I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

On 05/11/12 09:04, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G



http://www.worldofspectrum.org/warajevo/tasword.zip


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

"the_constructor" wrote in message
...

I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G


Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions instead
of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On 05/11/2012 09:25, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 09:04, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G



http://www.worldofspectrum.org/warajevo/tasword.zip


Isn't that quite likely to be a sinclair spectrum version, though? Does
it have to be Tasword? Wordstar was much more common.

http://www.brothersoft.com/wordstar-207541.html

On 05/11/12 11:27, GB wrote:
On 05/11/2012 09:25, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 09:04, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G



http://www.worldofspectrum.org/warajevo/tasword.zip


Isn't that quite likely to be a sinclair spectrum version, though? Does
it have to be Tasword? Wordstar was much more common.

From what O could glean, that's actually a dos version but I cant be
arsed to download it and see.

http://www.brothersoft.com/wordstar-207541.html


Wordstar is no bad WP for a DOS based machine..or CP/M :-)







--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On 05/11/12 11:27, GB wrote:
On 05/11/2012 09:25, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 09:04, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G



http://www.worldofspectrum.org/warajevo/tasword.zip


Isn't that quite likely to be a sinclair spectrum version, though? Does
it have to be Tasword? Wordstar was much more common.


Ok I DID downloaded it and...
README.TXT:
==========

TASWORD.EXE
-----------

PC executable version of the famous ZX Spectrum text processor Tasword
2. You will not need any emulator to run this program! If you are not
happy with the Microsoft Word, maybe you will be happy with the
Tasword??? This program is an example how to access the printer in the
ZXCOMP-ed program. This IS really a text processor (it CAN do printing
etc.), but with ZX Spectrum limitations (max 312 lines of text, etc.).
This program will bring to you feeling how the word processing looks in
the time of the ZX Spectrum, but now on the PC (without the emulator)...

Of course, the program has saving/loading possibility. An example file
(TUTOR.TSW) is included, and it will bring to you a short tutorial how
to use it (of course, if you want to use it, e.g. if you are a
mazochist). To load it, press ALT+A to get a main menu, then select
option "L" and type in the file name (TUTOR). This program reads and
writes files with extension .TSW. You must not give the extension, the
program will do it automatically.

How this program is created
---------------------------

Making this program was not so easy, because the original Tasword has a
long BASIC part which is not quite adequate for making a standalone PC
executable. The source file was TASWORD2.TAP tape file. First, the
BASIC part is modified, so a new basic part looks like:

