An open source project maintaining a free DOS-compatible operating system commonly used in embedded devices such as cash registers has achieved its first-ever major release. FreeDOS 1.0 features improved file, memory, and CD-ROM subsystems, and now provides a “stable and viable MS-DOS replacement,” according to a project spokesperson.

FreeDOS aims to be a complete, free, 100 percent MS-DOS compatible operating system. The project was founded in the mid-90s by Jim Hall, who worried that Microsoft would abandon DOS in favor of Windows.

A release announcement at the FreeDOS project's website calls FreeDOS 1.0 a “major milestone” that has “finally been released.” Touted new features include:

• Long filename support in several applications, including command.com
• Kernel and most applications support FAT32
• HIMEM and EMM386 are “extremely stable, considering the complexity”
• Includes a free CD-ROM driver

Availability

The release is available initially as a basic CD-ROM image, with larger, more featureful ISOs to be posted shortly. Also available is a set of normal boot floppy images, that work in conjunction with the ISO; a full, standalone floppy distribution is expected to follow soon.

Additional details can be found in the release announcement, here.

For more background on FreeDOS, be sure to read this 2002 introduction to FreeDOS from project founder Jim Hall.

The project's SourceForge homepage is located here.

 
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