6 ms·

FreeDOS 1.2 RC1

85 points by cheiVia0 10y ago

teddyh 10y ago
I wish they would make an official USB boot image.
- cheiVia0 10y ago
  Looks easy: http://freedos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/USB http://freedos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/USB
  - fuzzfactor 10y ago
    USB booting in general is best done more reliably than an official image will allow. Also more simply & reliably than the freedos link outlines.
  - teddyh 10y ago
    Those instructions says to use the “Odin” floppy disk image, which is a third-party project which was last updated in 2005.
    - oso2k 10y ago
      Very little if anything about booting DOS from usb has changed. U/EFI is about it and that usually rules out DOS.
      - teddyh 10y ago
        But the FreeDOS project does not publish anything which can take the place of the Odin floppy image.
        oso2k 10y ago
        Not true. The FD 1.2 betas have been available as usb images for months [0]. [0] http://up.lod.bz/FDI http://up.lod.bz/FDI
    - problems 10y ago
      Rufus, the recommended Ubuntu USB creator can build FreeDOS sticks too.
      - teddyh 10y ago
        I thought Rufus was a Windows program you had run on Windows? I would really prefer an image file.
mseepgood 10y ago
Why sourceforge.net? Why SVN? It's 2016!
- cheiVia0 10y ago
  Sourceforge: https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-acquisition-and-future-plans/ https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-acquisition-and-fut... https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/4n3e1s/the_state_of_sourceforge_since_its_acquisition_in/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/4n3e1s/the_state_... SVN: probably inertia and a large repo that would be work to convert.
- kome 10y ago
  because it just works.
- rbanffy 10y ago
  It's DOS. I bet the developers get a kick out of the retro feeling.
- SeanDav 10y ago
  Am I hearing a volunteer to migrate the project?
aruggirello 10y ago
I'm puzzled. I'd like to know why OEMs worldwide are shipping hundreds of thousands of computers with FreeDOS bundled, where any Linux distro would probably be better suited for the casual user. Are they afraid to have to handle Linux support for their PC's? Mind you, I like FreeDOS. I'm in no way bashing it. It's a great project! But we all know FreeDOS is almost certainly going to be wiped out as soon as these computers are turned on. Wouldn't it be better if users found Ubuntu or Linux Mint instead? This would be a great tool for Linux adoption. Just a thought.
- mrweasel 10y ago
  One reason could be to avoid angry calls from Microsoft. If customers know that they can get a cheaper, functional PC, by choosing one without Windows, Microsoft may react to the potential lose of licenses sold. Choice FreeDOS allows the OEMs to test that the computers are working, but Microsoft doesn't view a DOS clone at a threat to Windows. I have no idea if this is the real reason, but it seems plausible.
  - smitherfield 10y ago
    I seriously doubt that, given that computers sold with FreeDOS (generally in the third world) are sold with the implicit understanding that the end user will install a pirated version of Windows.
    - pvdebbe 10y ago
      Microsoft probably doesn't care about sales but market share.
      - digi_owl 10y ago
        At least for consumer grade computing, they want Windows out here so they can make a lower TOC argument to companies. After all future employees will already be familiar with Windows and perhaps MS Office, so there will not be as long a training period.
    - deleted 10y ago
xyproto 10y ago
It's easier to get the soundcard to work on my netbook with Linux + DosBox than using FreeDOS.
- rasz_pl 10y ago
  Dos does NOTHING for sound cards, there are no dos drivers, every single program needs to talk to raw low level hardware to make a sound.
  - khedoros1 10y ago
    And for that reason, xyproto's post is trivially true, in the practical sense. Hardware today doesn't implement any compatibility mode that would be useful to original DOS-era programs. Dosbox provides that compatibility mode, acting as a translation layer for getting+putting audio samples, simulating FM synthesis, etc. No DOS game's gonna directly support AC97 or HD Audio codecs. > there are no dos drivers There were commonly configuration and settings programs that came with hardware. Expanding beyond audio hardware, mice, CD-ROMs, EMS, and others loaded TSRs that acted more directly like drivers.
- anthk 10y ago
  Linux? Use DosEMU for high end dos games. It runs FreeDOS inside a VM with crazy speeds for Tomb Raider, Redneck Rampage and such.