10 CLS : LET a=USR 64330
20 CLS : LET a=64*INT (a/64+0.99): IF a=0 THEN GO TO 3000
25 LET nmb=0: GO SUB 4000: PRINT AT 4,0;"PRINT TEXT FILE
[P]"
28 PRINT : PRINT "SAVE TEXT FILE [S]"
30 PRINT : PRINT "LOAD TEXT FILE [L]"
35 PRINT : PRINT "MERGE TEXT FILE [M]"
40 PRINT : PRINT "RETURN TO TEXT FILE [R]"
55 PRINT : PRINT "RETURN TO DOS [D]"
70 PRINT AT 20,0;" ";INVERSE 1;"PRESS KEY";
INVERSE 0;" "
80 LET a$=INKEY$: IF a$="" THEN GO TO 80
90 LET b=CODE a$: IF b97 THEN LET b=b+32
180 IF b=112 OR b=115 OR b=108 OR b=109 OR b=114 OR b=100 THEN GO TO 500
190 GO TO 80
200 LET nmb=1: CLS : GO SUB 4000: PRINT AT 3,0;"PRINT OPTIONS": PRINT :
PRINT "JUST PRESS [ENTER] FOR DEFAULT VALUES GIVEN IN BRACKETS"
210 LET i=8: LET j0=23: PRINT AT i,0;"LINE SPACING? (1)": GO SUB 6000:
IF a$="" THEN LET a$="1"
215 POKE 62235,VAL a$
220 LET i=10: PRINT AT i,0;"START AT LINE? (1)": GO SUB 6000: IF a$=""
THEN
LET a$="1"
230 LET c=64*(INT VAL a$-1): LET b=c+FN p(62216): LET x=60045: GO SUB 950
240 LET i=12: PRINT AT i,0;"FINISH AT LINE? (LAST)": GO SUB 6000: IF
a$=""
THEN LET b=a-c: GO TO 260
245 LET b=64*INT VAL a$-c
260 CLS : PRINT AT 20,0;"PRESS THE [Q] KEY TO QUIT"
270 LET x=60049: GO SUB 950
271 LET x=23749: LET b=23760: GO SUB 950
275 LET c=PEEK 62470: IF c0 THEN LPRINT CHR$ c
280 RANDOMIZE USR 60038
285 LET c=PEEK 62471: IF c0 THEN LPRINT CHR$ c
290 GO TO 10
500 IF b=114 THEN GO TO 10
620 IF b=115 THEN CLS : GO TO 1000
630 IF b=109 THEN GO TO 2000
640 IF b=108 THEN LET a=USR 59081: LET a=0: GO TO 2000
650 IF b=112 THEN GO TO 200
670 IF b=100 THEN RANDOMIZE USR 0
950 POKE x,b-256*INT (b/256): POKE (x+1),INT (b/256): RETURN
1000 LET b=FN p(62216): CLS
1005 PRINT AT 8,0;"NAME OF TEXT FILE FOR SAVING?": LET i=10: LET j0=0:
GO SUB 6000
1010 LET a$=(a$+" ")( TO 8): FOR f=1 TO 8: POKE 23785+f,CODE a$(f):
NEXT f
1020 LET temp=b: LET b=a: LET x=23782: GO SUB 950: LET b=temp: LET x=23779:
GO SUB 950
1030 RANDOMIZE USR 23777
1040 PRINT AT 8,0;"TEXT FILE ";a$;" SAVED:";AT 10,0;a;" BYTES, ";a/PEEK
62237;
" LINES"
1110 PAUSE 0: PAUSE 0: GO TO 25
2000 CLS : PRINT AT 8,0;"TYPE THE NAME OF THE TEXT FILE";AT 10,0;
"AND PRESS [ENTER]"
2020 LET j0=0: LET i=16: GO SUB 6000
2022 LET a$=(a$+" ")( TO 8): FOR f=1 TO 8: POKE 23785+f,CODE a$(f):
NEXT f
2025 LET temp=FN p(62216): LET b=a+temp: LET x=23821: GO SUB 950:
LET b=(FN p(62221)+22)*64-a: LET x=23824: GO SUB 950: LET b=temp
2030 RANDOMIZE USR 23800: GO TO 10
3000 FOR i=23296 TO 23361: POKE i,32: NEXT i
3005 POKE 23362,0
3010 PRINT AT 8,0;"TYPE WORD TO BE REPLACED / FOUND"
3012 LET j0=0: LET i=10: GO SUB 6000: IF a$="" THEN GO TO 10
3020 LET j=0: FOR i=1 TO LEN a$: POKE 23297+i,CODE a$(i): IF a$(i)=" " THEN
LET j=j+1
3021 NEXT i
3022 IF j0 THEN CLS : PRINT AT 12,0;"JUST A WORD - NO SPACES ALLOWED!":
GO TO 3000
3025 POKE 23297,LEN a$
3030 PRINT AT 12,0;"WITH (JUST ENTER FOR FIND ONLY)": LET i=14: GO SUB 6000
3040 IF a$="" THEN POKE 23362,1: GO TO 3060
3050 FOR i=1 TO LEN a$: POKE 23329+i,CODE a$(i): NEXT i
3060 LET a=USR 64955: LET a=USR 64333: GO TO 20
4000 PRINT AT 0,9;"TASWORD TWO";AT 1,4;"(C) TASMAN SOFTWARE 1983": RETURN
6000 LET a$="": PRINT AT i,j0; FLASH 1;" "
6010 LET j=j0: IF INKEY$"" THEN GO TO 6010
6020 LET b$=INKEY$
6030 IF b$="" THEN GO TO 6020
6040 IF CODE b$=13 THEN PRINT AT i,j;" ": RETURN
6050 IF CODE b$12 THEN GO TO 6170
6060 IF j=j0 THEN GO TO 6200
6070 LET j=j-1: PRINT AT i,j; FLASH 1;" "; FLASH 0;" ": LET a$=a$( TO
j-j0):
GO TO 6200
6170 IF CODE b$32 OR CODE b$127 THEN GO TO 6200
6175 IF nmb AND (b$"0" OR b$"9") THEN GO TO 6200
6180 BEEP .005,5: PRINT AT i,j;b$; FLASH 1;" ": LET j=j+1: LET a$=a$+b$
6190 IF j=32 THEN PRINT AT i+1,0;" ": RETURN
6200 IF INKEY$"" THEN GO TO 6200
6210 GO TO 6020
7000 DEF FN p(x)=PEEK x+256*PEEK (x+1)

