Well, Dave, then you've never had to deal with laptops in a work environment where Windows and its updates will re-arrange (or remove) USB ports and sound devices. I can tell you from experience that it's frustrating as hell to be at a remote m/w site and cannot figure out why your laptop won't talk to the m/w and you wind up having to troubleshoot the laptop *before* you can troubleshoot the m/w radio - usually at 0200 (you never get a problem during the day). Sometimes a simple reboot would fix it, sometimes not. I've actually had to leave a site, find an office with a company network (because the m/w radio is down; therefore, no network), download correct drivers, and drive back out to the site. So, no, just leaving things plugged into a Windows machine (not always possible because of work laptops) or always using the same port doesn't always work. In my line of work, I learned a long time ago against using absolutes.
I don't generally discuss Windows issues because I only use it when forced to - my job forces me to use Windows. When it's their laptop, they get to do with it what they want.
For VARA, I use it in CrossOver on my Mac.
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Regards,
Joel - W4JBB
Joel Black - W4JBB