FreeDOS 1.2 RC1

85 points by cheiVia0 10y ago

teddyh 10y ago

I wish they would make an official USB boot image.

cheiVia0 10y ago
Looks easy: http://freedos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/USB http://freedos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/USB
- fuzzfactor 10y ago
  USB booting in general is best done more reliably than an official image will allow. Also more simply & reliably than the freedos link outlines.
- teddyh 10y ago
  Those instructions says to use the “Odin” floppy disk image, which is a third-party project which was last updated in 2005.
  - oso2k 10y ago
    Very little if anything about booting DOS from usb has changed. U/EFI is about it and that usually rules out DOS.
    - teddyh 10y ago
      But the FreeDOS project does not publish anything which can take the place of the Odin floppy image.
      - oso2k 10y ago
        Not true. The FD 1.2 betas have been available as usb images for months [0]. [0] http://up.lod.bz/FDI http://up.lod.bz/FDI
  - problems 10y ago
    Rufus, the recommended Ubuntu USB creator can build FreeDOS sticks too.
    - teddyh 10y ago
      I thought Rufus was a Windows program you had run on Windows? I would really prefer an image file.

mseepgood 10y ago

Why sourceforge.net? Why SVN? It's 2016!

cheiVia0 10y ago
Sourceforge: https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-acquisition-and-future-plans/ https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-acquisition-and-fut... https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/4n3e1s/the_state_of_sourceforge_since_its_acquisition_in/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/4n3e1s/the_state_... SVN: probably inertia and a large repo that would be work to convert.
kome 10y ago
because it just works.
rbanffy 10y ago
It's DOS. I bet the developers get a kick out of the retro feeling.
SeanDav 10y ago
Am I hearing a volunteer to migrate the project?

aruggirello 10y ago

I'm puzzled. I'd like to know why OEMs worldwide are shipping hundreds of thousands of computers with FreeDOS bundled, where any Linux distro would probably be better suited for the casual user. Are they afraid to have to handle Linux support for their PC's? Mind you, I like FreeDOS. I'm in no way bashing it. It's a great project! But we all know FreeDOS is almost certainly going to be wiped out as soon as these computers are turned on. Wouldn't it be better if users found Ubuntu or Linux Mint instead? This would be a great tool for Linux adoption. Just a thought.

mrweasel 10y ago
One reason could be to avoid angry calls from Microsoft. If customers know that they can get a cheaper, functional PC, by choosing one without Windows, Microsoft may react to the potential lose of licenses sold. Choice FreeDOS allows the OEMs to test that the computers are working, but Microsoft doesn't view a DOS clone at a threat to Windows. I have no idea if this is the real reason, but it seems plausible.
- smitherfield 10y ago
  I seriously doubt that, given that computers sold with FreeDOS (generally in the third world) are sold with the implicit understanding that the end user will install a pirated version of Windows.
  - pvdebbe 10y ago
    Microsoft probably doesn't care about sales but market share.
    - digi_owl 10y ago
      At least for consumer grade computing, they want Windows out here so they can make a lower TOC argument to companies. After all future employees will already be familiar with Windows and perhaps MS Office, so there will not be as long a training period.
  - deleted 10y ago

xyproto 10y ago

It's easier to get the soundcard to work on my netbook with Linux + DosBox than using FreeDOS.

rasz_pl 10y ago
Dos does NOTHING for sound cards, there are no dos drivers, every single program needs to talk to raw low level hardware to make a sound.
- khedoros1 10y ago
  And for that reason, xyproto's post is trivially true, in the practical sense. Hardware today doesn't implement any compatibility mode that would be useful to original DOS-era programs. Dosbox provides that compatibility mode, acting as a translation layer for getting+putting audio samples, simulating FM synthesis, etc. No DOS game's gonna directly support AC97 or HD Audio codecs. > there are no dos drivers There were commonly configuration and settings programs that came with hardware. Expanding beyond audio hardware, mice, CD-ROMs, EMS, and others loaded TSRs that acted more directly like drivers.
anthk 10y ago
Linux? Use DosEMU for high end dos games. It runs FreeDOS inside a VM with crazy speeds for Tomb Raider, Redneck Rampage and such.