Then, this BASIC is compiled using Hisoft Basic Compiler. There is no
any strong reason for it - the main reason was our wish to prevent
breaking of the BASIC using SHIFT and SPACE (this would look quite ugly
in the program which prefer to be a PC executable). The compiled
machine code is put on address 27500. Then, the following additional
machine code is inserted in a REM line for supporting printing, saving
and loading (switch /TAPE would not help to add save/load support,
because Tasword performs saving and loading from the Basic, and
additional printing support is necessary because ZXCOMP-ed program
itself does not support any access to the printer):

Printing subroutine (send a byte from the A register to the printer):

23760 DB #ED,#00,'8086' ; Switch into 80x86 mode...
PUSH DX
XOR AH,AH
XOR DX,DX
INT 17H ; Send a byte to the printer
POP DX
INT 250 ; Go back into Z80 emulation mode...
RET

Saving subroutine:

23777 LD IX,0 ; These zeroes are patched from the BASIC
with
LD DE,0 ; an actual address and length
DB #ED,#FE ; ZXCOMP block save
23786 DB 'XXXXXXXX.TSW',0 ; The name is also patched from the BASIC
RET

Loading subroutine:

23800 DB #ED,#00,'8086' ; Switch to 80x86 mode...
MOV AX,3D00H
MOV DX,23786
INT 21H ; Open an external file
JC 23832
MOV BX,AX
MOV AH,3FH
MOV DX,0 ; These zeroes are patched from the
BASIC with
MOV CX,0 ; an actual address and maximal length
INT 21H ; Read the file
MOV AH,3EH
INT 21H ; Close the file
23832 INT 250 ; Go back into Z80 emulation mode...
RET

Notice that we didn't use ZXCOMP block load for loading, like in following
example:

23800 LD IX,0
LD DE,0
DB #ED,#FF ; ZXCOMP block load
DB 'XXXXXXXX.TSW',0
RET

Why? Because ZXCOMP block load needs the ACTUAL length of the file in DE
register, or, if DE is 0, the whole file with be loaded regardless of
the actual length of the block. So, it the file is too long, the
program will be overwritten (and the crash will result). Using a 80x86
code is more robust.

After this, some texts were patched using the built-in monitor (the
Tasword help screen), to made help messages more meaningful on the PC
keyboard. The program was started (RANDOMIZE USR 27500) and snapshoted
using F7 key.
Generated snapshot file (SNAP.Z80) is compiled using ZXCOMP release
2.51. The following command line was executed:

ZXCOMP SNAP TASWORD /! /%250

Switch /%250 is included to speed up the program, because the real
Tasword is a bit slow in scrolling...

That's all!
================================================== ==================

So you COULD have done that yourself and answered your own question...




--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On 05/11/12 13:07, GB wrote:
On 05/11/2012 11:37, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
So you COULD have done that yourself and answered your own question...

Indeed! But a) it's a .ru website, and b) I got a warning about the file
from my browser, so I chickened out. You're obviously braver than me.

well I wouldn't RUN the executable for sure.

Outside of a Dos box in a sandbox virtual machine..




--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On 05/11/2012 11:29, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 11:27, GB wrote:
On 05/11/2012 09:25, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 09:04, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G



http://www.worldofspectrum.org/warajevo/tasword.zip


Isn't that quite likely to be a sinclair spectrum version, though? Does
it have to be Tasword? Wordstar was much more common.

