Microsoft fails to kill DOS with Vista
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:25 pm
One might think that Microsoft has finally killed off DOS when trying to run a compiled Qbasic program or trying to use Qbasic to load a basic program.
Microsoft's decision to make it impossible to expand the CMD prompt screen to full size has made it impossible to directly load Qbasic and programs created using Qbasic.
There is a little program named DOSBOX on SourceForge that makes it possible to load and run Qbasic and programs compiled with Qbasic on a Windows Vista computer without changing the program to some other language. Vista users who have a library of BASIC programs at their disposal may not want to dispose of them yet. Simply download and install DosBox.
This small application makes a Z:\> prompt on the screen in a window. The window can be expanded to full screen, and other drives can be created and then accessed. Any command entered into the DosBox that opens drives, loads programs, etc. can be stored in a configuration file so they can happen automatically. For lovers of Qbasic and the games created for this programming environment, this small program breathes new life into those older applications that we may have believed have finally lost their life.
An amazing decision by the creators of DosBox permits the DosBox application to run on Windows, Linux and Mac OSX allowing quickbasic (and any other dos based programs) to run on all three platforms without programming changes. Simply download the correct installer for your system and make your newer computers compatible with older DOS applications and games.
Microsoft's decision to make it impossible to expand the CMD prompt screen to full size has made it impossible to directly load Qbasic and programs created using Qbasic.
There is a little program named DOSBOX on SourceForge that makes it possible to load and run Qbasic and programs compiled with Qbasic on a Windows Vista computer without changing the program to some other language. Vista users who have a library of BASIC programs at their disposal may not want to dispose of them yet. Simply download and install DosBox.
This small application makes a Z:\> prompt on the screen in a window. The window can be expanded to full screen, and other drives can be created and then accessed. Any command entered into the DosBox that opens drives, loads programs, etc. can be stored in a configuration file so they can happen automatically. For lovers of Qbasic and the games created for this programming environment, this small program breathes new life into those older applications that we may have believed have finally lost their life.
An amazing decision by the creators of DosBox permits the DosBox application to run on Windows, Linux and Mac OSX allowing quickbasic (and any other dos based programs) to run on all three platforms without programming changes. Simply download the correct installer for your system and make your newer computers compatible with older DOS applications and games.
