493 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
493 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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Real DOS User's Guide
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release 3
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by Burnin' of UNKNOWN Prez
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Oct 16th, 2001
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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Introduction
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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DOS - old, primitive, basically forgotten. People are using powerful
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multitasking operating systems like WindBlows (yeah, right) and Linux,
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some younger computer fans don't even know what DOS is. But that doesn't
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mean a thing, at least until there still exist some REAL DOS USERS.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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Real DOS users
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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- IRL -
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Real DOS users are older than 14 years
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Real DOS users are plain looking
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Corollary: if they wouldn't look plain then they would be in something
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ultra-radical like neon-green or naked
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Real DOS users can speak in at least 2 different non-native languages
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Real DOS users like T-Shirts
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Corollary: they don't have many
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Real DOS users like coats
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Corollary: if they had the cuts they'd look like Nicholas Cage as Castor Troy
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when he and his brother entered the plane in the beginning of "Face/Off"
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Real DOS users usually get hungry at that time when other people go to sleep
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Real DOS users usually get sleepy about then when common people are getting up
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Real DOS users, if let, sleep at least 10,5 hours
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Real DOS users, if let, don't get up before 12 o'clock
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Real DOS users can live at least 2,5 days without any food without a problem
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Real DOS users drink at least 2 liters of liquid every day
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Real DOS users drink Coca Cola
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Corollary: they notice the different taste of Pepsi
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Corollary 2: The Coca Cola Company is the only corporation that a real DOS
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user supports
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Real DOS users know that coffeen+sugar is the basis of true human life
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Corollary: real DOS users are addicted to coffeen and sugar and can't live
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without them
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Real DOS users don't watch sports
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Corollary: they know that sports is for making and not watching
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Real DOS users are amazingly healthy when considered that they try to keep
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the amount of physical movements minimal
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Real DOS users realize that capitalism is evil
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Corollary: they also realize that the so called democracy which governments
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say they follow is a mask to hide capitalism
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Corollary to the above: a real DOS user knows that the cyber-age has come and
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so considers himself to be a basic cyberpunk
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Corollary to the above: he knows enough about cyberpunk to realize that the
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above 2 lines aren't out of context
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Real DOS users are cypherpunks
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Corollary: they have the latest version of PGPi for DOS
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Corollary to the above: they also have a program for every well-known
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encryption algorithm like DES, BLOWFISH, IDEA, CAST, RIJNDAEL, etc.
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Corollary 2: if real DOS users wouldn't be so lazy they would re-build their
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place like Mel Gibson had it in "Conspiracy Theory"
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Corollary 3: the handwriting of a real DOS user is hashed and then scrambled
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Corollary to the above: he has enough brains to encrypt the text
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on-the-fly in his head
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Corollary to the above: his brain has also built-in wipe-after-successful-
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encryption function
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Corollary to the above: that should explain why people sometimes wonder "what
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the hell did this guy do in school"
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Corollary 4: a real DOS user regularly wipes his harddrive's free space and
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empty space at files ends
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Corollary to the above: he has atleast 3 different wiping programs on his HD
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Corollary 5: a real DOS user has an encrypted partition or virtual disk where
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he keeps everything he don't want others to see
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Corollary to the above: it's DEFINITELY something else than Norton Diskreet
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Corollary 6: a real DOS user has set up his system so it has more passwords
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than an average high-risk governmental security system
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- OS -
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Real DOS users can name atleast 5 different DOS distributions
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Real DOS users' computer boots to DOS by default (in case he has other OS's on
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the HD)
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Corollary: his computer is equipped with a boot manager
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Corollary to the above: a real DOS user has XOSL
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Corollary to the above: XOSL rules!
