The floppy disk contains the oldest version of 86-DOS thought to still exist. Although long-abandoned for far more advanced successors, MS-DOS remains a pivotal piece of computer history. Released to ...

In context: Back in 1980, Tim Paterson was creating a new operating system he called QDOS or Quick and Dirty Operating System. The system was later renamed 86-DOS, as it was being designed to run on ...

Unlock the full InfoQ experience by logging in! Stay updated with your favorite authors and topics, engage with content, and download exclusive resources. Vivek Yadav, an engineering manager from ...

TL;DR: Microsoft will likely never release the original source code of Windows into the wild, but the company is clearly interested in sharing important episodes of its software development history.

How was DOS part of the PC revolution? Is DOS still around? What did Bill write a long time ago? Remember the DOS prompt? DOS stands for disk operating system. The latest announcement is a blast from ...

It’s a piece of common knowledge, that MS-DOS wasn’t capable of multitasking. For that, the Microsoft-based PC user would have to wait for the 80386, and usable versions of Windows. But like so many ...

Microsoft’s MS-DOS (and its IBM-branded counterpart, PC DOS) eventually became software juggernauts, powering the vast majority of PCs throughout the ’80s and serving as the underpinnings of Windows ...

Microsoft has released MS-DOS as open-source software -- again -- but this time, on GitHub. Party like it's 1983, baby. Share on Facebook (opens in a new window) Share on X (opens in a new window) ...

Ever wonder what made MS-DOS tick? Soon, interested geeks will be able to root around inside the original source code for MS-DOS 1.1 and 2.0, as well as Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1, as a part of a ...

Clifford led How To coverage. He spent a handful of years at Peachpit Press, editing books on everything from the first iPhone to Python. He also worked at a handful of now-dead computer magazines, ...

30 years ago today, Microsoft bought the rights to the Quick and Dirty OS, re-branded it as MS-DOS, struck a deal with IBM, and made history. Share on Facebook (opens in a new window) Share on X ...

Despite the latest and greatest Intel-derived computers having multi-core 64-bit processors and unimaginably fast peripherals, at heart they all still retain a compatibility that goes back to the ...