Hi Don, I won't be using the Microsoft version, but rather, a modern one called Enhanced DR-DOS.
http://drdosprojects.de It has far more capabilities than the MS version, including a multitasker and memory manager, and is still being updated to keep it current. There is also alot of software being written for various forms of DOS (the other modern one often mentioned is FreeDOS, though it's not updated as often) today, but finding out what's accessible and what's not will be an interesting challenge. As for why I prefer DOS, I'll send an essay on that in a moment, since I'm sure it will answer alot of questions and shed more light on this. In any case, it's purely a comfort thing. If I had a dollar for every time someone tried to recommend Linux, I'd have a nice stash of money. I appreciate the consideration, but have no interest in that os. It's too strange for me. The idea, for example, of not having drive letters is beyond bizarre for me. Besides, I've loved DOS ever since I was a teenager and want to get back to it, especially to learn about, and to try, all the new enhancements. Thanks, Eleni On 7/22/10, Donald Marang <[email protected]> wrote: > I have noticed that you have expressed a desire to work strictly in a DOS > environment. Is this just from a matter of level of comfort or from a > particular application that requires DOS? I am not even sure if Microsoft > sells or supports a stand-alone DOS anymore. I do not think they have for > over a decade. I think many OCR applications, such as OmniPage support a > batch style use of their Windows product that requires no user interaction. > I do not know of any software that is sold or supported just for use in DOS > anymore. > > If you are just more comfortable in a command line interface like DOS was, > perhaps you should consider upgrading to the free Open Source world of > Linux. Linux is available with a graphical user interface, a command line > interface, or both. DOS was originally based on a limited subset of Unix. > Linux is a more powerful version of Unix. There is most likely a free > solution to every software product you use. There is a great, solid > distribution of Ubuntu, a popular flavor of Linux, called Vinux. It is > built for the blind and visually impaired community and is created by the > blind and visually impaired community. It comes with free screen readers > and magnifiers. There are also several free OCR solutions available. I am > developing a bash script, which is like a DOS batch file on steroids, that > uses simple dialogs to scan and OCR any image. The version I will post soon > will use both of the free cuneiform and tesseract OCR commands. > > If this interests you, check out vinux.org.uk for free downloads and > information. Or you can ask for more details. > > Don Marang > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Eleni Vamvakari" <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 12:58 AM > To: <[email protected]> > Subject: [Blind-Computing] OCR Software and Scanner Recommendations Needed > >> Hi, >> >> I know that I included ocr software and a scanner in my original >> post but figured I'd make this a separate one, since we might get into >> detail. I can't seem to find out which was the last version of >> Omnipage to work with DOS. All of my Google searches come up empty. >> The only sure thing I've been able to learn is that 3.0 works with it >> but I'm pretty sure they continued supporting DOS at least a little >> while after that. Do you think Nuance could tell me? If I don't use >> that program then I need another mainstream recommendation, since the >> adaptive ones seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth. >> >> The amount of scanners out there is huge and trying to sort through >> all of them is time-consuming, not to mention almost impossible. So >> can someone please recommend a high quality DOS-compatible flatbed >> scanner? Please tell me what type of interface it uses if you know. >> Also, will I need any kind of special card or adapter to plug it into >> the computer or does it use a standard port/slot? >> >> Thanks, >> Eleni >> >> For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: >> http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ > > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
