FreeDOS for Dummies?
====================
(NB. This is a short sum-up of my (brief) encounter and experience with
FreeDos, as from a user perspective (in contrast to a “tech” person, like a
programer or computer technician etc. I like to continue my experience.)
1. I always had a prejudice against MS-DOS because of “M$” or/and because I
thought it is a system with too few commands, compared to the UNIX set. - And,
obviously I considered it completely obsolete.
2. This said I wouldn’t have tried it or installed it without a certain editor
in mind I discovered was for DOS, but not working in the Command-line app
(neither in Win10,WinXp, Win7). This is where FreeDos came in.
3. I was surprised that FreeDos was not “abandon-ware” (!) but actively
developed and maintained and has a Mailing-List. Which is active. I came in,
when the “Stallman-flame-war” was heating up… Anyway, I have since had good and
helpful replies from many people who have a great knowledge of intricate
technical questions.
4. Some downsides, so far:
• I never managed to install Freedos on a harddisk via the “live CD
1.3” or 1.2 version (image). All of them just stopped in telling me “packages
not found”. (For whatever reason. I gave up after some googleing and saw other
people had encountered similar problems and said it is the BIOS and this and
that... I stopped trying. It just takes too much time without a clear reason,
what to do, uncertain result. - (Note: I tried on a “MSI” laptop, a Samsung
“Netbook”, and an ITX Minicomputer) // I finally accomplished to install it on
the ITX via USB stick (with the freedos1.2.img) on it. However, “fdimples”
still is an enigma to me… it’s not available on that .img by calling it as a
command. But I don’t think I need it.
• The USB “Problem”: has been discussed in the mailing list recently.
Honestly I don’t consider it an advantage to FreeDos having to boot a linux
system just to get to my DOS-.txt-files from the harddisk… (My ITX /
Bios/Freedos lets me transfer files to/fro USB Stick when booted from stick.
This is ok, so I can work with it, as startup time is very short. A couple of
seconds only. But booting from C: should recognize a USB-Stick present at
booting and be read/writeable.
• Printing is still waiting -- haven’t had time to fiddle with that. It
just didn’t work out of the box with my editors (LaserJet & Centronics cable).
I have no hopes to make it work, really… maybe “someday”...
• Codepage (UTF-8 support? Maybe not possible without a converter
program? »Boček« Editor can save in UTF mode in DOS.)
• Whilst trying to make it work for my needs I get the feeling there is
much discussion about technical (historical?) details, which might be of
interest to some specialists. I get the idea that DOS (“Disk Operating System”)
is a sealed book for the initiated and not for ordinary people. This doesn’t
comfort me if I just want to save my files to a usb stick or print out on paper
a letter, feeling completely stupid after years and years of computer use on
all platforms. But, I am not a »coder« or tech.
5. Advantages IMHO: All what has been said in the “Why do you use DOS?”-thread
- and more!
6. Final thoughts
“We” (me, user-people) see a computer as an omnipresent “all-purpose” thing.
The industry makes us believe that is has to be fun, easy to use, performative,
stylish, multi-user, password-protected, videoconference-abled, netflixed,
youtubed, musiced, telephoneed, typewritered, medical diagnosis machineed,
internet deviced, and rocketed flying you to Mars … there is no end. Obviously
this leads to the gigantomastia 12GB of Windows ed.al. and the daily
update-itis. Size doesn’t matter much today, but it is overkill and a complete
mess to a single person, also regarding privacy… Let’s not go into this here.
FreeDos, on the other hand, could be a surprisingly worthy alternative for
those who have only basic needs in computing - or very specialized ones (which
could be realized with the DOS means). Lean as in “vegetarian steak”,
comprehensible in it’s logic as a computer system, stable (I guess), and -
lean. (Again. This time: Fast)
Maybe I am too much of a purist, minimalist or so, - but I am VERY HAPPY if I
CANNOT and DON’T NEED to tweak anything when I don’t need to choose fonts,
sizes, colours etc. It is great with its minimal set of rules (=commands). It
has been thought through, I accept it and work with it. Just start being
productive.
No internet browsing, no checking emails, no whatsappdesktop, no whatever
networking, no virus, no commercials, no tracking, no listenings to music, no
ordering unnecessary stuff from amazon, no watching 3 videos at the same time.
(Anyway most people have Smartphones and Tablets to do all this!)
So there IS a purpose for DOS / FreeDos today which is more than
“retrocomputing” or nostalgia or a “sign of age”. Pure Z.E.N.
And by the way: WHY NOT a sign of age, too? I am ageing, wow!, and I want to
use the computer as a “better typewriter”. My computers are aging, too: Why
throw away what is still working.(Anyone Ecology? Environment? Social reasons:
Computer for Africa… a.s.o.)?
Only a single one of my past computers was actually broken (Old IBM Thinkpad.
Battery ran out). All others still work but became obsolete mainly because of
internet or no more support (Apple is the worst regarding system changes,
cables, ports...)
Everything has been invented what it needs to write a whole book only with a
DOS text editor (Using »Markdown« or »fountain« syntax, or troff/groff.) Keep
your tools simple stupid!
The actualy FreeDOS website: I could imagine communicating a better idea of
• what FreeDOS CAN do, its advantages,
• what you CAN’T do with it. (See the questions about sound, viewers,
video, graphics…)
• a working install ( I still have no idea what I did wrong that
Freedos 1.3. live, and Freedos 1.2 standard CDs never worked for me - please,
don’t be offended who put many many hours in these install ISOs etc. I imagine
its huge work, for free… so here goes my admiration! Thanks!)
• USB support needs to be solved in a straightforward way, at least for
the USB-Sticks as storage devices? I don’t know, how much this would take, or
if it is even feasible
• Printing: help with setting up a generic printing method
N.B. Yesterday I downloaded the “Kolibri OS” (https://kolibrios.org/de/download
) out of couriosity, it is a 1.5MB img (!), etched it onto an USB stick, boot
the machine with it, a COUPLE OF SECONDS LATER the whole thing is working like
a charm, including USB mouse, keyboard, trackpad. Hm… It’s all FASM written.
Quite impressive. (Forget Linux!)
regards, T h omas
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