Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 17:53:04 -0800
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To: opendos AT mail DOT tacoma DOT net
From: visick AT ewald DOT mbi DOT ucla DOT edu (Jonathan Visick)
Subject: [opendos] prospective user questions
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Hello,

        I suspect that the questions I'm about to ask are FAQs, but since
there appears to be no Opendos FAQ yet, I ask for your indulgence, as the
answers will help me decide whether Opendos is worth a try.

        I have two major areas of concern at the moment:  multitasking and
memory management.  Presently, I'm using QEMM and DESQview and have my
system tuned to multitask very well, yet the "open" part of the Opendos
concept, as well as the built-in multitasking and the promise of additional
DOS tools are intriguing.  Thus, I'd like to get a feel for what Opendos
would be like before actually setting it up.

        (1) How does Opendos multitasking compare to DESQview?  Is there
cut and paste?  Support for graphical applications and high-resolution
screen modes?  How big is the memory "footprint" when multitasking?  Does
the multitasking system recognize "DESQview-aware" applications written to
give up their time slice?  Does it allow for controlling applications which
do not give up their time slice on their own?  How customizable is the
multitasking system:  can you specify conventional and extended/expanded
memory limits for each program, for example?

        (2) Is Opendos compatible with QEMM?  Or does it have built-in
memory management of similar quality?  I'd be hard pressed to give up the
significant amount of driver space in upper memory provided by QEMM's
Stealth technology, not to mention the 637K of available conventional that
can be had with QEMM's ability to move files, buffers and most of DOS and
4dos to upper memory.

        I'd be grateful for any details on these matters, especially from
those who have used QEMM and DESQview in the past and can give me a good
comparison.  Feel free to e-mail me directly if you don't want to respond
to such "Opendos novice" questions on this list!

Thanks,
Jon Visick
visick AT ewald DOT mbi DOT ucla DOT edu