From what O could glean, that's actually a dos version but I cant be
arsed to download it and see.

Its a dos version in the sense that its a spectrum emulator and tasword
built into a single executable. So you get the whole speccy experiance
including rather blocky on screen fonts etc.

http://www.brothersoft.com/wordstar-207541.html


Wordstar is no bad WP for a DOS based machine..or CP/M :-)

Alternatively Borland sidekick was good. A pop up TSR program that was
largely driven with wordstar keystrokes. Great for developing code
without an IDE. You could simply jump in an out of the editor complete
with file in place, with just a hot key combination.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
On 05/11/2012 11:29, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 11:27, GB wrote:
On 05/11/2012 09:25, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 09:04, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G



http://www.worldofspectrum.org/warajevo/tasword.zip


Isn't that quite likely to be a sinclair spectrum version, though? Does
it have to be Tasword? Wordstar was much more common.

From what O could glean, that's actually a dos version but I cant be
arsed to download it and see.

Its a dos version in the sense that its a spectrum emulator and tasword
built into a single executable. So you get the whole speccy experiance
including rather blocky on screen fonts etc.

http://www.brothersoft.com/wordstar-207541.html


Wordstar is no bad WP for a DOS based machine..or CP/M :-)

Alternatively Borland sidekick was good. A pop up TSR program that was
largely driven with wordstar keystrokes. Great for developing code
without an IDE. You could simply jump in an out of the editor complete
with file in place, with just a hot key combination.


If you're wanting a DOS wordprocessor, I can recommend Borland Sprint.
It's even got a few printer drivers built in, and some modern printers
can emulate one or more of the printers it can feed.

It's available on at least one abandonware site.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...


I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions instead
of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not found any desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making minimum usable ram about 128M.


NT

On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:09:39 -0800, meow2222 wrote:

On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...


I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman
Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran
in Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I
would like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions
instead of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not found any
desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making minimum usable
ram about 128M.


NT

If you have USB ports on your laptop then Puppy Linux can boot and run
from a USB stick. You might find that's ok.

On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:09:39 -0800, meow2222 wrote:
Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions
instead of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not found any
desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making minimum usable
ram about 128M.

ISTR running Linux and X happily on a machine with 8MB, but that was
close on 20 years ago :-)

Current slackware seems to claim 64MB for the install, so your 128MB is
probably right - although I think I have a 4-year-old slack install on an
old IBM thinkpad w/128MB, and that chugs rather a lot even then. 256MB
probably improves things a lot (so long as not running anything
heavyweight).

Personally I'd go for DOS with a TCP/IP stack and Wordperfect 5.1. I seem
to recall Ami Pro being quite nice back in the day, and I think that ran
under MSODS

On 05/11/12 17:09, wrote:
On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...


I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions instead
of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not found any desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making minimum usable ram about 128M.


yerrs. Damn Small Linux is a possible distro

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

should work with 16MB ram.

But desktop? Not sure it comes with any windowing..Oh apparently it
actually DOES!!!

Mmm I would say looking at the screenshots that you will need about 64M
RAM to run it with X-windows and apps.



NT



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On 05/11/12 17:58, mick wrote:
On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:09:39 -0800, meow2222 wrote:

On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...


I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman
Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran
in Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I
would like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions
instead of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not found any
desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making minimum usable
ram about 128M.


NT

If you have USB ports on your laptop then Puppy Linux can boot and run
from a USB stick. You might find that's ok.



Not many old machines will BOOT from USB even if they have USB ports.

Better to boot from CD or floppy..





--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On Monday, November 5, 2012 10:47:03 PM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/12 17:09, wrote:
On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...

I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software..

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux distributions instead
of DOS - these come with many word processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not found any desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making minimum usable ram about 128M.

yerrs. Damn Small Linux is a possible distro
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
should work with 16MB ram.
But desktop? Not sure it comes with any windowing..Oh apparently it
actually DOES!!!
Mmm I would say looking at the screenshots that you will need about 64M
RAM to run it with X-windows and apps.

