From: Weiqi Gao <weiqigao AT a DOT crl DOT com>
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: FreeDOS (was: Re: DJGPP: the future is... ?)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 19:18:30 +0000
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
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FF fan 08 wrote:
> 
> I thought Windows 2000 was supposed to be an upgrade for Windows NT, not
> Windows 98.

Windows 2000 is the upgrade for Windows NT.  Actually it was called
Windows NT 5.0 for a long time.  Sometime last year, Microsoft decided
to call NT 5.0 Windows 2000, and positioned it as the successor of both
Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98.  In other words, Windows 98 was supposed
to be the last release of the MS DOS product (MS DOS->MS Windows->MS
Windows 95->MS Windows 98).

Now that has changed again.  And Windows 98 (of the MS DOS lineage) will
live, and Windows 2000 will not take over.  (This is subject to the next
scheduled change of strategies, which will happen by the August time
frame.)

The ideal situation for DJGPP would be the continued availability of
MS-DOS (or compatible) INSIDE the Windows platform, be it an offspring
in the MS-DOS line or the MS Windows NT line.  The fear is that a DOS
won't be there inside Windows 2000.

The whole idea of DJGPP (to me at the least) is to make it convenient
for the normal DOS (Windows/Windows 95/98) users to use the GNU and
other Unix tools.  If acquiring DJGPP become a considerable hassle for
the Windows user, the Windows user will simply not use it.

Having a separate FreeDOS could help retain some DJGPP users, but will
do little to convince a Windows user to go with DJGPP.

Of course, if the whole DJGPP, Inc., (<ORG CHART><Chairman, President
and CEO>DJ<CTO>Eli<CFO>TBH</ORG CHART>) decides to go the Windows
independent route, like Caldera did with OpenDOS, then it'll be a
complete different matter.  You will hear from a totally different crowd
of people then, and I wouldn't be one of them.

-- 
Weiqi Gao
weiqigao AT a DOT crl DOT com