Somewhat related: a repository of FreeDOS-compatible freeware or open source software, no "abandonware": https://clasqm.github.io/freedos-repo/
Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
41–50 of 68 posts
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
The transition to Windows was a lot more painful than the glossy history suggests. DOS had a huge eco-system of programs, TSRs to help you context switch, incredibly popular word processing and spreadsheet packages and solid networking if you had Netware available. Windows wouldn't even load on some PC's depending on which memory manager you had installed, what else you were trying to run and what kind of network sta…
On this note, the Royal Bank of Canada used a DOS-like system well into the 2000s. The tellers were amazingly proficient with it, entering data, hitting tab-tab-tab, entering more data, tab-tab-tab, etc. When they switched to Windows, you could see how much the point-and-click interface slowed them down.
The health service in Northern Ireland still used TUI terminals way into 2006, I remember seeing the staff bring up my records with a few taps of the keyboard.
Mouse UIs aren't a universal boon, and I think the recent failures at shoehorning touch screen UIs demonstrate that there isn't 'one HID to rule them all'.
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#43This reminds me of something you'd find on OldFiles back in the day:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110407222115/http://www.oldfil...
It was a webring/directory for old computers and DOS/Win3x enthusiasts. Unfortunately long gone, but it lasted from 2003 until the mid 2010s.
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#44Was DOS considered to be better than Windows back then?
The transition to Windows was a lot more painful than the glossy history suggests. DOS had a huge eco-system of programs, TSRs to help you context switch, incredibly popular word processing and spreadsheet packages and solid networking if you had Netware available. Windows wouldn't even load on some PC's depending on which memory manager you had installed, what else you were trying to run and what kind of network sta…
Thanks for writing that.
I think it was also a result from PCs being sold in mid-90' with Windows preinstalled [0] and the disappearance of naked PCs or PCs sold with alternative OS like GEM [1]. For example around the time of Windows 95 commercialization (1995), Apple went nearly bankrupt. Same for DEC, Atari, commodore and many other small providers.
[0] https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-f...
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Czech taxation authority has the "Automated Tax Information System" as the primary IS. It has been running since 1993, it has a classic DOS text-mode interface and its maintenance cost is huge, which is completely fine with its supplier, IBM, which is the only subject allowed to make any modifications to it (per the contract). Textbook case of vendor lock-in. An official study of what to do with the system from 2…
Text interfaces are still quite common in mainframes. If the vendor is IBM, the screenshot is probably a 5270 terminal running a RPG (or COBOL) application. In fact, these kind of systems are still so popular in the financial industry that there are libraries to wrap a modern GUI on top of existing terminal-based applications.
> If the vendor is IBM, the screenshot is probably a 5270 terminal running a RPG (or COBOL) application
From the linked PDF I gather the app is written in Informix 4GL (I can’t read Czech, just guessing based on the smattering of English words-I also think in mentions some modules are written in C?). If that’s right, it is probably a character mode VT100 app running on some Unix box, not 3270 or 5250, not COBOL or RPG
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#46Was DOS considered to be better than Windows back then?
Before Win2K, Windows ran on DOS.
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#47Lynx-friendly should become a web design standard.
I thought that was cute that that was an image, I had to make sure with lynx that the alt text was there.
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#48Was DOS considered to be better than Windows back then?
The transition to Windows was a lot more painful than the glossy history suggests. DOS had a huge eco-system of programs, TSRs to help you context switch, incredibly popular word processing and spreadsheet packages and solid networking if you had Netware available. Windows wouldn't even load on some PC's depending on which memory manager you had installed, what else you were trying to run and what kind of network sta…
The DOS Word was actually pretty good but, yes, there was a lot of competition for (incompatible) word processors at the time which basically continued until Office on Windows basically squashed it all. Latterly you had pretty good text-based user interfaces and, as you say, there were lots of kludges like TSRs, Double DOS, etc. that filled in a lot of gaps in the original DOS.
The other problem is that PCs basically weren't fast enough for full graphical interfaces at the time. So there was a period when DOS was acceptably fast for most purposes and Windows really wasn't even when it started to get reasonably usable in the Windows 3.0 timeframe.
Re: Dr. DOS Betamax's DOS Fansite
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the olden days we used SDL ports of games that used a framebuffer, just the same as in DOS.
In the olden DOS days, we used stuff like Allegro to make games that used the framebuffer.
Allegro is still a thing among some hobbyists, I used it years ago for dome experiments first on Windows and then on Linux.