not directly related, but… referring to
> > 1. Running legacy business software the old question, how to print from FreeDOS might hava a solution. I found this gadget on the net: https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/v3-retro-_printer-bundle-%28capture-and-convert-centronics-port-data%29-63665 I think I should give it a try, as yesterday my old Laserprinter with parallel port crashed. Thomas > Am 18.12.2025 um 00:11 schrieb Jim Hall via Freedos-user > <[email protected]>: > >>>> Hall did an analysis of DOS users two years ago, finding that DOS was >>>> being called upon almost entirely to run three things: >>>> legacy bus software, classic DOS games, and embedded systems. >>> > > Interesting that they abbreviated "business" to "bus" in that article > -- that changes the meaning. > > At the time (around 2012) we had run a survey of people who visited > www.freedos.org and found that most people used FreeDOS for three > things: > > 1. Running legacy business software (and at the time, we still saw > occasional emails from people using FreeDOS for something at work -- > usually recovering old data, or running an old 'one-off' app, or > something like that) > > 2. Playing classic DOS games > > 3. Developing embedded systems > > (After #3, there was a noticeable gap, then "using FreeDOS to update > BIOS in a computer) > > > We ran a survey a few years ago (I don't remember the exact timeframe > anymore) and the usage had shifted a little bit: > > 1. Playing classic DOS games > > 2. Running DOS applications > > 3. Developing other DOS programs > > (Again, there's a noticeable gap, then "updating BIOS in a computer") > > > We didn't see people running FreeDOS to support a business (maybe a > few small businesses, like a CNC shop I helped out earlier this year) > but "applications" was still on the list -- it's just the *reason* to > run the DOS apps had changed to something like "because I like that > app" or "because I like computing" or (in a few cases) "it's a > minimalistic working [writing?] environment." But "games" had moved to > the top of the list. "Embedded" fell off, replaced by others who used > FreeDOS to write other DOS programs -- likely skewed by so many > FreeDOS developers responding to the survey. > > > We haven't run that survey in a while, but I don't think it's changed much. > > > _______________________________________________ > Freedos-user mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user > THOMAS CORNELIUS DESI Artistic Director MUSIKTHEATERTAGE WIEN Neubaugasse 33/1/9 1070 Vienna, Austria [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> t +43 699 1084 0030 www.mttw.at <http://www.mttw.at/> The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.
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