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The development of FreeDOS marches onwards with the release of version 1.4 of this command-line driven operating system. Influenced, of course, by Microsoft’s MS-DOS (which hasn’t been updated since the year 2000), FreeDOS 1.4 brings with it an updated FreeCOM, Install program, and HTML Help system. An installation also delivers several updated staple utilities, making FreeDOS 1.4 quite a compelling update to version 1.3, which came out in 2022.
Central to this release is a “focus on stability,” which could have a lot to do with the FreeCOM update – the FreeDOS version of the Command.com shell. The release notes for FreeDOS 1.4 explain that the updated FreeCOM includes bug fixes, compatibility improvements, and new translations.
A large behind-the-scenes effort appears to have been made with the installer. FreeDOS has had admirable install flexibility for quite some time. It offers downloads, packages, and media “for everyone,” including a live CD, legacy CD, USB options, and even a good old floppy edition. Knowing its audience, the FreeDOS team also links to several favorite PC emulators, which you can use to install the OS in a virtual machine and run it in a window.
The FreeDOS blog goes into some detail about how the developers streamlined and rearranged packages. In short, that the streamlining involved getting rid of buggy and lesser-used packages. Meanwhile, the touted rearranging means that CD distributions, for example, are leaner and better defined. "The LiveCD installs a complete user-based DOS system including standard DOS programs, Applications, Archivers, Device Drivers, Games, Networking, Sound, and basic tools," explained the FreeDOS admin on social media. “Use the BonusCD to install Development, Editors, Boot Tools, OpenGEM, and extra utilities.”
FDHelp is a new HTML-based help system touted by the developers. It was apparently rewritten from scratch and packs in a number of translations.
Moving onto updated core utilities in FreeDOS 1.4, the release notes highlight that Xcopy has been updated with a more efficient recursive copy. The new Move command has been updated to “limit stack usage reducing the chance of stack overflow on recursive moves.”
For networking, mTCP is claimed to deliver “many changes that improve reliability.” And, last but not least, Fdisk has some important fixes, averting critical errors that caused issues with the previous release.
You can grab FreeDOS 1.4 now, in your format and package of choice. The developers note that “most users should use the Live CD image” to install the OS, especially emulator users. If you are one of those installing on physical and/or older hardware, your needs are covered too.
FreeDOS enjoyed its 30th birthday last June.
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