>What do you run as your "production" OS? I'm willing to bet it's not
a flavor of DOS.
Linux (Kubuntu [Ubuntu/Debian derivatives) is my primary OS, but FreeDOS is
my secondary OS followed by Windows 7 on one machine only because I
recently acquired an HP Elite 8000 for under $100 with W7 preinstalled. I
added a second drive for FreeDOS and Kubuntu.
As for valuing time, I have been disabled since 1990, (should have been
dead about 15 years ago), so the time spent is valuable in the sense that I
keep my mind occupied if not sharpened.
On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 1:06 PM, dmccunney <dennis.mccun...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 3:23 AM, Rugxulo <rugx...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 7:34 PM, dmccunney <dennis.mccun...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >> On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 7:51 PM, Rugxulo <rugx...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> No, many compilers make it totally transparent to the end user. So you
> >>> don't even have to write any non-portable code (usually). And this
> >>> goes even beyond obvious "32-bit DPMI" DJGPP-based ones (GCC, GPC,
> >>> FPC, FBC).
> >>
> >> They do now. They did not then.
> >
> > DJGPP started in 1989. It's not new. And it wasn't the only one.
>
> The period I was referring to was at least 5 years before DJGPP began.
> I was talking about the *old* days when PC meant IBM PC with 4.77mhz
> 8088 CPU, CGA graphics, dual 360K floppies, and *maybe* 640K RAM.
> (Lotus 1,2,3 largely forced everyone to go for a full 640K to run
> enormous worksheets.)
>
> >> Since you *have* Linux, BSD, and even Windows, which support all that
> >> out of the box, why should anyone *bother*?
> >
> > The whole point of a "free" "DOS" was to be a free/libre alternative
> > that is binary compatible on similar hardware! None of those OSes do
> > that!
>
> And you don't *care*, because you don't *use* that original hardware.
> You long ago got something newer.
>
> > There are *many* OSes out there, often touting "legacy free". But even
> > they have to start somewhere. Most people don't create their own cpu
> > or write their own compiler. Heck, they port third-party apps over and
> > use similar toolsets and formats that are already available. I mean,
> > some of them even import drivers verbatim! Reuse is the name of the
> > game. It just takes too much work to throw everything away.
>
> If you are smart, you do go for re-use.
>
> > Sure, some people think it's "better" to throw things away. Some
> > things are of questionable benefit. But it's certainly not always
> > true. Sometimes you have to live with what you already have. Sometimes
> > the cost of recreating something from scratch is too much.
>
> Lets get serious. I run FreeDOS on an ancient box that I use as a
> testbed to see what perfomance I can wring out of limited hardware. I
> do *not* use the box, or FreeDOS, to do actual work. The box is a
> toy, and diddling FreeDOS is a *hobby*.
>
> On the more modern machines, I have a few ancient DOS apps I support
> via NTVDM (on 32 bit XP), or vDOS (on 64 bit Win7). There is no need
> for FreeDOS there at all.
>
> There is still potential use for DOS in the embedded space, but I
> expect that is dropping as HW becomes more powerful and cheaper.
> Embedded systms are increasingly built around 32 bit ARM CPUs, where
> DOS is not an option but you can run a flavor of Linux or an RTOS.
>
> There are a few folks still using DOS to do actual work, and some hang
> out here, but they are rare exceptions to the general rule.
>
> I happy FreeDOS is out there, and it's fun to play with, but "play
> with" is the operative word. If it did not exist, I would not miss
> it. My actual needs are met by more current gear, and there are
> limits to the effort I'll expend to support older hardware. I place a
> reasonable value on my *time*.
>
> What do you run as your "production" OS? I'm willing to bet it's not
> a flavor of DOS.
> ______
> Dennis
> https://plus.google.com/u/0/105128793974319004519
>
>
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