From: Hans-Bernhard Broeker Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp Subject: Re: USB support for DOS Date: 29 Sep 2000 09:22:26 GMT Organization: Aachen University of Technology (RWTH) Lines: 29 Message-ID: <8r1n0i$plh$1@nets3.rz.RWTH-Aachen.DE> References: <009001c02986$089f7bc0$0500007b AT brk> NNTP-Posting-Host: acp3bf.physik.rwth-aachen.de X-Trace: nets3.rz.RWTH-Aachen.DE 970219346 26289 137.226.32.75 (29 Sep 2000 09:22:26 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse AT rwth-aachen DOT de NNTP-Posting-Date: 29 Sep 2000 09:22:26 GMT Originator: broeker@ To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com >>Actually, DJGPP comes with a DPMI host called CWSDPMI, which supports >>DPMI v0.9 with some v1.0 extensions. Most other DPMI hosts, including >>Windows, support v0.9 only. > How come? Wasn't DPMI even their idea? DPMI was defined by Microsoft, indeed. Why they never implemented level 1.0 of it, in any of their products, is anyone's guess. Unless someone drags them to court over it and wins, it's highly dubious they'll ever tell the world *why* they really took any of their decisions of this kind. Such strategy decisions are considered trade secrets. One possible explanation would be that DPMI 1.0 was only ever defined as part of a FUD campaign, i.e. in order to keep competitors struggling to implement it, and then just refuse to follow up that road, effectively wasting other companies' money. Microsoft has long been known to define 'standards' even more rapidly than they themselves could properly implement them, just to create the appearance that they are the head of competition. Or, if you want to stick to the old principle "innocent until proved otherwise": they may have noticed that 1.0 features would have caused more trouble in their use of DPMI than their benefits could outweigh. I.e. Microsoft might have bitten off more than even they could chew, when they defined 1.0. -- Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de) Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.