State Of MSDOS In 2023-Beyond?

[legacyfan]

as the beginning of the true line of windows releases windows 95-98se are still considered some of the best windows versions in the world but with browsers and software getting hard to find and computer capable of running it even harder is MSDOS Still usable in 2023-Beyond?

[legacyfan]

Part Of My Series (State Of Windows)

[shelby]

yes the dos does not care about mb or gb of ram or thousand mhz's it is just works with its own ram

 

[beansmuggler]

It has TLS 1.2 web browsing, which is nice, but doing something like banking is gonna be a herculean task without using browservice. Social media, which is less mandatory, is also a difficult task depending on the platform. Since there are few people willing to create a TLS 1.3-compatible graphical browser for DOS (and, even if you did, some sites would probably reject you outright because of your user agent), you're stuck with building custom clients for websites that have accessible APIs. This is easier for some sites than others (as a twitter client would require you to render or otherwise operate a browser page to allow API access, for example), but it's not impossible, since someone's already done it for Mastodon. Instant messaging platforms like Telegram and Discord are both difficult or impossible to write for (the former requiring asynchronous code and backporting of C++14, and the latter technically being a little more possible but being a ToS violation AKA ban risk).

 

DOS could definitely be more "alive" with a more dedicated group of users developing new software, but even the more hardcore "never upgrade" adherents keep Windows or some other graphical desktop for non-coding/non-gaming purposes. The potential is there, but people would need to want to do it first.

[shelby]

Just wonder why they do not a TLS 1.3 browser for ms dos

Edited January 25, 2023 by shelby

[Old Technology]

18 hours ago, shelby said:

Just wonder why they do not a TLS 1.3 browser for ms dos

1.3 was invented in 2018. Long after DOS systems were in general use. 1.2 was from 2008 so browser support was still available 

[shelby]

i see... so it is hard to add the new tls to browser

[awkduck]

TLS 1.3 could exist for dos. With the abundance of open source code, it is more about patching the difference between systems. However, with dos, it becomes more a labor of love.

With Dos, you must reinvent the wheel many times over. There isn't an abundance of modern, or even near modern, supporting code base. On top of that, the dos compilers are more static in development state. Code, meant from modern systems, is always being updated to build under new compiler versions.

If there were interested developers, Dos could become more capable in meeting modern use scenarios. One downside, as opposed to writing support code for other systems, is that the code would mainly benefit Dos. It would be much less portable to other systems. Portability has become important to the development ecosystems. Portable code can also be a boon, but that is another topic.

One issue that seems to cast a dark shadow, over Dos, is PC/Laptop vendors aiming for hardware without BIOS. It isn't the last nail in the coffin. If you look a the Raspberry Pi, it has no BIOS. Operating systems wishing to run on the RPI needed to write a kind of bridge. Sometimes it is called a firmware. You can kinda imagine it as a virtual BIOS, but this isn't quite correct either. Something like this could be done for Dos, for x86 hardware distributed without BIOS. But, it would require interested developers. However, there may be interest in this area, as such a development would support running other operating systems, like older Windows and OS2. This would not be an easy undertaking. And you would need a specific "Virtual BIOS" for every hardware version of Laptop/PC. But there are plenty of, powerful, BIOS enable machines floating around for now.

As an alternative, a machine architecture independent Dos could be developed. One that could be ported to ARM devices. The issue there is that the bulk of original Dos software would not run on it, without some kind of emulation layer. Amiga has been doing that for awhile now.

The Amiga fans have a spiffy FPGA system called the Vampire. The Vampire V4 is offered as Amiga upgrades or as a standalone system. For Dos we do have the Mister, supporting an FPGA clone of an enhanced 486SX. For era recreation, this is pretty good. But to reach a larger audience, I would estimate that such a system would need to meet at least Pentium II equivalence at 450Mhz. A 800Mhz system, with some 3D Video acceleration, would get some good attention. Right now, this isn't really an option. The price of such a machine would out weigh the extra spent on a authentic machine. The Amiga group is in a different situation.

Edited in: It should also be mentioned, that there is a push to always replace security, productivity apps, protocols enhance, media fidelity and Definition enhance, etc. While there is lots of open source code there, it is often corporately beneficial. With more reliance of enormous code bases, you get a kind of Vendor lock in. What most people like about Dos, is the absence of the update/upgrade/replace(waste) mentality. However, Dos faces the obsolescence lock in. To fully enjoy it, you need old hardware or emulation. Emulation is a great way to enjoy and explore Dos. But for those seeking a more literal escape from the digital realities of life, emulation seems a bit defeating. The metaphorical Dos resurgence, is only virtual. Like a rebellion in a box. But this may be going a little far. There is good joy in finding something new, even if it is old.

If you follow Dos back to it's early heritage, you find people running a kinda Homebrew Dos on Homebrew hardware. There is no reason Dos couldn't fork from the modern direction of protocols and security. You might not be able to post on Facebook or Pay your bills. But there is nothing stopping people from writing independent Dos social media platforms. Linux was a kinda Homebrew system, for a long time.

In my option, the main issue with Dos is the lack of a multitasking interface, shared audio, better shared (at least) vesa support, full multitasking memory access, and shared networking. We have Windows. But then, this is about Dos and the Future of Dos.

Dos is cool. But what kills a system, is it not being used by enough capable people.

Edited January 25, 2023 by awkduck

[awkduck]

3 hours ago, awkduck said:

But what kills a system, is it not being used by enough capable people.

Well, kills it in a sense of new "lively" development. People will be playing Dos games and using Dos programs for some time. When I say kill, I mean it no longer grows. But those that have enjoyed using it, remain hopeful. Thank you, Freedos (and all the sentimental archival soldiers keeping lost files found). 

Edited January 25, 2023 by awkduck