Eprime on Windows XP recap

[Brandon Cernicky]

Hi Leisha,

Thanks for bringing your concerns to the attention of
the E-Prime mailing group.  I first want to mention
that E-Prime 1.1 (build 1.1.4.1), which introduced the
ability to run on Windows 2000 and Windows XP was
formally released in October of 2002 and has been out
of beta testing for nearly three years.  Although
there have been a number of service pack releases to
patch some minor bugs and add some minor features (see
the KB section on the E-Prime web support site for
those additions/corrections), you should find little
variation in regards to timing and other issues
between operating system runs.

In forum postings and support requests sent to PST,
there have been a number of justified concerns about
timing and operating system versions. There are a
number of pro and con items to weigh including
paradigm requirements and (potentially more
importantly) the hardware of the machine performing
the paradigm.  The truth of the matter is that there
is no “one size fits all” statement concerning the
acceptability of one version over another, and all of
these factors must be considered when making a
decision.  For example, it might not be beneficial for
a machine running Windows 98 whose EDAT logging
indicates proper timing to upgrade to Windows XP.  The
hardware requirements for 2000/XP are significant and
could affect a previously acceptable machine.  There
cannot be a blanket statement indicating that one
operating system, hardware requirement, or paradigm
requirement is better or worse since they are all
unique.  However, the emphasis would be to lean
towards Windows XP because of its industry standard
availability coupled with the support for updated
sound and video drivers which would affect performance
and compatibility.  After an experiment is designed,
reviewing the EDAT analysis from pilot subjects will
certainly indicate if there are any timing variances
that would need to be corrected nearly entirely on the
basis of design (PreRelease, caching, layout, duration
modulo refresh rate) or hardware requirements. 
Besides the verbose information in the Critical Timing
Chapter, a simple review of OnsetDelay and OnsetTime
to OnsetTime values between objects can ensure the
machine and paradigm are performing as expected.

Please continue to check the E-Prime e-mail listing as
well as the E-Prime web site for updated information
in regards to E-Prime and timing.  Psychology Software
Tools is currently performing updated timing tests
with its own internal equipment in addition to
analysis with the Black Box Toolkit
(http://www.blackboxtoolkit.co.uk).  Once the timing
tests are completed, results will be posted on the PST
web site with additional information to assist with
timing precision for specific lab configurations.

As of this writing, Psychology Software Tools intends
to continue to support Windows 98 SE operating systems
and later for both E-Prime 1.x and upcoming E-Prime
2.0 releases with at least baseline features for most
paradigms even though Microsoft may formally pull
support for those operating systems.  There are a
number of labs who will continue to have Windows 98/ME
machines to run subjects for many years.  I will also
note that although Psychology Software Tools currently
provides limited support for Windows XP 64-bit edition
until formal testing is complete and any related
issues are resolved.  Only experiment design and
testing should be attempted on Windows XP 64-bit
edition at this point.  E-Prime 1.2 is scheduled to
address installation issues on Windows XP 64, but
issues regarding timing, use of SRBOX and Port devices
will remain outstanding until reviewed.  Until that
time, it is not recommended that Windows XP 64 be used
for data collection.

Psychology Software Tools will soon be formally
releasing E-Prime 1.2.  This is a minor release that
will include all of the corrections and additions from
the three service packs from E-Prime 1.1 with some
other corrections and minor additions.  Please note
that this is not the well anticipated release of
E-Prime 2.0.  In the summer of 2005, Psychology
Software Tools conducted a feature survey inviting
everyone’s input for the next major release of
E-Prime.  PST was pleased with the response averaging
hundreds of participants per hour in the first week of
the survey’s availability.  Besides the exceptional
input in regards to feature requests, participants
conveyed their concerns about ensuring timing
accuracy.  Many of the concerns unfortunately are
founded in misguided information conveyed by the
competitors of E-Prime.  PST listened to the responses
of the survey and is directing efforts to the areas
that are important to our end users.  This is one of
the reasons the emphasis on timing related
verification has taken priority recently.

Thank you for supporting E-Prime!

-Brandon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brandon S. Cernicky
Senior Software Engineer
Psychology Software Tools




	
		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
http://mail.yahoo.com