Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 18:38:49 -0500 (CDT) From: "Kevin A. Pieckiel" Subject: Re: 32bit DOS. In-reply-to: <5vjftp$avk@top.mitre.org> To: Michael F Brenner Cc: djgpp AT delorie DOT com Message-id: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Precedence: bulk On Mon, 15 Sep 1997, Michael F Brenner wrote: > There are three reasons for desiring a 32-bit DOS: (1) Windows 95 and Windows > NT do not run all existing DOS programs, such as my KnowledgeMan runtime > system, my Alsys Ada compiler, my Oracle 5.0 for DOS developers edition, > programs which use extensive amounts of extended memory, programs which > write to the robot controller ports, and programs which light up dots > directly on the screen; That's not a reason to downgrade your OS (inreference to NT... From Win95 to DOS is an upgrade in my opinion). That is a reason to upgrade your other software. > (3) DOS does not have perfect multi-programming-ness, and needs help There's where you're messed up. There is no such thing as a perfect operating system or perfect this or perfect that. All this garbage about a 32-bit DOS and pros and cons about it and other OS's..... people (including myself) are spinning their wheels for nothing. A 32-bit DOS will not solve the world's problems in computing. If you want 32-bit console apps, there are other 32-bit OS's out there to do it (*nix), and if you want a 32-bit graphics application, there are pure 32-bit, fast OS's that can handle that (my preference is WinNT--OS/2 just doesn't have the support nor appeal to me, and Win95 is not pure 32-bit). Even if you had a 32-bit DOS, you're just gonna find problems with that, too. There's not a piece of software on this planet that is good enough for anyone. There's always something wrong with it. I hope neither DJ nor anyone else DOES write a 32-bit DOS, as I'm certain it will not be accepted in the market. There will be no support. MS is pushing to put Windows NT on home desktop computers. This means that before long, people can be self-suffient on pure NT/95 native, 32-bit code and DOS will be by the wayside. It is my belief that 95 will also hit the ground and be forgotten. Backwards compatibility with DOS will eventually be nonexistent. In the longer future, hardware may do the same.... Who knows, Intel may be able to one day push into the homes of people a processor without the problems posed by the current Intel architecture. Or better yet, Intel will fall to its knees and be absorbed by Digital and we will all have cheap alphas on our desks. I don't know. But it won't be long before the software market has forgotten DOS. The average user will one day not even have heard of DOS without reading a book on computer history.