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Corollary 2 to the text 2 lines above: a real DOS user has a videocard which
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supports VESA in hardware
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Real DOS users know that the grooviest DOS ever is PhysTechSoft's PTS-DOS 2000
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Corollary: they spent the 5 minutes to find the byte which to patch to get
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rid of the 1 minute delay by booting
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Real DOS users consider only Linux without X-Windows as a possible
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alternative to DOS
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Real DOS users have thought about writing their own version of DOS
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- HARDWARE -
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Real DOS users have at least three computers
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Corollary: at least two of them are turned in all the time
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Corollary to the above: a real DOS user knows how to make the electricity
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counter of his apartment stop and/or he's not the one who's paying for the
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electricity
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Real DOS users have at least a 286
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Corollary: it's an AMD or Cyrix or what ever, just NOT Intel
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Corollary 2: a real DOS user would never, ever, use a machine which has a
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68xxx processor
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Real DOS users have a modem of at least 2400bps
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Corollary: they wish they'd have a better modem
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Real DOS users have a slow CD-ROM
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Corollary: it's some exotic drive which doesn't work with universal drivers
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Corollary 2: real DOS users have most of their stuff on CDs
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Corollary 3: they use a CD cache
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Corollary to the above: they managed to find one
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Corollary 2 to corollary 3: they also have enough upper memory to stuff
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another cache into it
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Real DOS users have a mouse but only because some weak programs need it
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Corollary: real DOS users use jTSR so they can hide the annoying mouse
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cursor when it's not currently needed
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Corollary to the above: they're too lazy to load and unload the mouse driver
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just because of two or three programs
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Corollary to the corollary: a real DOS user has jTSR which basically means he
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knows CyberRax, the author of jTSR
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Real DOS users have seen a 8" floppy
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Real DOS users have at least two 5,25" disk drives and seven 5,25" floppies
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Real DOS users have at least 10 CDs
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Corollary: a real DOS user has written at least half of his CDs himself
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Real DOS users can quite well live with a HD of 40MB
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Corollary: they have at least 50 diskettes
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Real DOS users have a COVOX
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Corollary: they didn't build it themselves
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Real DOS users have set the booting sequence to C: A:
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Corollary: a real DOS user is aware of bootsector viruses
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Corollary 2: a real DOS user would never, ever, permanently use a BIOS where
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you can't set the booting sequence
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Real DOS users messed a whole day with BIOS setting to get a higher index
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from AT Performance
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Corollary: a real DOS user is a maximalist
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Real DOS users don't think that it's impossible to work with a 286/10MHz with
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1MB memory and MDA monitor
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Corollary: they used one themselves and still have it
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Corollary of the above: the eyes of a real DOS user ain't the best anymore
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Real DOS users's computer is powerful enough to run everything the user
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wants to run
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Corollary: a real DOS user runs only programs of which he knows that his
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machine is powerful enough to run them
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Corollary 2: he doesn't have a problem with the CRT bug in TP7 programs
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Corollary to the above: his PC's CPU has less than 200MHz and/or he knows
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where to get programs which can patch the buggy code
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- SOFTWARE -
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Real DOS users know that the best user interface is the 'commander' which
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was started by Norton Commander
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Real DOS users tend to use NCEdit for all kind of editing
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Corollary: if it's not NCEdit then it's some other small/fast editor which
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supports NCEdit's key-layout
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Real DOS users who have a decent machine use ACE for archiving
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Real DOS users who don't have a decent machine use RAR for archiving
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Corollary: if someone uses ZIP or ARJ for regular archiving then he
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definitely ain't a real DOS user
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Real DOS users know that the only REAL expanded memory manager out there is
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QEMM
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Real DOS users know that Norton Cache is the best disk cache there is
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Real DOS users find COMBI-Disk pretty interesting but probably don't use it
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Real DOS users know that Norton Speed Disk is the best disk defragmenter there
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is
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Real DOS users own the whole Norton Utils and/or PC Tools package(s)
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Real DOS users have some fast boot program loaded
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Corollary: real DOS users aren't happy when the boot takes 30 seconds
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Corollary to the above: they jump from joy if it takes only 27 seconds
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Corollary to the above: they jump even more when after re-arranging
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CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT the reboot takes 18 seconds
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Real DOS users use TurboCopy
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Real DOS users know that SHSUCDX is the best CD-extensions program there is
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Corollary: they noticed the lacks of MSCDEX
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Corollary to the above: if a real DOS user would use CLOAKING he perhaps would
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even use the modified version of MSCDEX
