Thursday, December 29, 2016

FreeDOS; Free Open Source Operating System

With MS-DOS and PC-DOS no longer around, one would assume that one can no longer DOS programs. With FreeDOS, this is not true. FreeDOS is not only a clone of either but it has also been updated. It is free to download and share.
'FreeDOS is a complete, free, DOS-compatible operating system that you can use to play classic DOS games, run legacy business software, or develop embedded systems. Any program that works on MS-DOS should also run on FreeDOS.
It doesn’t cost anything to download and use FreeDOS. You can also share FreeDOS for others to enjoy! And you can view and edit our source code, because all FreeDOS programs are distributed under the GNU General Public License or a similar open source software license.'
(from the FreeDOS site).

I have installed it on older laptops. I was able to install where other operating systems would not install. I was able to install it with an USB optical drive and with the optical drive that was built into the laptop. I have downloaded and installed DOS games. 

It seems some newer laptops don't have optical drives but one can still buy an USB optical drive. The laptops that I have tried it on do have USB slots. I believe there is a trend where one can install from an USB flash drive. 

With FreeDOS, one can install and use older DOS games and software. There are still sites where one can find DOS games and software. Sites like Dos Games Archives, and Dos Games

As of 12/29/2016, the latest version is 1.2 and the latest news is 12/29/2016. 





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