Windows 3 with LFN can run happily on 3M, and 95 on 8M. But no GUI linux can run on much less than 128M. DSL, Puppy etc are no exceptions. Sure one can run command line linux or dos on a lot less, but that makes machines a lot less useful. Why a minimal ram graphical linux doesn't exist I don't know.. There's no shortage of old laptops about that could have their uses.


NT

On 06/11/12 00:20, wrote:
On Monday, November 5, 2012 10:47:03 PM UTC, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:
On 05/11/12 17:09, wrote:
On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts
wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...

I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman
Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene.
It ran in Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much
memory which I would like it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux
distributions instead of DOS - these come with many word
processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not
found any desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making
minimum usable ram about 128M.

yerrs. Damn Small Linux is a possible distro
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ should work with 16MB ram. But
desktop? Not sure it comes with any windowing..Oh apparently it
actually DOES!!! Mmm I would say looking at the screenshots that
you will need about 64M RAM to run it with X-windows and apps.

Windows 3 with LFN can run happily on 3M, and 95 on 8M. But no GUI
linux can run on much less than 128M. DSL, Puppy etc are no
exceptions.

Have you actually TRIED?

Sure one can run command line linux or dos on a lot less,
but that makes machines a lot less useful. Why a minimal ram
graphical linux doesn't exist I don't know. There's no shortage of
old laptops about that could have their uses.

I HAVE seen X windows running on 2M or so on a low res screen.
But X-windows is a full featured window system in the way windows 3
never was.

Looking at my system here, the apps themselves - Firefaux, Udderbird,
VLC (Im watching telly) and a game I am playing are all 100MByte memory.

Then the applets are all around the 10-20MB mark - that's little daemons
running things like the clock, the weather, the update manager and the
menus ...

I'm running about 2GB of memory in total..out of the 4 in the system :-)

That's C++ for ya!

X itself is about 10-12Mbytes

So the problem on a low ram system is likely to be the apps rather than
the X server itself

I agree that you aren't likely to run X on a 3M machine!
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/m...uirements.html

reckions you need 64MB RAM fr a reasonable windowed damn small linux.
wit 24Mbyte a bare minimum.

I know my 512Mbyte system swaps badly with more than one BIG windowed
app running on Debian...




NT



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

Jules Richardson wrote:
ISTR running Linux and X happily on a machine with 8MB, but that was
close on 20 years ago :-)

I had 4MB. And it was a 386. And I ran Netscape. Slowly.

It's still here if anyone wants a go:
http://projectdevolve.tripod.com/

Just don't try anything modern on it...

Theo

On 06/11/12 01:28, Theo Markettos wrote:
Jules Richardson wrote:
ISTR running Linux and X happily on a machine with 8MB, but that was
close on 20 years ago :-)

I had 4MB. And it was a 386. And I ran Netscape. Slowly.

It's still here if anyone wants a go:
http://projectdevolve.tripod.com/

Just don't try anything modern on it...

Theo

Which shows you how crude windows 3 was really.

I did run X on some sort of pc unix on 2MB ram.

Then on SCO unix on same ram.

Just about ran X-eyes IIRC.

X is like postscript. A piece of software at least 10 years ahead of the
hardware at its inception.

But IIRC first X I saw on Linux was doing fairly well on 4MB and a 486

Motif or XVM or something.


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:20:19 -0800, meow2222 wrote:
Windows 3 with LFN can run happily on 3M, and 95 on 8M.

I remember one workplace issuing me a 486 w/16MB and Win95 on it. It was
throughly useless for doing anything with, and dumped within a few days
in favour of a pentium w/32MB. I can't imagine Win95 doing anything more
than booting in 8MB.

I'm reasonably sure I had Win 3.11 running comfortably in 2MB, though.

cheers

Jules

replying to the_constructor , WiZard wrote:
the_constructor wrote:

I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.
I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.
Can anyone help please.?
Kindest regards,
Jim G




--
I have uploaded it at Vetuswa
http://vetusware.com/download/Tasword%20PC/?id=9741


--
posted from
http://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/...ne-848190-.htm
using HomeOwnersHub's Web, RSS and Social Media Interface
to home and garden related groups

On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 12:52:52 AM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 06/11/12 00:20, wrote:
On Monday, November 5, 2012 10:47:03 PM UTC, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:
On 05/11/12 17:09, wrote:
On Monday, November 5, 2012 9:45:29 AM UTC, David WE Roberts
wrote:
"the_constructor" the_constructor wrote in message
...


