[log in to unmask] wrote:
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Matthew
> Barnett
> 
>>> Sourceforge is a place where programmers can publish their
>>> open-source projects.  You don't have to be a programmer
> though
>>> to download and use their creations.  It's no better or
> worse
>>> than trying to install commercial software.  The only caveat
>>> would be that some software is in alpha or beta stages so
> expect
>>> bugs, as if the commercial junk that's out now isn't all
> loaded
>>> with bugs.
>>>
>> The advantage, though, is that as the source is open other
> programmers 
>> can fix any bug that crops up instead of having to rely on the
> original 
>> author to fix it.
> 
> That can also be a disadvantage because you also have situations
> where several programmers will pick up a project and carry it
> off into several different directions.
> 
>>> BTW: My first computer was an Apple II (not even a II+) with
>>> 64K.  I had a Z80 card in it to also run CP/M software.
> CP/M
>>> was a great little OS.  Ran in 4K of memory and wasn't
> locked to
>>> a particular hardware platform.  The first version of MS-DOS
> was
>>> little more than a knockoff of CP/M, but nowhere near as
> lean.
>>  >
>> MS-DOS was based on 86-DOS (previously QDOS), which Microsoft
> bought 
>> from another company. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86-DOS.
> 
> Which was a workalike OS taken from CP/M-86, the 8086 version of
> CP/M, originally made for the 8080 but usually run on Z-80
> hardware.  It wasn't a bad idea.  At the time CP/M software was
> very popular, especially for business applications.  This OS
> meant software vendors didn't have to do much more than
> recompile their existing apps for the 8086.
> 
If you really like CP/M then you could try an emulator! :-)