At 03:15 AM 4/7/2012, Alex wrote: >In the recent threads there have been many mentions to the fact that >FreeDOS is "only" 16bit (of course, that is what it is meant to be) >and that it is out of touch with the modern computing world.
You do realize that it is kind of 'out of touch with the modern computing world' for more than a decade? That its defined goal is to recreate a proprietary legacy 16bit OS that was announced "End of Life" by Microsoft, which started Jim to initiate this project? >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. It's not worth it IMHO, as it would not (MS-/PC-/DR-)DOS anymore... >What would be the pros, cons, in actual terms *for FreeDOS users*? I am not sure what you actually mean by "upgrade to 32bit"? What are the technical changes/benefit in doing though? DOS ties in deeply into the segmented 1MB memory model of the original 8086 processor and any change in that will simply break compatibility with existing DOS drivers/applications and you simply do not have DOS anymore... >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. >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? No benefits at all, as there are simply no applications to use with it. Therefor I don't think there are any prospects, making it simply not worth. You would create a complete new OS, with all the downsides of widespread support for that. Just see how many "wanna-be" OSes are out there that never see any use beside by their "inventors" (if even that)... >I expect flames in this thread, but that is not the objective. No flames, just an honest opinion. This "32bit DOS" is just a buzzword that's around for a while without anyone actually stating what the benefits "should" be, without creating a complete new OS... >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? As I mentioned in a previous reply, it is IMHO a "still born" project, hence I doubt that you will ever see "the light of day". Those folks that started it simply underestimated/misjudged their objectives, specially in light of the available resources and skills... just me 2c, from someone who is using DOS for 30 years now, Ralf ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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
