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Anatoly Shashkin💾

@vinesnfluff Here's Raymond Chen, the guy who was essentially responsible for DOS in Windows, on how that actually worked:
devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewt

6 comments
Speaktrap

@dosnostalgic @vinesnfluff More like Raymond CHAD for me, this guy is awesome even though I hate Windows and M$

Count Regal Inkwell

@speaktrap @dosnostalgic Microshaft has done *good work* for Tech.

DirectX as a whole, bringing Multitasking and GUIs to mainstream PCs, the fact that they gave IBM the slip allowing for the entire "PC Compatible" ecosystem, which made computers cheaper over time.

They were never incompetent... They were always evil. "Lawful Evil" to use DnD words :P

Speaktrap

@vinesnfluff @dosnostalgic
DirectX wasn't really needed as there was already OpenGL, which was much superior according to John Carmack, and I trust this guy.
OS/2 had multitasking before Windows.
Liberation of PC platform was a bit more compicated and I am pretty convinced it would take off with or without Gates anyway.

Count Regal Inkwell

@speaktrap @dosnostalgic while I ain't got sources for it, I'd bet a lot of money that the reason Carmack preferred OpenGL was that it allowed him to code closer to the bare metal, which is great if, like Carmack, you're basically a space alien level supergenius.

For everyone else, a library like DX that distanced you from the hardware (especially with how diverse PC hardware had become at that point) and provided a common layer of abstraction between it and software made development of applications infinitely easier.

As for OS/2 I'd have to double check the timeline... But I'm fairly sure it dropped *after* windows 3.0.

... And either way it was codeveloped by the microshaft team and a lot of its code got used on windows too.

@speaktrap @dosnostalgic while I ain't got sources for it, I'd bet a lot of money that the reason Carmack preferred OpenGL was that it allowed him to code closer to the bare metal, which is great if, like Carmack, you're basically a space alien level supergenius.

For everyone else, a library like DX that distanced you from the hardware (especially with how diverse PC hardware had become at that point) and provided a common layer of abstraction between it and software made development of applications...

Binsk :audhd: :firefish: :donor:

@dosnostalgic@mastodon.social @vinesnfluff@equestria.social Ah, Raymond Chen. He had the best blog on his brother emailing actual heads of state to complain about family members and petty grievances. In addition to Raymond’s professional accomplishments, he was a fantastic storyteller as well.

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