Again I aggree with you draconis.
That was why I eventually decided to get a box with no more than 4gb.
I was running with half that.
I can now use and continue to use 32 bit software
even though its not the best to do so.
On the subject of dosbox frank has told me that he does not know much c at all.
just basic right now.
He does say one day he will learn c and c++ but till that day he is stuck.
he has an idea what is going on.
Basically the output of dosbox is not a physical
output but an image of the output.
and since our readers can not read images of
anything what so ever, we are stuck not that anything works inside that box.
Another way to do things is to use something
that will run your 16 bit programs in 32 bit mode
like the djgpp tads runtimes and things though
not to many programs will run in 32 bit mode.
either that or using the windows console we could emulate dos that way I guess.
For games and simple things though xp is still
better than 7, in navigation and other things.
Even when I get this new laptop finally set up
its likely that half the time I will be doing all
serious work on my xp box and not my 7 box.
When my xp box dies, I will indevour to get a
desktop, that will run 32 bit software maybe xp or a vm of xp.
I prefur native but oh well.
Eventually I am planning to get a home server for
backups and then ofcause it won't really matter.
I'll just make a image of xp on the server,
somehow login and boot whatever system I have active and play via the server.
At 12:39 AM 5/1/2013, you wrote:
Hi Dark,
My responses are throughout.
*snip*
> 1: compatibility with dos applications.
>
> As a huge fan of text rpgs, I play not a few
games with dos such as fallthru, and age of
legends, yet thanks to microsoft that would not
be possible on a 64 bit machine. For sighted
users this isn't a problem since they can use
the dosbox emulator, and indeed newer dos, or
dos style applications are still being
developed using it, noteably Eamon deluxe (and
since there are over 270 Eamon games that is
quite a lot just on it's own). If a developer
created a screen reader friendly version of
dosbox or a similar way to run 16 bit console
window applications, it would mean that older
games, which have been playable for the past 30
years would continue to be so for the blind
community. This is something I know the
developer of Eamon deluxe has been looking into
and discussing with the dosbox dev team, but
perhaps some assistance from a programmer with
more knolidge of screen readers' interaction
with windows would be of help, that is unless
someone cannot create say a small application
that outputs dos text to sapi or similar.
> *snip*
> First, there is a certain amount of irony
that the first point on your list is
essentially that you want to be able to cling
to the past in order to move into the future.
It is sort of like saying, thirty years ago,
that you wouldn't use a CD player because it
couldn't play your vinyl records. I use this
analogy as someone who has a fair number of
rare vinyl records which do not exist in modern
formats. This doesn't keep me from having a CD
player, or, these days, using iTunes. The vast,
vast, vast majority of Windows users never
upgrade their existing machine. They go buy a
cheap new computer which happens to have the
latest OS on it. When this occurs, rather than
going through channels to keep using obsolete
software, hang on to the old machine to play
such games, and keep that machine in as good
repair as possible, much as I have had to do
with vinyl record players over the years.
I still have my working Apple 2GS computer as
well, specifically for the nostalgia playing the
old games I had for it. I've had it for, likely,
longer than many of the participants of this
list have been alive, and it still works, because I've taken care of it.
So, while your option of an accessible DOS
emulator would be the ideal, it is something
that is relatively easily worked around.
*snip*
> 2: audio games created using vb6 and direct x.
>
> Microsoft have, as we've been told dropped
vb6 support and messed about with many of their
direct x components. with the number of
accessible games being so small, it is a real
shame when they cannot be run on newer machines
due to lack of support for the components.
>
> Again, since windows xp existed as a viable
os for close to 10 years and is still largely
in use today, we're talking about a long period
of time and not a few games, indeed a post last
year on audiogames.net was from a 64 bit
windows user who complained that the upgrade
actually lost! them more than it gained. If I
could be certain the dependencies to run games
like classic pipe were still available in some
sense for post xp windows, I'd be less concerned about upgrading my os.
>
> While I know vb6 is likely to continue as a
viable option provided dependencies are
installed, which is why developers like Jim and
Aprone can still write games in it, I'm less
certain regarding other components, especially
with what I've heard of other games not working under later windows versions.
> *snip*
This point is really just the same as your first
point, with the same solutions available, be
that virtual machines, emulation, or hanging on
and maintaining an older machine for the time being.
And, as far as Draconis goes, we are working to
move our games forward to modern operating systems.
*snip*
> 3: interface.
>
> There is no denying that microsoft have by
their nature created an interface which is more
graphical, less logical and less customizable,
a trend continued in windows 8. It is not for
instance possible to have listed menues or
coherent folder structures, not to mention the
los of simpler, but more user friendly things
like outlook express (a program I'd really!
miss). This is frankly a pain in the arse, but
is something I, ---- and likely others would be
willing to suffer if it were for an over all
bennifit, however that bennifit has not materialized.
> *snip*
While I disagree that "more graphical"
inherently means "less accessible"
I think that
age-old myth has been dispelled for
years
there's no denying that Microsoft has made
a mess of things for everyone, not just visually
impaired users. This is why I am a Mac user. It
is less frustration, less expensive, and a far
more productive and pleasant computing
experience than what Microsoft currently offers.
And, with the ability to install and boot into
Windows as well, you do not need to lose access to your games.
*snip*
> In general, for myself at least, the things I
use a computer for would be far more harmed
than bennifited from upgrading, since I'd have
less access to software and games, a harder to
use interface, and nothing I've seen related to
the other things I use a computer for, ----
music, dvds, writing, using e mail that would
particularly be of help, even in terms of net
brousing, this business of mp3 playback is the
first thing I've heard of that ie9 does which would actually be of help to me.
> *snip*
At some point, you will be forced to upgrade.
You can do it on your own terms and find
solutions to these challenges yourself, or you
can wait until circumstance makes it necessary,
and have squandered the time you had to make the
upgrade smoother. I suppose it comes down to
where the tipping point for each individual will
be. When does the future hold more promise than
retreading the ground of the past.
*snip*
> While I know there are those who appreciate
having the latest os because! it is the latest,
for many people including myself computers have
only instrumental value, ie, they are only
valuable for what they do. Given this fact, and
given the fact that microsoft have not
particularly helped access in later versions of
windows anyway, it is perfectly logical why
people stick with more useable systems and with
those that allow more access to games and software.
> *snip*
I agree that upgrading just to be able to say
you have the latest and greatest is not a sound
mindset. An upgrade should offer tangible
benefits. If it doesn't, you're clearly using
the wrong OS for you, and perhaps should consider alternatives.
> *snip*
> While the former is not something that has an
easy answer, the latter is something which
people could! do something about, since the
less painless a transition and the more freedom
a person has to access what they can already,
the more likely they will be to try something
new since the less harm it will do them
ultimately, and it would be nice if developers
and other knolidgeable persons could help this transition.
> *snip*
Again, though, this is back to the idea of
wanting everything right now, or nothing at all.
Should people have not used CD's until every
record ever made was available? Should we not
use ebooks because there are still some books we
can't get that way? Hanging on to a retired
machine solves every point you have raised here.
Personally, for me, the best solution, were I in
your shoes, would be to look at a Mac if you are
that concerned with the user experience, and
keep XP installed on a second partition for
playing your old games. Mac will allow you to
stay current with a modern operating system, XP
will allow you to enjoy your old titles, and the
entire setup in this case is fully accessible.
The above points you raise are less reasons than
justifications, in my opinion. There are
solutions, some of them reasonably simple, to both of them.
Thanks for the thoughtful post. Hopefully, I've
given you something to think about as well.
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