Re: 64 or 32 bit Win 7

  • From: "Kari Eveli" <lexitec@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <xywrite@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 09:58:04 +0300

>Why are we talking about this?  I've forgotten.  For me, DOS is
a Microsoft/PC product, XyWrite was developed for DOS, and that
makes 64-bit backward compatibility a Windows issue,
overwhelmingly.  The Subject line says it all.  Linux use of
XyWrite strikes me as a niche issue, Mac use probably has more
traction but still in a niche.

What Xy for DOS needs is some kind of portable DOS environment. Virtual PC is a 
Microsoft-supported product that comes with Win 7. There are different flavors 
and support for Windows 2000 onwards. Many of us are still using 32-bit XP, but 
a DOS virtual machine prepared today is ready for use in a 64-bit environment. 
Virtual PC works like a browser for virtual hard disks and 16-bit EXEs. While 
support for DOS has been phased out, you can still install Virtual PC 2004 DOS 
Additions under Virtual PC 2007. The ubiquity and portability of this solution 
makes it a strong contender. Setting it up is a bit tricky, but if you know how 
to install a DOS computer with Win 3.11 with oddball hardware (virtual device 
drivers), you can manage it. 

Other free virtualization solutions include http://www.virtualbox.org/, but DOS 
is poorly supported. "Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh 
and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems 
including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, 
Windows 7), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, and 
OpenBSD. " 

And then there are Parallels and VMware, which are important on Intel-based 
Macs.

Best regards,

Kari Eveli
LEXITEC Book Publishing (Finland)
lexitec@xxxxxxxxxx

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