X-Apparently-From:	<pmoran22 AT yahoo DOT com>
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From:	"Patrick Moran" <pmoran22 AT yahoo DOT com>
To:	<opendos AT delorie DOT com>
References:	<Pine DOT LNX DOT 4 DOT 10 DOT 10012072017250 DOT 22174-100000 AT smarty DOT smart DOT net>
Subject:	Re: BASIC & EMS (Virtual Memory)
Date:	Fri, 8 Dec 2000 13:21:34 -0700
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Reply-To:	opendos AT delorie DOT com

Actually the actual IBM manuals for DOS were very good, at least the ones I
had access to. They were for version 3.3. It was the M$ manuals that sucked
big time. Not only did the systems come with a good DOS manual, but they
also came with good hardware and a very good breakdown of the BIOS and
interrupts. This of course was for the PCs and XTs and ATs. Beyond that I
could not tell you a thing about thier docs. I never did see the ones for a
PS/2 or later systems. Even DOS 1.1 had a good manual. Too bad I didn't
latch on to it when I had the chance. They also made available, but did not
come with the systems, a DOS Technical Reference manual which was also very
good.

As for their 360 mainframes, I never did see a manual for one of those, I
just hacked at it and figured out how it worked!


Pat


----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul O. Bartlett" <bartlett AT smart DOT net>
To: <opendos AT delorie DOT com>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: BASIC & EMS (Virtual Memory)


>     A bit off topic for this list, but ..........
>
> On Thu, 7 Dec 2000, Robert W Moss wrote (excerpt):
>
> > Sometimes I think the guy's who write the manuals never
> > even saw a computer before they wote the documentation.
>
>     Back in the '70s and '80s -- I can speak from experience -- IBM's
> manuals for their mainframe hardware and software were ghastly!  Poor
> layout, poor printing, poor binding, and generally tending to
> incomprehensibility.  You would have thought that an outfit the size of
> IBM could have afforded some decent technical writers and typographers.
> Then, again their attitude was generally, "We are IBM.  Enough said.",
> so perhaps it's not so surprising that they published such trash.  Only
> trouble was, it was often the only game in town.
>
> --
> Paul                             mailto:bartlett AT smart DOT net
> ..........................................................
> Paul O. Bartlett, P.O. Box 857, Vienna, VA 22183-0857, USA
> Keyserver (0xF383C8F9) or WWW for PGP public key
> Home Page:  http://www.smart.net/~bartlett


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