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Corollary to the above: real DOS users know which program provides CLOAKING
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Real DOS users have at least 15 TSRs loaded
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Corollary: they'd load more if they'd have more UMBs
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Real DOS user most likely uses 4DOS or some other advanced command interpreter
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Real DOS users have some anti-viral TSR(s) loaded
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Corollary: they aren't afraid of viruses anymore
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Corollary to the above: they don't rely on the TSR(s) but update and use their
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copy of F-Prot quite often
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Real DOS users probably have some crash-recovery TSR loaded
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- WIN -
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Real DOS users think that Wincloset and Mac users are wimps
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Real DOS users know that almost anything that can be done under WinS*** can
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be done under DOS
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Corollary: they have read the "Why You Should Use DOS" textfile
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Real DOS users don't have Win on their HD, only the installation package on
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some CD
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Real DOS users own Winblows only because (Win)Soft-ICE, TR2000 and EDump (II)
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run under it
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Corollary: a real DOS user is advanced enough to use those programs
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Real DOS users know that the only good thing about WinToad is the start up
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screen
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Corollary: they use Blackout package to get the same effect
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Real DOS users find that long file names are only useful for MP3 naming
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Corollary: if a real DOS user is forced to use Wishhh95+ then he saves all
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the files under names with at least 61 characters
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Corollary to the corollary: he likes to annoy people
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- PLAYING -
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Real DOS users play strategy games like WarCraft ][
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Real DOS users sometimes play MUD
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Real DOS users occasionally, for example in a situation of absolute boredom,
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play fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Combat
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Real DOS users think that doomsters aka first-person-shoot-games like
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Wolfenstein 3D and it's followers (DOOM, Quake, Half-Life and others) are
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only good for filling the empty space on your new CD-R if you couldn't find
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700 megs of MEANINGFUL stuff
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Real DOS users aren't players, they play only once in a while
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Corollary: real DOS users think that people who do nothing but playing should
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be shot
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- PROGRAMMING -
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Real DOS users can program
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Real DOS users know assembly
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Real DOS users use DG and TR for debugging
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Corollary: they think that Turbo Debugger is for wussies
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Corollary 2: a real DOS user debugs code which crashes TD
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Corollary 3: he knows that those two debuggers complement each other
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Corollary to the above: a real DOS user knows which line in the CONFIG.SYS of
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most ORDINARY PC lUSERS prevents DG from loading
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Real DOS users know that the best hex editor is HIEW
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Corollary: real DOS users also know that all good hex editors are called *IEW
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Corollary to the above: they can name at least 2 more programs which are named
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*IEW which means they know what the '*' stands for
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Corollary 2 to the corollary: they would never hack with something called
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HEXED or ZAP
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Real DOS users always have some project going
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Corollary: they don't get enough sleep
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Corollary to the above: if they do get enough sleep they never get anything
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done
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- VOLKOV COMMANDER -
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Real DOS users know that Volkov Commander is the coolest commander ever
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Corollary: they find DOS Navigator over-bloated and/or too slow
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Real DOS users use the 'quick execute commands' option of VC
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Real DOS users have a problem with the 511 bytes size limit of VC 4.x's .EXT
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files
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Real DOS users *actually* use the user menu of VC
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Real DOS users have mailed comments about VC to V. V. Volkov
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Corollary: they know his email-address
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Real DOS users have included most of their programs in the user menu
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Corollary: they still execute most programs by typing the name on the
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commandline
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- TV & CINEMA -
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Real DOS users take movie characters for role model
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Real DOS users have seen everything that's worth seeing
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Real DOS users watch shows like Simpsons, Beavis & Butt-head, South Park,
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Futurama, Celebrity Death-Match and Daria
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Corollary: as one can guess a real DOS user pukes on crap like Teletubbies
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Real DOS users like the sick humor of Beavis & Butt-head and Monty Python
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Real DOS users like comedy, horror and science fiction movies
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Real DOS users know who are the 3 great new age monsters of cinema
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Corollary: because of respect would a real DOS user never use the names Jason,
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Michael or Freddy as his alias, even if his real name is/resembles to one
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of them
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Real DOS users know that Neve Campbell is the coolest scream queen ever
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Corollary: they also know that Neve is the best female actor in this galaxy
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Corollary to the above: they would join Neve's official fan club, if there
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wouldn't be that darn membership cost
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Real DOS users comments to others before most movies: "I've seen this one"
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Corollary: a real DOS user is considered by the surrounding people to be an
