Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555) wrote to Steven Horn at 14:18 on 21 Jan 2003:

 MvdV> As I said a DOS box in Windows has all the limitations of DOS. To
 MvdV> use more that 640K one needs tricks like expanded or extended
 MvdV> memory. You can only run 16 bit porogrammes and you can only use
 MvdV> the extended/expanded memory for data.

Some of those limits are not bothersome and I can and do run 32 bit Windows
console [text] programs such as Irex in a "DOS" box so don't tell
me I can run only 16 bit programs. 

 MvdV> OS/2 in text mode on the other hand has the full memory available
 MvdV> as a flat 32 bit address space.

As is the case when I run my Windows 32 console programs.

 MvdV> You wouldn't need such outlandish resources in the first place if
 MvdV> your OS wasn't such a resource hog.

Just because your PC does not have those resources does not make them
outlandish.  Incidentally, I can now buy PCs with faster processors and
more RAM for EURO $865.

 MvdV> OS/2 runs fine on a 40 MHz 386 with 8 Mb of ram.

You've already read Scott Little on this point.  I also think that if that
box were multitasking with the number of programs mine normally runs, you
would want both a faster processor and more RAM. 

 MvdV> Have you ever compared MS Word with the good old WP5? I say as
 MvdV> far as text processing goes, nothing has ever beaten WP5.
 MvdV> Everything that came later only needed more memory and faster
 MvdV> machines....

We used WordPerfect 5.1 in my office and I was the office expert on the
program.  Nonetheless, when it became obvious that our document production
requirements included desktop publishing, WP was no longer adequate.  That
it also does not work very well in a networked environment made it less
than useful.

So we converted to Word 4.0 in late 1993 and have not regretted the change.
 We now work with Word 2000.

Having said that, my brother would agree with you but his publisher has to
massage and convert his documents.  Our office has never had that luxury.

Take care,

Steven Horn (steven_a_horn{at}yahoo.ca)
Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT 
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+