Hi all,

Dan, me thinks you're askin' for a pink elephant.  I have such a computer, but I am not willing to sell.  I have some files and programs which I still use on occasion.  Besides, my old clunker is so big, it'd cost hundreds of dollars to ship it anywhere. Unless you're coming to the ACB convention this summer, and you're being driven by somebody who'd have room for the clunker, it's not worth the shipping costs.

What exactly does your friend want to do with this DOS computer. He can't really go on the Net conveniently.  He can't write and print much that can be formatted properly.  If he has a shell account, he can get his email via Pine or something similar, but he's virtually paddling a long canoe with just one paddle.

He could go to Linux which can be used in command-line mode, but even Linux has gone to "graphical interfaces".  The only problem with Linux is that you have to keep it up.  You have to update it and run the server properly.  This takes a good deal of techie knowledge.

I think you can run even a win10 computer in command mode, which is in fact, DOS, but he'd have to learn the menus for win10. Actually, if you quit thinking of Windows as a 'graphical interface' and think of it as a menu driven program, you might relieve some of the fear of the unknown.  Sure, Windows is a 'graphical interface', but for us, it's just like using a set of menus.

If all he wants his computer to do is to read email, then if you can find somebody with an ancient door stop, you're golden.  Maybe his sys-admin who runs the shell account would be willing to help him get into Linux enough so that he can at least run an OS that is going to facilitate his participation on the Net accurately and conveniently.   Again, I wish you luck finding a working door stop.

Maybe investing in a Smart Vision II phone  might be a better bet.

Ann P.


Original message:

A blind relative has always used dos with dialup internet.

His machine died.

He is unlikely to use a graphical intrface.

Does anyone have a suggestion where to find a computer that will still run dos, previous windows versions ran on top of it.
--
Thanks for any help.
XB
m