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expert in the subject of television/movies
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Real DOS users like to go to the cinema
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Corollary: they usually live near one
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Corollary to the above: they've subscribed to the mailing list of that cinema
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Real DOS users' TV is turned on most of the time
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Corollary: they usually turn it on within 1 minute after coming in
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Corollary: the TV of a real DOS user is most likely plugged together with the
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computers so they all turn on together
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Real DOS users DO NOT watch soap operas
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Real DOS users often channelsurf and/or -check (channelsurf with short,
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prefferably not longer than one word, commentary about the running show)
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- MISC -
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Real DOS users are computer hackers in the original sense of the word
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Real DOS users have named their computers
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Corollary: they probably have also named their harddrives
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Real DOS users love COM format
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Real DOS users like the real mode
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Corollary: a real DOS user most likely uses HiRAM, Last Byte Memory Manager
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or something similar instead of QEMM
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Corollary to the corollary: his PC doesn't have enough gadgets to run UMBPCI
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Real DOS users like to listen to MODs
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Real DOS users like to listen to MP3s
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Corollary: if a real DOS user owns a sound card then he uses MPXPlay
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Corollary to the above: if he doesn't have a sound card then he uses DSS
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Corollary to the above: a real DOS user can use every piece of software there
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is no matter what language it's in
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Corollary 2 to the text 3 lines above: a real DOS user doesn't let the lack of
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hardware stop him from doing what he wants
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Real DOS users don't understand why someone produces an EXE if it's under 65kB
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and ain't an EXE-device-driver combo
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Real DOS users have created their own geek-code block
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Real DOS users have at least 15 different bootdisquettes
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Corollary: at least 12 of them are stored as disk-images on some unknown CD
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Real DOS users don't understand why some programs need EMS when there's XMS
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Real DOS users find sickening that almost every program nowadays uses a DOS
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extender
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Real DOS user have multiple configurations in their CONFIG.SYS
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Real DOS users' AUTOEXEC.BAT is at least 1,5kB
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Real DOS users don't like warez but use them because they don't have any money
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Corollary: real DOS users like GPL
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Corollary to the above: they rather not distribute their programs under it
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Real DOS users have no problem filling 3 CDs only with DOS software
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Real DOS users have the source of MS-DOS 6.20
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Real DOS users don't use backup programs
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Corollary: they like to live dangerously
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Corollary 2: they've had at least two HD crashes
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Real DOS users like textfiles
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Corollary: they think that the inventor of PDF is complete idiot
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Real DOS users have read the whole Jargon File 4
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Real DOS users have at least 3 different versions of "The Anarchists Handbook"
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Real DOS users love ASCII art
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Real DOS users constantly monitor the "Interesting DOS Programs", "Freeware
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DOS Programs" and FreeDOS sites
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Real DOS users know that Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ
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Corollary: they'd rather use some other DOS than MS-DOS
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Corollary to the corollary: they still use MS-DOS because UMMs tend to not
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work with others
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Real DOS users aren't afraid of the DOS commandline
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Real DOS users know that computers are not meant for drawing, painting,
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picture editing or any other kind of dealing with graphics, except perhaps
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viewing
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Real DOS users know that the smallest doesn't-matter-what's-in-the-memory
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program which won't hang has the size of 1 byte
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Real DOS users know about most of their 3000+ files what those are exactly
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good for
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Real DOS users have at least 598kB free conventional memory after loading
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everything
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Real DOS users appreciate programmers who write TSRs which occupy less than
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3kB memory
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Real DOS users think that the 'loadhigh' command is the coolest thing since
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DOS 3.0
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Real DOS users know that DOS will never die
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Real DOS users resemble in many aspects to J. Random Hacker
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Real DOS users own all programs mentioned in this textfile except perhaps
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doomsters
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Real DOS users know what things mentioned in this textfile like hashing, MODs,
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encryption, UMB, partition manager, J. Random Hacker, etc. is/are/means, ie
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they actually know what I'm talking about
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Real DOS users have seen all movies mentioned in here
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Real DOS users are almost non-existing, because one has to match to EVERY
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statement in this textfile
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Corollary: the rest is easy, but who the f*** is CyberRax?
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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Conclusion
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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Real DOS users are nothing more than dedicated fans. And they're quite OK. At
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least until you don't say something like: "DOS is dead" or "Windows is the
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best OS there is"
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