Oh crap. Why on earth all this should be on the same computer?
I would not trust running timeclock software on a bandsaw controller even if it would be latest core-i7/xeon/whatever and QNX or VxWorks.
I would not trust running timeclock software on a bandsaw controller even if it would be latest core-i7/xeon/whatever and QNX or VxWorks.
1. They don't want to buy, maintain, and hassle with a second computer;
2. They don't know any better, because they aren't computer geeks;
3. (Related to #1) They already bought the software and time clock system, they can't get their money back from the vendor, nobody bothered to tell them that it won't work in their environment, and they don't have the money to spend on another system, so they're looking for the cheapest possible way to do it.
I agree with the first superuser post. Isolate the win 3.1 machine as much as possible, and use another machine for networking. It's too much of a risk, loosing a hand because you clicked a link and the machine froze is simply ridiculous.
Even putting the machine in a VM would be too much work. You'd have to port the custom drivers.
we also had a few pcs in engineering locations and even the power supply fans on 386s had problems with the dust in those locations. you have to wonder what the dust was doing to staffs lungs. after one particular location killed 1 pc a week for a month we ended up putting the pc in a pair of tights as this filtered out the dust. looked weird but far cheaper than a industrial pc.
but opera 3.62 seems to have support for css and works on win 3.1
haven't touched a win 3.1 system since around 2004 or so.
Anyway, they have a dust problem -- a carbon / metallic dust compound that permeates and settles on everything in the shop. It's pretty ugly.
There are pretty much two strategies for that kind of an environment, computer-wise: construct a cheap acrylic enclosure with a HEPA filter and maybe a fan or two; or, buy a cheap computer and expect to replace it every 1 to 2 years.
Either way it also sounds like an unhealthy environment for humans to work in.
It's not a great environment for people, no. I'd be wearing a dust mask for sure if I worked there. But, a lot of shop guys aren't like that, especially the older ones. They just do their job and don't mind the dust.
The real problem is providing for ports (power, networking, comms) without penetrating the enclosure. The recent Marianas Trench submersible showed a number of connectors designed for very high pressure environments, something along those lines should be sufficient.
Grounding would deal with static.
the office our pc was in was in an office built above the work floor and had very good ventelation but fine dust still made it up and on to every surface. once enough dust settled inside the pc it died.
it cannot be good for the humans there but still not the unhealtiest place i saw. that was a cabbies cubby were 20-30 taxi drivers sat waiting for jobs to come in and they seemed to all be chain smokers. the office was a converted shipping container with benches inside. a pc used for booking calls was brought in dead. when i opened it up there was a tarry goo on the motherboard and the fan was seized solid. after replacing the fan and sponging up as much of the goo as i could i went to clean the case. my boss asked if it was necessary so i took a sheet of a4 paper placed it on the metal case cover and smoothed it down. then i grabbed 2 corners of the paper and lifted the metal lid clear of the desk. the stickiness was pure tar. goodness knows how long the new fan lasted.
and as for what it did to the humans...