There actually is a surprising movement among collectors out there to also preserve the hardware (and companion operating systems) necessary to run older games too, Cecil. I don't mean the obvious systems with personality like the ones from Apple, Commodore, Tandy, et al., I mean even the generic PC's. Certainly my collection consists of quite a few original IBM systems (like the 5150 and 5155) and the more intriguing semi-compatible clones. What surprises me most though about these collectors is that they'll even maintain a collection of rather lifeless 386 and 486 systems, as well as early Pentiums. While I have the latter just because I didn't get rid of one of the ones I had, I don't have a particular interest in generic 286 - Modern systems (though again, I'll keep the latter as I replace them and wouldn't turn away a free generi-box of early vintage if I happened to come across one).
I do agree that a big problem with running old systems and OS's is getting DOS games to run properly in the first 640K of memory and of course maintaining the right set of drivers for all the odd peripherals (sound cards, external drives, video cards, etc.) for early Windows systems. Of course that was always the problem with those anyway. As for old OS', I have a full set of various versions of DOS and Windows, and, up until Windows XP, one just needed a valid serial key, if any at all. This at the very least makes re-installation a breeze.
I think the one advantage that PC's and Compatibles have over other platforms is sheer popularity. To many, "computer" only means DOS and Windows. I think access to things like drivers and information is as good as or better than any other computing platform. In the end, beyond getting enough low memory free in DOS, which was always an issue and having the right version of Windows on hand, it's no more difficult to maintain than any other platform with variable configuration options (unlike, say, a C-64). And who's to say that DosBox won't continue to mature and something robust like that to configure various Windows environments from 1.0 and beyond won't be created. I'm sure it will. Even when I went to ME, there were some games that only worked in a real Windows 95 or 98 environment, necessitating maintaining either a dual boot or greater system. In fact, I have one system that can quad boot, and may configure more.
And finally, let's not forget services like GameTap, which fully support the running of classic DOS and Windows programs, even the ones that would otherwise be a challenge to get running (of course that is limited by the selection that they presently host, but they do continually add to the list).
======================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
(A PC Magazine Top 100 Website)
======================================
*************************** Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
There actually is a surprising movement among collectors out there to also preserve the hardware (and companion operating systems) necessary to run older games too, Cecil. I don't mean the obvious systems with personality like the ones from Apple, Commodore, Tandy, et al., I mean even the generic PC's. Certainly my collection consists of quite a few original IBM systems (like the 5150 and 5155) and the more intriguing semi-compatible clones. What surprises me most though about these collectors is that they'll even maintain a collection of rather lifeless 386 and 486 systems, as well as early Pentiums. While I have the latter just because I didn't get rid of one of the ones I had, I don't have a particular interest in generic 286 - Modern systems (though again, I'll keep the latter as I replace them and wouldn't turn away a free generi-box of early vintage if I happened to come across one).
I do agree that a big problem with running old systems and OS's is getting DOS games to run properly in the first 640K of memory and of course maintaining the right set of drivers for all the odd peripherals (sound cards, external drives, video cards, etc.) for early Windows systems. Of course that was always the problem with those anyway. As for old OS', I have a full set of various versions of DOS and Windows, and, up until Windows XP, one just needed a valid serial key, if any at all. This at the very least makes re-installation a breeze.
I think the one advantage that PC's and Compatibles have over other platforms is sheer popularity. To many, "computer" only means DOS and Windows. I think access to things like drivers and information is as good as or better than any other computing platform. In the end, beyond getting enough low memory free in DOS, which was always an issue and having the right version of Windows on hand, it's no more difficult to maintain than any other platform with variable configuration options (unlike, say, a C-64). And who's to say that DosBox won't continue to mature and something robust like that to configure various Windows environments from 1.0 and beyond won't be created. I'm sure it will. Even when I went to ME, there were some games that only worked in a real Windows 95 or 98 environment, necessitating maintaining either a dual boot or greater system. In fact, I have one system that can quad boot, and may configure more.
And finally, let's not forget services like GameTap, which fully support the running of classic DOS and Windows programs, even the ones that would otherwise be a challenge to get running (of course that is limited by the selection that they presently host, but they do continually add to the list).
======================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
(A PC Magazine Top 100 Website)
======================================
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.