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Asus EEE PC does have just USB ports. So, no RS232 available.

I have just tested it. The OO 3 installs and runs with the just released KernelEx 0.3.6. Looks like the problem has been solved.

The Windows 98 Explorer does have a problem related to the integration with IE. Operations on large files, or large amount of small files are locking system resources. This problem does not happen in Windows 95. There are several work arounds available. - The easiest one is to keep IE at version 4. With IE 5.5 it works quite well. With IE 6, the Explorer bug is very annoying. - Windows 98 lite without IE and with Explorer from Windows 95 works very well. - An alternative shell like LiteStep or some other not using the Explorer for file operations. - There is a work around by keeping two sets of browser DLL files. One for the Explorer from IE 5.5 and the other for IE 6. - There is an Unofficial Explorer Lockups SHELL32.DLL fix, as well.

Good news is the DOS sessions are working in windowed mode with the new driver. So, it is significantly better, than the regular one. The bad news is, I can not load Windows with the VBIOS loaded, still. The InfoVBE tool works correctly without the VBIOS. But, with the VBIOS it does not exit as it should to. A lot of informations scrolls through the screen, then stops at some point. It is necesary to reboot the system then. I've tried to redirect the screen output to a file. But, the contents of the output file gets lost after the reboot. So, I can not check if the new modes are present in the VBIOS. ----- Edit The new VBEMP 9x comes with a properly working VBIOS TSR included. After loading the /1024x768/alv_1411.exe in the autoexec.bat the 1024x600 mode becomes available. ----- I found another strange behavior connected with disabled wireless network card. The Windows 98 started to crash at booting when the unknown ethernet adapter device was present in the device manager and disabled in BIOS. To make everything working correctly with both enabled and disabled wireless adapter, I had to let the windows detect both Atheros network cards as unknown network cards, and then I have disabled both in the device manager. Now everything works fine, no matter if the wireless card is enabled or disabled.

I've been observing items disappearing from the transfers window in the Opera 9.6, when the concerned file remained in the download folder. I'm aware of the function removing deleted or moved files from the list. In my case the files were removed without apparent reason.

I was able to build a VBIOS. It seems to be working fine in DOS. But, Windows 98 fails to load with the VBEMP 9x, if the VBIOS module was loaded to the memory. I found no indication how the VBIOS should be loaded, so I've added it to the AUTOEXEC.BAT. I was unable to switch the SNAP driver to the VESA mode. The "gaoption.exe vesa on" command brings an iformation the nga_w32.dll could not be loaded. The IEGD package suggests it is possible to build own EFI module. The EEE supports EFI, as far as I know. The linux version of the EEE PC 900 does have the EFI partition by default. Still, I do not know what to do with it.

No, it does not seem to be the case. So, the BIOS reports more than enough of memory available.

Is there a VNC solution capable of transferring screen data from applications running DOS full screen mode? The Real VNC 4.1.2 works qute well, with exception of the DOS applications running full screen mode.

The conclusion is the Opera 9.5 introduced some serious speed related core changes. The current 9.6 version is the result of trying to make the new design stable again. The old 9.2 design is slower but more reliable. It seems to be logical to wait for higher than 9.6 version, before upgrading from 9.2.

I do prefer the way it was done in the 9.2. The icons were in dimmed colours. So, the menus were more readable, and still not disturbing. Grey is good for the tool bar. But, in the menu coloured icons are much better. Yet another problem. The Opera 9.60 appears to loose entries from the download list, between sessions. The sort order is distorted, as well. Right after installation, it appears, there are no skins with coloured icons in the installation package. I do prefer the Opera 9.2. So, I've unistalled the 9.60, as it appears to bring less good than bad.

Oh, I did not realize the VBEMP = Universal VBE. Apparently there are two branches of the same project (9x and NT compatible). Still, it allows to use just 800x600 mode. How can I "persuade" the BIOS to use 1024x600?

I've upgraded Opera from 9.2x to 9.60. The problems with oppening .URL links remained unchanged. When comared to the 9.2 the 9.60 does have worse readablity, because almost all icons are just in shades of gray. I do not know how to make them coloured, at the moment.

Is there Windows 98 compatible VBEMP driver available? All I've found is Windows NT related, so far.

After adding the 1024x600 modes I had to restart the system. Then I was able to select the 1024x600 mode. Unfortunatelly, the screen remained at 800x600. The desktop was resized to 1024x600, but the visible part is 800x600, only. So, GAMode does not change much I've checked the 1024v768 mode, again. I was wrong. The screen is cut to just 800x600 instead of 1024x600. I have no idea how to set the native 1024x600 LCD resolution.

The SNAP driver works correctly with DOS applications. But, the system does not switch off itself. It is necesary to use the power button. The top possible resolution on the LCD is the 800x600, still. It is possible to select a higher resolution, but the LCD will cut it to the top left 1024x600.

The SciTech SNAP driver does not support Windows 98. The SciTech Display Doctor does not support i910. The conclusion is there are no Windows 98 SciTech driver for i910.

It's somewhat true, but I have found nothing about Scitech support for Windows 98.

Another possibility is to set the .ODT files as comressed archives in the Total Commander. The good side is the Total Commander is available in many language versions. The bad side is, it is not free. As it should be bought after the trial period. I'm still looking for the Polish version of the Copernic Desktop Search 2.3. There are multiple clues the Polish version was available, in the past. But, I can not find it, any more.

Not true, anything below 128GB should do. It would be good to test how the system works with the SATA drive disconnected, as the Windows 98 could need additional drivers to work with SATA drives. This experiment is not the solution, but it could remove one part of the equation.

Copernic Desktop Search 2.3 works in Windows 98 and is able to index and search in the OO ODF files.

The flash seems to be much too slow to be usable as a RAM. Besides, the amount of write cycles is significantly limited.

The ODF files are in fact a compressed XML. In order to use the FIND command it would be necesary to unzip the XML files first. So, the FIND is useless as is. Not to mention, the average user will not want to play with the DOS prompt commands.

With the OpenOffice becoming more and more popular in the business systems the amount of ODF files is rising fast. It was possible to locate the documents through the text search of the Windows Find function. But with the compressed ODF files, the Find function is useful no longer. So, I'm trying to find something able to deliver the ability to search through the ODF files. I hope, there is something free around.

Remove the Lilo or Grub and Linux will not operate, as well. So, this statement is a bad example. Still the DOS can be used as a stand alone OS, not just the OS loader. So, it is a very good toll, when the 9x kernel is damaged. Windows 9x has to use none 32bit code in order to keep compatibility with older applications and drivers. What one is treating as a disadvantage the other believes to be a huge advantage. Windows 9x supports 3 generations of code, that way (DOS, 16bit and 32bit API). Still the key part (kernel) of the code is 32 bt. So windows 9x has a right to be called a 32bit OS. The funny thing is the NT based OS were stripped from the compatibility related code, yet they are still bigger. So, perhaps the old code is not that bad.

Well. In one case it is safer, in other it is not. Still, I'm not afraid to connect a newly installed Windows 98 directly to the internet, while I would not do it with Windows XP without a router on the way. To use an objective comparament it is necesary to define the boundries. In general both systems do have some advantages in some cases. Also the technical advancement is not equal to the satisfaction of the user. I do prefer to use an older car without an advanced computer between me and the engine.