Re: Install DR-DOS 7.0 into dosemu on Linux Mint (Debian)

[Frantisek Hanzlik <it@hanzlici.cz>]

Stas Sergeev wrote:
> 15.08.2013 14:27, Frantisek Hanzlik пишет:
>> - regarding to building FreeDOS with GPLed compiler and things that
>> DOSEMU/FreeDOS isn't in certain Linux distros: as I understand this,
>> distro maintainers not include it in distro cores because FreeDOS
>> cannot be compiled with _open_source_ compiler (IMO it doesn't need
>> to be GPLed one). Thus, isn't their opinion from pre-openwatcom era
>> and now nothing prevent to include DOSEMU/FreeDOS into Linux
>> distributions?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybase_Open_Watcom_Public_License

I tried understand this and referenced links, but right interpretation
is perhaps over my english skills. Only a few things:
- it seems as OW is released under "Sybase Open Watcom Public License
version 1.0" sometimes from 2002, and according to You mentioned wiki
page, there is a draft of version 2.0 of the Licence from 2004.
Then, will not be fine when this v2.0 license will satisfy distributions
leaders?
As I'm reading on https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing
so e.g. several Apple Public Source License 1.0/1.1/1.2 aren't conforming
with distro requirements, but Apple Public Source License 2.0 is fine.
World evolves, sometimes in right direction, hope OW will have better
license soon.

- second things, I so so understand as due to licensing problem (see
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=376431
http://www.mail-archive.com/debian-legal@lists.debian.org/msg34680.html
referenced from above mentioned wikipedia page) OW isn't included in
certain Linux Distros. But FreeDOS case is IMO something other, there
is FreeDOS GPL code now compiled under OW - which has not suitable
license, but still it is open source piece of SW.

For me, it seems as e.g. restrictions to use firmware under Fedora:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing:Main#Binary_Firmware
are more benevolent than use FreeDOS with DOSEMU (maybe in this case
is possible imagine FreeDOS as some sort of 'firmware', as it isn't
directly executable under Linux, yes?)

>>  Of course, I personally shall be happy to see DOSEMU
>> in Linux distributions too.
> Someone have to write a compiler for for FreeDOS and release
> it under GPL. :)

Yeah, it would be super, but we need be realistic...
IMO there's no need to be all strictly GPL (v2, v2+, v3+, LGPL+/- :),
maybe lot of other OSI licenses accepted by FSF would be fine too.

>> - FreeDOS compatibility with win3.1 maybe isn't too critical and may
>> be abandoned (my opinion; at first I think win3.x is some transient
>> stage, neither DOS, nor windows (in Czech we call it 'kočkopes' which
>> is some as 'catdog' - neither cat, nor dog). And second, I not know
>> when someone use win3.x - I know several peoples which uses DOS
>> programs, but I don't know anybody who use win3.x (in fact, two years
> This is true in real world, but in the virtual world of dosemu, win31
> is the only possibility to browse the internet with netscape navigator
> gold. :)

Yes, I just now, out from curiosity, insert some my old CD from 1998 and
found 16-bit Netscape Navigator gold (v3.04) and standard (3.04 and 4.04)
there. Where those times are... Nostalgia... But when I 15 years was not
using them, most likely I will get along without them in the future too ;)

> Not a very big deal, sure, but still it is a bit of a problem
> by itself that FreeDOS, being recommended to use with dosemu,
> shrinks its functionality compared to other DOSes. It should enrich
> the functionality, not shrink.

IMO those are functionalities related to 32-bit CPUs leverage, as work
with memory, task switching etc. - and these features even are not
fully compatible across all DOS distributions. FreeDOS perhaps extend
DOS functionality in other areas too. Regards task switching - for me
is simpler run two DOSEMU instances (with treatment of different
.dosemurc/imagedir paths) than solve multitasking in DOS (my DOS
programs not interfere one with another, of course)

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