Op 7-4-2012 12:15, Alex schreef: > I was wondering what would it take to upgrade FreeDOS to 32bit, > whether it would be worth and whether we would have the human > resources.
32bit user programs tend to be available already in the form of protected mode software, using one of the various DOS Extenders. > What would be the pros, cons, in actual terms *for FreeDOS users*? The > underlying assumption is that FreeDOS is, as stated by others, a > "niche OS", and we have no problem with that. Nor do we need to run > after all the modern computer standards just for the sake of being > abreast with the times. I'm not seeing much of a benefit, especially in the case of a 16bit subsystem being omitted like in ReactOS or 64bit Windows. Without some clever tricks 32bit DOS would still be stuck with FAT filesystems (thus 4GB filesize limit) and 4GB of memory, while high-end consumer platforms allow up to 64GB right now (Intel X79 socket 2011 platform with 8 memory slots). > Having said this, could we have tangible benefits from a 32bit > version? What are the prospects of a 32bit FreeDOS in the future? And, > again, would it be worth? Doubt it very strong. I see more future in running DOS in dedicated and/or virtualised/emulated environment. The $35 Raspberry Pi (700MHz ARM-processor) could run Linux with QEMU being used to emulate x86 for DOS. The speed would be tolerable :) > By the way, there once was a FreeDOS-32 project being developed. Does > anyone know if it is ever likely to see the light of the day? What are > the prospects? No idea, seems to be closed development at the moment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For Developers, A Lot Can Happen In A Second. Boundary is the first to Know...and Tell You. Monitor Your Applications in Ultra-Fine Resolution. Try it FREE! http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-d2dvs2 _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
