Mail Archives: opendos/1997/05/28/07:04:09
On Tue, 27 May 1997, Jonathan E. Brickman wrote:
> > Yes, exactly! That's why people who use 486 with 16M of RAM will use
> > OpenDOS/32 with ext2 and all the cool things!
>
> Ummmmmmm...apart from hatred of Microsoft, what is a strong reason
> for a user to choose OpenDOS/32?
Because it will be a 32 bit operating system, and most of us use
32 bit computers. Full backwards compatibility will be
maintained for older programs so their are no compatibility
issues at stake. If you don't use a 32 bit computer, then it
wouldn't be a wise choice to download OD/32.
Programs developed explicitly for OpenDOS/32 will be much faster,
more capable, and have more features at their disposal.
Some people will pipe up and say "well then OD/16 will be dumped
and I'll never see any new software". Before they do though, let
me point out first of all that most games, and quite a bit of
other software that is coming out, ALLREADY require a 386 or
higher processor. Also let me point out that Windows '95 has
been out for almost 2 years now and I haven't seen Windows 3.1
development drop off yet. There are countless new programs
coming out for 3.1 still.
Another perfect example is the "ELKS project". This is a project
to create a 16 bit version of Linux (a 32bit OS) for 286 and
lesser processors. Does this mean that when ELKS is finished
that Linux 32bit and Linux64 bit platforms will be killed? It
makes about as much sense.
In the short, OD/16 will not be dumped when OD/32 is made. I
know that you didn't imply this, but based on the past
conversations on this list, someone was sure to reply to that
effect so I thought I'd stop it here and now. I've been on this
list since it started, and have a good sense for the way things
go now. :o)
Imagine, a totally flat 32bit programming model for DOS that
doesn't jump back and forth between RM and PM!!! NO BIOS!!!
Yaaaaaahhhhoooooooo!!!!!
Actually, since the memory model would be flat, DOS/16 apps would
run in a VM, so the OD/32 kernel can basically be a totally new
OS kernel with totally new internal structures, etc. The command
line would be the same, and several other aspects would be the
same, but no poking around into the protected address space of
the OS, NO LOCKUPS OR REBOOTS!!!!! (Well, perhaps from a 16bit
game running in a VM accessing DMA or something.... unless we
emulate DMA.... hmmm.... DOSDOSEMU? :o)
This is more of a developer topic though, so reply in
opendos-developer if you're subscribed, and we can discuss it in
more detail and share suggestions, thoughts, constructive
criticisms, ideas, etc without boring opendos users to death!
:o)
TTYL
Mike A. Harris | http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris
Computer Consultant | Coming soon: dynamic-IP-freedom...
My dynamic address: http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris/ip-address.html
Email: mharris at blackwidow.saultc.on.ca <-- Spam proof address
OpenDOS: The NEW DOS with FREE source code! http://www.caldera.com
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