startek EPC on mac?? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

compu_85 · #31 02-26-2009, 11:52 PM

I agree. If this had been some executable then I could understand it being windows only. The VW EPC program is like this. But this program is coded in Java, and as crappy as Java is, one of the foundational concepts of Java is that it is platform independent. The program only running under windows shows sloppy coding IMHO.

-Jason

JonL · #32 02-27-2009, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Ahh, I love when things don't work for MAC people.

You and I have been going back and forth about this on another thread. We've both kept it reasonably civil. But this is just juvenile garbage. I don't love it when my business partner spends half the day cleaning up all kinds of trash on his PC so it will operate faster than molasses. And he doesn't love it when I have to use my Win2k machine to go on startek epc or to use Autocad. Sure, I understand that the PC is still the dominant platform and that some websites or software just wont be configured to work for us who use Macs. Not yet, anyway. But the day is coming. Mac marketshare continues to increase and more and more enterprises, IT professionals, and websites are taking notice. PawoSD, I'd suggest you get your head out of wherever dark place it's in and get ready for what's coming. It is coming if you like it or not, and if you keep up your misguided ideological hatred for everything Apple you are going to be left behind. It's just a friggin' tool. People have their preferences in what they use. There's nothing wrong with differences in taste and desires. Grow up.

pawoSD · #33 02-27-2009, 01:22 AM

Its amazing how little it takes to upset a MAC user. I've always wondered why that is.

As I've said before, I don't mind people using other operating systems and using a variety of things that are out there. Personally, if it weren't for the lack of compatibility in many things, I'd be using Ubuntu as my OS.

MAC people are just as quick to make statements like those earlier "I'll gladly have a MAC to get an hour of non-blue screen computer use". Seriously....I can't even remember the last time I saw a blue-screen. Both sides say stuff thats not true.

It would be nice if EPC Net was made cross system compatible, though I bet the real issue is a browser/OS issue and not so much EPC net itself...its written in JAVA. Cross Platform. If the Java is not executing properly on the MAC, then something else is to blame. It could be some small setting or restriction within the OS (perhaps even a security feature) thats causing the error exception. The people at EPC net very likely do not have the $$ or resources to go after figuring out why, since their user-base of dealers do not use that OS....they have less reason to use resources on it.

I'm surprised that I've not seen any of the MAC people use Virtual PC to run windows and get into EPC Net that way, thats what I'd be doing. Or even keep an old $30 ebay laptop around thats good enough to run EPC Net....

I'm not trying to start some anti-MAC war

I could care less what people use, if it works for you...great. I don't have some "ideological hate" for apple....I just am not a fan. I'd use them if I had to. I'm not a fan of M-soft either, their list of problems is huge. Ideally I'd be using Linux.

pawoSD · #34 02-27-2009, 01:29 AM

I would bet that the real blame for the EPC Net not working on MAC is the JAVA people over at SUN. There's probably some error in their code that causes an exception when running on OS X....and they are slow to "improve" their software. Or it could be a browser issue. Has anyone verified that it doesn't work in ALL browsers available on MAC? Safari....IE....Firefox....Opera.....etc?

bustedbenz · #35 02-27-2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I would bet that the real blame for the EPC Net not working on MAC is the JAVA people over at SUN. There's probably some error in their code that causes an exception when running on OS X....and they are slow to "improve" their software. Or it could be a browser issue. Has anyone verified that it doesn't work in ALL browsers available on MAC? Safari....IE....Firefox....Opera.....etc?

I've checked all I can find and it's completely nonfunctional. The EPC is actually running as a "Java Web Start" application instead of a "100% pure java" environment. So it may be a bug in the Java Web Start for Mac software or something. I tend to blame the EPC developers though, because all the OTHER cross-platform java web start apps i've run have worked perfectly under both.

Safari, Firefox, and Opera are all no-goes, I can say that certainly.

And the reason we aren't all flocking to run windows in a virtual environment is that it costs money! Why would we have paid a $500 or greater premium just to get Apple hardware and the Mac OS - and then turn right around and drop a few more hundred on a license for software we paid extra to avoid in the first place?