Alternatively you could try one of the cut down Linux
distributions instead of DOS - these come with many word
processor options.

Unfortunately linux and low memory don't seem to mix. I've not
found any desktop linux that idles at less than about 64M, making
minimum usable ram about 128M.

yerrs. Damn Small Linux is a possible distro
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ should work with 16MB ram. But
desktop? Not sure it comes with any windowing..Oh apparently it
actually DOES!!! Mmm I would say looking at the screenshots that
you will need about 64M RAM to run it with X-windows and apps.

Windows 3 with LFN can run happily on 3M, and 95 on 8M. But no GUI
linux can run on much less than 128M. DSL, Puppy etc are no
exceptions.

Have you actually TRIED?

Yes. By run I mean more than one app/window, puppy, antix etc can do a single window on 96M.


Sure one can run command line linux or dos on a lot less,
but that makes machines a lot less useful. Why a minimal ram
graphical linux doesn't exist I don't know. There's no shortage of
old laptops about that could have their uses.

I HAVE seen X windows running on 2M or so on a low res screen.
But X-windows is a full featured window system in the way windows 3
never was.
Looking at my system here, the apps themselves - Firefaux, Udderbird,
VLC (Im watching telly) and a game I am playing are all 100MByte memory.
Then the applets are all around the 10-20MB mark - that's little daemons
running things like the clock, the weather, the update manager and the
menus ...
I'm running about 2GB of memory in total..out of the 4 in the system :-)
That's C++ for ya!
X itself is about 10-12Mbytes
So the problem on a low ram system is likely to be the apps rather than
the X server itself

If you look at apps & applets on say windows 2, they're tiny compared to today's software. It can be done - DSL is a desktop linux on a 50M disc with over 100 apps. But dsl still needs a lot of ram.


I agree that you aren't likely to run X on a 3M machine!
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/m...uirements.html
reckions you need 64MB RAM fr a reasonable windowed damn small linux.
wit 24Mbyte a bare minimum.

Well, all I can say is my linux attempts did poorly with under 128M.


I know my 512Mbyte system swaps badly with more than one BIG windowed
app running on Debian...

OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+ tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its anorexic compared to today's OSes.


NT

On Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:43:17 -0700, meow2222 wrote:



Well, all I can say is my linux attempts did poorly with under 128M.


I know my 512Mbyte system swaps badly with more than one BIG windowed
app running on Debian...

OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+
tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its
endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its
anorexic compared to today's OSes.




Have you tried Enlightenment? That can run with very little memory.

By the time you get a couple of applications loaded and part of the RAM
stolen by the graphics system you can expect problems with low memory. X
is nice, but is rather big. You need a leaner window manager than that.

On 18/08/13 00:43, wrote:

OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+ tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its anorexic compared to today's OSes.


indeed. because frankly ram is cheap

really trying to run modern oses on REALLY old hardware is a bit of an
exercise in futility.

If you want to run legacy DOS apps run em on dos boxes on a VM.

On slightly old hardware you do better with linux than trying to put new
windows on though.

stuff designed for windows XP runs much better on linux than Vista/win7
IF you can crank the RAM up to a GB or so.

mainly because the manufacturers often didn't write new drivers for
older hardware.



NT


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

On 18/08/13 11:42, mick wrote:
On Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:43:17 -0700, meow2222 wrote:


Well, all I can say is my linux attempts did poorly with under 128M.


I know my 512Mbyte system swaps badly with more than one BIG windowed
app running on Debian...
OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+
tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its
endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its
anorexic compared to today's OSes.



Have you tried Enlightenment? That can run with very little memory.

By the time you get a couple of applications loaded and part of the RAM
stolen by the graphics system you can expect problems with low memory. X
is nice, but is rather big. You need a leaner window manager than that.
X is not a window manger.

