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From: leefi@microsoft.UUCP (Lee Fisher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: DOS 4.0
Summary: distinguishes the OLD DOS 4.0 from the NEW one
Message-ID: <1660@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 30 Jul 88 04:11:21 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA
Lines: 39

Recently, the question arose:

> Anyone at Microsoft willing to give a definitive answer to:
> "Will the real MS-DOS 4.0 please stand up?" ? 

People are confused about the OLD version of MS-DOS 4.0 (mentioned
in various places, most notably Gordon Letwin's book, `Inside OS/2'),
and the NEW version of MS-DOS 4.00 (recently announced on 7/19/88).
Since they are differenct products, but they have the SAME version,
people are confused (as was I).

OK, I'll try to give a definitive answer, but please be sure to read
my disclaimer at the end....

The OLD (multi-tasking) MS-DOS 4.0 was only released to a few OEMs in
Europe. I don't believe that it will be supported (i.e., new releases
of this product), although I don't know this for sure. If I had any 
say in the matter (I don't), I'd suggest that the OEMs that are using
this old product move up to OS/2, since it gives much better multi-
tasking support.

The NEW (recently announced) MS-DOS 4.00 is based on the MS-DOS 3.3
sources. This new MS-DOS 4.00 does NOT contain any of the
multi-tasking abilities that the older named MS-DOS 4.00 had.
In contrast, the OLD MS-DOS 4.0 was based on older MS-DOS sources,
something like MS-DOS 3.1 or 3.2. These multi-tasking features were
not added to 3.3 and finally this recent 4.0. If anything, the
multi-tasking code was inspiration for OS/2 (which, to make things
more confusing, was initially named DOS 5).

Hope this helps.

-Lee
________
01001100 Lee Fisher, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA.
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