> I know it might sound kind of anti-progressive or even silly, to argue with > »slowing down« things. »Multi Tasking« is (was?) a lie. It isn’t real for us > humans in a good sense. Single user, single task - in 2024!>
Definitely echoing this idea (not quite sure about the "lie" part, though :). Single-tasking is one of the main things that has always drawn me to DOS. I definitely have had successful ten-windows-open-and-using-all-of-them type sessions, but for the most part, I try to keep open windows to a minimum, and the same goes to visual elements of all kind on the screen. I've also been serious about writing; these days occasionally producing radio programs that need lots of really careful editing. No idea why, but this kind of mindset -- a *very strong* urge to get rid of everything that is not needed, or rather, to work with just the bare essentials in terms of tools -- seems to be quite common for people involved in the arts. For many of them, particularly writers, DOS and single-threading may seem extremely compelling. One program, one process. Even though I'm not a programmer, I can have a *sense* of actually understanding the whole system in DOS. Obviously this is not necessary these days -- but it creates a different kind of peace of mind. And I'm a strong believer in the idea that simpler tools *may* result in more dense creative works. Constraints are inspiring. A quote paraphrased by many, but current googling attributes it to Saint-Exupery: "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove." I have a huge admiration for people that stubbornly create remarkable things in 2024 for/with very modest hardware -- see e.g. stuff by Nils M. Holm [1] or Charles Childers [2]. (Some of their things should also work in DOS; NMH in particular has written quite a bit of interesting things for DOS in the past; apparently he also re-vitalized his 1994 BASIC interpreter fairly recently [3].) So, there are brains that simply seem to much prefer very simple systems; I've been like this ever since childhood. I would love to be able to do professional-level audio montage work in the single-tasking environment of DOS, but, realistically, this is a pipe dream :). (I have coneptualized a text-only audio montage system long ago, and audio for more contemporary sound cards in DOS seems to make quite a bit of progress these days. But I'm definitely not a capable programmer, to put it mildly, and I should first invest a lot of time in properly teaching myself about how computers/DOS actually utilizes memory. However, the core of my idea -- doing audio montage *without seeing a waveform at all* -- has that same less-is-more style appeal: work solely by trusting your ears. Because in a text-only system there is no waveform rendering, all montage decisions should be made exclusively by relying on the sense of hearing, not visual perception. So: maybe it *would* result in radio shows (the stuff I do are kind of long-form philosophy lectures) that have a different "feel" as compared to shows that are cut with contemporary, almost entirely screen-based digital audio workstations (DAWs)? Who knows. I'm definitely attached to this idea. And doing all of this in DOS, on my ~2009 spookily quiet fanless Dell Mini 9 (8.9 inch display) which I bought for something like 5-20 euros would be icing on that cake. :) But, yeah, realistically, radio work will continue in Linux and Ardour for now -- which in itself is an excellent tool with a truly incredible main developer.) But... I still feel a special peace of mind and happiness every time I boot into DOS with the Mini 9. There *is* more about this simplicity than just nostalgia and a need to experience something "retro". BTW, @Thomas Desi -- your musings on the "Why DOS" topic are really thoghtful, always a joy to read and think along. Thanks for sharing! 1: http://t3x.org/ 2: http://konilo.org/ and http://retroforth.org/ 3: http://t3x.org/nmhbasic/index.html _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
