LENOIL@xx.lcs.mit.edu.edu (02/03/87)
Think about how many current PC applications are "bad" (direct screen writes, direct hardware manipulation, interrupt vector frobbing, etc.) and then ask yourself if you really believe that a new os where none of those programs run could possibly be a commercial success, be that os from Microsoft or Big Blue itself. Furthermore, realize that with the 80386 comes the ability to run virtual 8086s, which means several virtual PCs, without many of the programmer restrictions that an 80286 protected mode os would entail. These two factors, I believe, lead to the inevitable conclusion that any 80286 stopgap os would be (and should be) a flop; the industry would do better to move directly to an 80386 os, which would better accomodate nasty applications, while providing a much better protected mode (4 gigabyte segments!) for those developers willing to play by the rules. Consequently, I'm not going to worry about 286-DOS - at least not until some sales figures prove me wrong. Robert Lenoil