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by qwertyuiop924 3500 days ago
So, it's a closed source implementation of an API for an old OS/Windowing system atop DOS. Despite the fact that both DOSBox and Wine will run them fine.

And it's aimed at gaming, but most games quit windows and just ran on straight dos, so DOSBox is a better option anyways, especially considering that you're expecting me to pay for this, even though you've already said the compatability isn't great, and Wine and DOSBox are free and both have excellent compatability.

Sorry, not interested.
2 comments
voltagex_ 3499 days ago
Or, a really interesting project plus a great series of blog posts.

From the FAQ on the author's site:

>Is it open source, can I contribute? >>Thanks, but no thanks. This project was started as a personal challenge/learning exercise. To have others contribute would defeat the purpose right now.

Which I don't quite agree with (why not just not accept pull requests?), but it's fair enough.

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qwertyuiop924 3499 days ago
That would be fine, but he's charging for it. If you're charging for something, it has to be better than free offerings. But this isn't.
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Jaruzel 3499 days ago
It's specifically aimed at old Windows Games, of which there are many. It's not for old 16bit DOS games like Monkey Island or Elite for example.

So people out there have stacks of old CDs with freeware Windows Games on them (popular on the covers of the Magazines of the time) - this project would nicely re-open the use of these games.

Additionally, if he completes this, then there is a also a LOT of old 16 bit productivity and encyclopedia type software that never made the jump to 32 bit.

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qwertyuiop924 3499 days ago
...But DOSBox and wine play all of this software better than this thing does. It had well-established, free, more compatable competition.

This would be inconsequential if this was a free utility which wasn't being sold as a commercial product, but it's not. It's a full commercial product, and if it's not better than freeware in it's main focus area, that's a problem.

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Jaruzel 3499 days ago
Yeah, I agree that trying to sell it is a bad idea. Unless you are a large company, selling software is a mugs game.
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