 inside my Windows XP software. When the program is loaded it finds CD-ROMs and floppy drives as well as USB, parallel and serial ports. This way I can attach to the client's zip drive, restore a file and place it back on the zip drive to use the data on a Windows XP workstation.

CLIENT DEMOS

VMware, www.vmware.com, also is a valuable tool for software demonstration. Want to try out an operating system without dual booting a workstation? I have used VMware to place a copy of Small Business Server 2000 inside a Windows XP laptop. It will support DOS, Win 95, Win98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP inside a Windows operating system. You even can load Linux.

At home, I have installed Linux on my Windows XP computer, and it "borrows" the Internet connection of the Windows XP unit, allowing me to have a fully functioning Linux residing inside my Windows XP computer.

Virtual PC, www.connectix.com, is similar. It allows you to easily load multiple operating systems on the same workstation without having a dual or multi-boot setup. This allows you to load a workstation with your clients' operating systems so that you actually can see their screens as opposed to visualizing them from within your operating system. If you've ever tried to describe the location of certain control panel feature on any Windows platform over the phone, you know that seeing the actual screen that your client sees is extremely helpful.

WINDOWS ON LINUX

Other tools have similar features. WINE, www.winehq.com, is a Windows compatibility layer that will allow Windows programs to run on Linux computers. If you are moving from Windows to Linux, as are about 90 percent of all Linux users, you must find suitable Linux software to run on your computer. While the standard Office suite has a Linux version in Star Office, your other business applications may be harder to replace.

WINE fills these holes by letting you operate your Windows software while converting to or waiting for a Linux-based product. Before WINE came along, there really wasn't much advantage for many users to switch to Linux due to the quantity and breadth of software available on Windows and not available to Linux users. You will need to test the software as not all Windows computers will work on the WINE platform.

WHAT ABOUT MACs?

Ever need a Macintosh program? Macintosh emulators, www.emulators.com, are out there too.

Due to the current Macintosh marketplace, operating systems above 8.5 cannot be placed on a Intel-based computer. If you need Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X, you can't place these on an Intel-based machine using tools such as VMware. However, you easily can move the other way.

If you are running OS X, you can run Windows XP on top of it. Virtual PC provides the software to place XP on top of OS X.

There also is a tool to help you open a Macintosh file on your Windows machine. Conversions Plus and Mac Opener, www.dataviz.com/products/conversionsplus/index.html, both allow a user to open a Mac-based disk on a Windows machine. If the file has a suitable Windows viewer, such as an image viewer file, you can open up the file easily on your Windows-based machine.

Of course, the best cross-platform tool is the Internet. Mac files can be e-mailed across the Mac and Windows platforms and can be viewed on both, assuming that the file is readable by an existing Windows-based program.

QUICKBOOKS AND QUICKEN CONVERSIONS

I often find myself faced with converting a Mac-based Quicken or QuickBooks file to the corresponding Windows versions. Converting QuickBooks for the Macintosh to Windows is relatively easy. QuickBooks Version 4 on the Mac creates a backup file. All your client needs to do is e-mail that backup file to your office. If you are using a more recent version of QuickBooks, say 2000 or higher, all you have to do is restore that backup file into your QuickBooks for Windows.

QuickBooks offer a step-by-step guide to this procedure on its website, www.quickbooks.com/support/faqs/qbw200l/84542.html.

For Quicken, the process is a bit more complicated. Intuit offers step-by-step instructions at www.intuit.com/support/quicken/2001/win/1657.html.

My experience has been that converting a Quicken file and exporting data may result in corruptions, so it is extremely important to print out an account listing on the Mac platform to ensure that you've converted the data properly.

MORE ON TRANSFERRING BETWEEN PLATFORMS

For other ways to transfer data from one platform to another, consider CD-RWs as the ultimate data transfer tool. If a file can fit on a CD-ROM, it can be read by Macintosh, Windows or Linux computers. Burn the file in one platform and read it on another.

An option for backing up moderately sized files is a USB-based portable hard drive. They easily connect to the USB slots in your computer and they are so small they can fit in your pocket. Consider EasyDisk, www.easydiskusa.com, storage space ranges from 16 MB to 512 MB; or USB Drive, www.usbdrive.com, storage space currently reaches 1 GB.

NEED TO TRANSFER SOMETHING LARGER?

Need something a little larger? Jukebox by Archos, www.jpdurbin.net/archos/archos_jukebox_6000.htm, began its life as an MP3 player, and now is touted as a convenient external hard drive. It has a 6 GB storage area. If you do field tech support and require patches, device drivers and the like, you can preload this device with all the updates you may need.

Although not compatible with all computers yet, you also can consider a firewire device. Many manufacturers sell devices that are portable hard drives in enclosures that use a fast firewire connection.

Of course you always can take a laptop with you to a client's location and use a data transfer cable to move files to your hard drive.

You also can use Web space to transfer large amounts of data or files. If your website has the ability to receive files via file transfer protocol, or FTP, you can upload a file to a temporary space on the Web simply using an Internet connection. FTP transfers work best with high-speed connections.

Bottom line: there are many ways to transfer data, use different operating systems and be more responsive to your clients. The next time you think you may not be able to upgrade operating systems or access different platforms or files, look at your alternatives.

Susan Bradley, CPA/CITP, MCP, is a partner in the Fresno-based firm Tamiyasu, Smith, Horn and Braun. She is a member of CalCPA's Technology Committee and the Fresno Chapter Tech Committee chair. You can reach her at [e-mail].