As a matter of fact, I'm currently using VMWare virtualization with an old installation of Windows Millennium I had floating around since ME was before the infernal "activation" process - but I refuse to spend money I need worse for the Mercedes or for other things... like college... to buy a license for software that I already paid a premium not to have to use.

JonL · #36 02-27-2009, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Ahh, I love when things don't work for MAC people.

Its amazing how little it takes to upset a MAC user. I've always wondered why that is.

It's amazing to me that some "Windows People" want to be so antagonistic. Why is that?

pawoSD · #37 02-27-2009, 01:53 AM

I suppose the easiest route is to find an old PC at the local recycling center that still runs and keep it somewhere to run EPC Net.....

Or find a cheap laptop on ebay.

New idea! What about running a Linux Distro in the Virtual Machine on the MAC.......will EPC Net run in there? Its worth a shot I suppose....since its free.

pawoSD · #38 02-27-2009, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonL

It's amazing to me that some "Windows People" want to be so antagonistic. Why is that?

I'll try not to be as anti-mac....I don't want to cause problems. I'd rather work at finding solutions to issues like the EPC Net stuff.

You never know, perhaps in the coming updates to the OS/Browsers/JAVA it might start working again.

Since it is started as a "Java web-start"....is there a way to force it to run outside the browser in a Java environment only?

bustedbenz · #39 02-27-2009, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I suppose the easiest route is to find an old PC at the local recycling center that still runs and keep it somewhere to run EPC Net.....

Or find a cheap laptop on ebay.

New idea! What about running a Linux Distro in the Virtual Machine on the MAC.......will EPC Net run in there? Its worth a shot I suppose....since its free.

It won't. I've tried 64-bit Fedora running KDE, 32-bit Fedora running Gnome, that's Fedora versions 6 through 10, it also won't run under Ubuntu, Mandriva, OpenSolaris, or OpenSUSE.

JonL · #40 02-27-2009, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I don't have some "ideological hate" for apple....

I would refer you to your post

Wherein you say:

Quote:

Its true, I am a lifelong MAC-hater.

bustedbenz · #41 02-27-2009, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I'll try not to be as anti-mac....I don't want to cause problems. I'd rather work at finding solutions to issues like the EPC Net stuff.

You never know, perhaps in the coming updates to the OS/Browsers/JAVA it might start working again.

Since it is started as a "Java web-start"....is there a way to force it to run outside the browser in a Java environment only?

My understanding is that web start applications were compiled, were uploaded, and are accessed by us as independent compilations from java-only environments. The whole point of "web start" was to address a different set of problems caused by pure java programs being served out to us... i'm not quite sure what those were, but the end result is that web-start code is already web-start-only by the time we get it.

If I'm wrong please tell me so, I'd love to have this working.

pawoSD · #42 02-27-2009, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonL

I would refer you to your post

Wherein you say:

Yeah yeah whatever. I really don't put much (any) energy into "mac-hating"....

If a person comes to me with a mac and is having trouble with it, I'll help them just like I'd help anyone else.

pawoSD · #43 02-27-2009, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bustedbenz

My understanding is that web start applications were compiled, were uploaded, and are accessed by us as independent compilations from java-only environments. The whole point of "web start" was to address a different set of problems caused by pure java programs being served out to us... i'm not quite sure what those were, but the end result is that web-start code is already web-start-only by the time we get it.

If I'm wrong please tell me so, I'd love to have this working.

I'm wondering since it fails at the last second....if its some sort of security preference in OS X or something thats keeping it from getting going. Wasn't it said that it used to work on macs? I recall people saying they used it successfully on earlier versions....

JonL · #44 02-27-2009, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Yeah yeah whatever. I really don't put much (any) energy into "mac-hating"....

If a person comes to me with a mac and is having trouble with it, I'll help them just like I'd help anyone else.

Good! Let's leave all this nonsense behind.
Peace.

::matthew · #45 02-27-2009, 08:48 AM

Java not working with EPC is not a Java problem, it's a programming problem.

It's annoying that I have to boot into XP to use it, but whatevah.

Same goes for the stock indexes on the FSM disks...