Yes, I spent a day this week using FreeDOS, the open source version of the Microsoft DOS operating system, in recognition of the project’s 20th anniversary. And I took pictures.

FreeDOS 1.1 can turn an old IBM PCjr into a Web server or turn a virtual machine into a time machine for old games and software. It can also induce moments of nostalgia… some of them not so warm and fuzzy. Here’s a visual tour of my day trying to function in an Internet world using nothing but FreeDOS and a collection of open source software, freeware, and “abandonware” pulled from the vast archives of the Web.

Sean Gallagher
Sean Gallagher
Remember when there was a magical land over 640k of RAM called HIMEM? You can relive those glorious days with FreeDOS.
Remember when there was a magical land over 640k of RAM called HIMEM? You can relive those glorious days with FreeDOS.
The OpenGem graphical file manager is how Windows was done before it was Windows. It has a helpful file editor, it has double-click launch of executable DOS programs, and it lets you drag batches of files to the trash can. What more could you want, really?
Sean Gallagher
The OpenGem graphical file manager is how Windows was done before it was Windows. It has a helpful file editor, it has double-click launch of executable DOS programs, and it lets you drag batches of files to the trash can. What more could you want, really? Sean Gallagher
Time to kill: FreeDOOM, one of the free versions of DOOM that are available from FreeDOS’ repositories.
I’m not sure where HappyLand is, but I don’t think I want to live there.
Minesweeper!
Arachne, a full-screen Web browser that runs on FreeDOS, is open source and has its own e-mail client. All it’s missing is a voice that says “You’ve got mail!”
Here’s how Ars looks on Arachne. When you’re rocking the Web like it’s 1994, all of Aurich’s hard work disappears.
This is about as far as you’ll get with Google using Arachne. I tried some searches, but I got blank pages.
Fortunately, Bing still works on Arachne. But I had to turn images off to keep it from hanging.
Dillo, another open source browser available on FreeDOS, got further with Google. But it was a little erratic.
FlMail is a mail client based on the same FLTK toolkit used by Dillo. It says it supports SSL mail. I managed to get some Gmail to download.
Attempting to attach a file.
Sadly, the versions of the PINE mail client I could find that were allegedly for DOS required Windows.
Microsoft Word 5.5 is still available from Microsoft’s servers for free. It runs on FreeDOS like a champ. Thanks, Mr. Gates.
WordPerfect 5, in all its blue glory, also runs on FreeDOS. Lee Hutchinson lent me his copy.
WordStar, George R.R. Martin’s favorite word processor, also runs happily in FreeDos. But the default screen colors make my eyes bleed.
Foxcalc, an open source DOS calculator application, helps with basic number crunching….
…but for real math, Dan Bricklin’s VisiCalc still rules, with its miniscule executable and old-school “/” commands.
Lotus 1-2-3 version 2 is also available from the Web, and it’s prettier—with on-screen command help. And its WK1 files can be read by OpenOffice, so it’s not a total abandonware island.
I started building a contact database in dBase III, the database program that was my bread and butter in 1989. I think I’ll compile it with Clipper.