Full backward compatibility is a nice feature indeed, but is a growing problem. Its easier to get 386s these days then 286s or lower for SurvPC purposes. Also, on 286s or lower, Arachne works, but crawl in away that makes it really annoying to use.
When on those kind of computers, I always find myself going back to text-mode browsers, such as Bobcat or lynx. Those work faster on such machines, and take less space, too. Many DOS addicts these days are using "advanced" machines. From a 386 to a P800. I myself am running DOS most of the time on my P350 computer. I am planning to move on to a PC that has the speed of over a Gigahertz, and yet my plans for the OS still include DOS as the center, with Windows and Linux "in the background, when needed". (i'm messing alot with video encoding. Need the speed.) Therefor I am pretty much sure that moving Arachne to DPMI is a good move. I'm all for it!
