Media Share 9/MEDIASHARE_09.ISO/private/mpc93mar.zip/DILEMMA.DAT

Text File | 1993-02-11 | 6KB | 113 lines

                              I Have A Dilemma!
                                by Bill Quinn
                Pinellas IBM PCUG - Bits & Bytes Clearwater, FL

     Do you have a dilemma in selecting an operating system for your
     computer? I certainly do!  After loading the various operating
     systems of DOS 5.0, DRDOS 6.0, and OS/2, along with the various
     operating environments of Windows, PC/GEOS, DESQview, and Software
     CAROUSEL on my computer, I have been pondering on how to set up my
     computer. At this time I am not sure which operating system or what
     combination of other software I should use on my computer. There are
     just too many options available to the computer user today.  Unless
     your computer is used as an entertainment or recreational tool only,
     I should like to suggest that you look for the least cumbersome
     operating system to do the job you need to do.  Then stay with it.

     To me those words "least cumbersome" refer to a system that is
     fast, simple to use, and that does the work needed to be done. This
     is especially true in the at-work environment, but "at- work" takes
     on a new meaning when we use it to talk about our home computers.
     The home computer may be of both worlds - work and entertainment.

     Each operating system or operating environment may have merit
     depending on how you use your computer. The choices of operating
     systems are as follows:

     MS-DOS 5.0 has wide spread application support and is the most
     common operating system bundled with new computers. It has limited
     memory management and task switching features.

     DRDOS 6.0 is superior to MS-DOS 5.0 in memory management, task
     switching, security features, disk compression, and external
     commands available. It has wide spread application support as well
     since it runs the same programs as MS-DOS 5.0.

     OS/2 2.0 is a graphical 32-bit operating system which doesn't
     require the DOS operating system and has multitasking capabilities
     (able to run two or more programs at one time).  It does require
     expansive hardware for its operation.  It does a superb job of
     running DOS programs, and the recent update allows it to run
     Windows 3.1 applications as well.  Today it offers weak software,
     drivers, and peripheral support. This will improve over the next
     few months.

     The operating environments which require you to have either MS-DOS
     or DRDOS on your computer are listed below:

     Windows 3.1 is the most popular graphical operating environment
     offered today for computers. It allows multitasking, but it has
     expansive hardware requirements. Third-party software is abundant.
     While sales of Windows 3.1 have been outstanding, it has been
     reported that less than 30 percent of the people who own Windows
     use it on a full time basis.

     DESQview brings multitasking to DOS without a graphical interface.
     It does not have the hardware requirements of Windows or OS/2. It
     does work with Windows applications. DESQ-view /X is a recently
     released version with a graphical interface.

     Software CAROUSEL is a task-switching program which allows a user
     to load up to 12 software programs at one time and to switch
     between those programs by the use of a hot-key.  While you can not
     multi-task with CAROUSEL it has no special hardware requirements.
     CAROUSEL's task-switching is superior to that which is offered by
     MS-DOS and DRDOS.

     PC/GEOS has a graphical interface that looks remarkably like Windows
     and works well with older and slower computers.  The only problem
     with it is that third-party software support offered is almost
     nonexistent.

     There are special hardware requirements if you want to run OS/2,
     Windows 3.1, or DESQview.  The following are my personal minimum
     recommendations:

     OS/2 requires a computer with at least a 386 CPU, 8 Mb of RAM, and
     a hard drive with the capacity of at least 200 Mb. The system files
     and swap file will require about 40 Mb.  Your system will operate
     both faster and better with more RAM.

     Windows requires about the same hardware as OS/2 except for the RAM
     requirement which is only 4 Mb of RAM.  The DOS and Windows files
     along with the swap file will require about 15 Mb.  Your system will
     operate both faster and better with more RAM.

     DESQview requires a computer with a 286 CPU.  Extra expanded RAM,
     while not required, makes DESQview much happier.

     The minimum requirement of a 200 Mb hard disk for OS/2 and Windows
     may seem excessive.  You will find that todays new programs for
     OS/2 and Windows are extremely large, and that they require more
     and more disk space.  A recently released dictionary program for
     windows, for example, takes up 10 Mb of hard disk space. One word
     processor, along with its supplemental programs, exceeds 15 Mb.
     Spreadsheet programs now require up to 10 Mb. With 6 or 7
     applications along with 4 or 5 utilities plus the operating systems
     you could be using between 120 and 150 Mb of disk storage just for
     the program files. These numbers do not include any space required
     for the data files that may be used.

     This requirement for larger and larger storage space led me to
     purchase the Iomega's Bernoulli drive system over a year ago. The
     Bernoulli drive system uses removable disk cartridges, each 90Mb.
     This allows me to expand storage space without having to install
     larger and larger hard disks each year or so. Today I am still
     pondering on what combination to use.

     Remember DOS or DRDOS still work, and they are solid performers.
     There are so many applications for DOS that millions of users don't
     need to look any further.  Perhaps that's the answer to my dilemma.

     Enjoy!