Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!uceng!minerva!dmocsny From: dmocsny@minerva.che.uc.edu (Daniel Mocsny) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Horsepower Needed for MS-DOS Keywords: Are horses DOS-compatible too? Message-ID: <6879@uceng.UC.EDU> Date: 6 Dec 90 17:24:05 GMT References: <2764@cirrusl.UUCP> <3+_7KS1@xds13.ferranti.com> <1990Dec6.035617.4873@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Sender: news@uceng.UC.EDU Organization: University of Cincinnati, Cin'ti., OH Lines: 39 >>In article <3+_7KS1@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes: >>>But running DOS this horsepower is pointless As others have pointed out, a DOS user can certainly purchase off-the- shelf applications that decidedly strain the hardware. However, the average DOS user perhaps does not run them. Part of the reason is that the average DOS user does not invest a lot of time and effort into discovering interesting new compute-expensive things to do. The rest of the reason is that the average DOS developer make sures its software will at least run acceptably on an 8088-vanilla PC. This does not mean the average DOS user has no "need" for computer power. Certainly the DOS user is able in principle to benefit from having the computer do more things in his/her behalf. It only means the average DOS user does not need more computer power to run the applications that (s)he is likely to purchase, which is something entirely different. If a person doesn't have a wallet to put their money in, will we say the person doesn't "need" money? As 386 PC's become the standard, software will evolve upward in complexity and power, and this will tax the available hardware more. To tie together another thread in this newsgroup, consider what widespread use of CD-ROM will do. Since CD-ROM makes large amounts of information available for occasional and simultaneous access, multi-tasking on top of other applications is essential. Indexing, caching, and decompression schemes add overhead. And let's don't even talk about multimedia stuff. People will want to use this, even unsophisticated users, if it is designed and packaged intelligently. -- Dan Mocsny Snail: Internet: dmocsny@minerva.che.uc.edu Dept. of Chemical Engng. M.L. 171 dmocsny@uceng.uc.edu University of Cincinnati 513/751-6824 (home) 513/556-2007 (lab) Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0171