Its a graphics interface system.



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

On Sun, 18 Aug 2013 13:09:16 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 18/08/13 11:42, mick wrote:
On Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:43:17 -0700, meow2222 wrote:


Well, all I can say is my linux attempts did poorly with under 128M.


I know my 512Mbyte system swaps badly with more than one BIG windowed
app running on Debian...
OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+
tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its
endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its
anorexic compared to today's OSes.



Have you tried Enlightenment? That can run with very little memory.

By the time you get a couple of applications loaded and part of the RAM
stolen by the graphics system you can expect problems with low memory.
X is nice, but is rather big. You need a leaner window manager than
that.
X is not a window manger.

Its a graphics interface system.


Correct. Sorry. I can only claim confusion due to becoming ancient.

Enlightenment E17 should still be good, running directly on top of X. I
doubt if there is much smaller than that. Whether it does enough is
something else.

On 18/08/13 18:03, mick wrote:
On Sun, 18 Aug 2013 13:09:16 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 18/08/13 11:42, mick wrote:
On Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:43:17 -0700, meow2222 wrote:


Well, all I can say is my linux attempts did poorly with under 128M.


I know my 512Mbyte system swaps badly with more than one BIG windowed
app running on Debian...
OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+
tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its
endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its
anorexic compared to today's OSes.



Have you tried Enlightenment? That can run with very little memory.

By the time you get a couple of applications loaded and part of the RAM
stolen by the graphics system you can expect problems with low memory.
X is nice, but is rather big. You need a leaner window manager than
that.
X is not a window manger.

Its a graphics interface system.

Correct. Sorry. I can only claim confusion due to becoming ancient.

Enlightenment E17 should still be good, running directly on top of X. I
doubt if there is much smaller than that. Whether it does enough is
something else.

but if all you want is a DOS program running on a minimal platform, its
easy enough to run a dos emulator, or in a virtualbox.

Linux without a window system will chirp in 64-128MB ram fine.


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

On Sun, 18 Aug 2013 13:08:22 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

If you want to run legacy DOS apps run em on dos boxes on a VM.

On slightly old hardware you do better with linux than trying to put new
windows on though.

stuff designed for windows XP runs much better on linux than Vista/win7
IF you can crank the RAM up to a GB or so.

It's a hoot, seeing how fast DOS boxes come and go on a modern system.
Sometimes they don't, as their writers never thought they'd be running
at such speeds, so they go in a sulk.

On Sunday, August 18, 2013 1:08:22 PM UTC+1, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 18/08/13 00:43, wrote:

OTOH my first '98 machine with 32M ram managed even with opera & 30+ tabs open. One thing I don't like about modern software/oses is its endless bloat. I remember all the talk of 98 being bloated, but its anorexic compared to today's OSes.

indeed. because frankly ram is cheap

yup, it does eat cpu cycles too.

really trying to run modern oses on REALLY old hardware is a bit of an
exercise in futility.
If you want to run legacy DOS apps run em on dos boxes on a VM.
On slightly old hardware you do better with linux than trying to put new
windows on though.
stuff designed for windows XP runs much better on linux than Vista/win7
IF you can crank the RAM up to a GB or so.
mainly because the manufacturers often didn't write new drivers for
older hardware.

Programming's expensive, hardware cheap. The downside is we have systems today that are in principle of awesome performance, but which are bogged down with grossly bloated OSes and apps. Sometimes I wish it weren't so. Admittedly I wouldnt want to go back to 98 though.


NT

On Monday, 5 November 2012 09:04:56 UTC, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Tasword PC was available, as was Tasword PC 2. One was very similar to Tasword 128 (ZX Spectrum) the other quite different in many respects. My Father and I used these programs extensively back in the early 1990's and I should still have a copy of Tasword PC on an old hard drive somewhere.

Note: This is a proper MS DOS version, not a Zx Spectrum emulation.

Good grief that goes back a way, even for 2012.
I used to have the software on a Spectrum back in the 80s and also had the
pc version which ran on dos.
It was fine as far as it went but it is not a what you see is what you get
program, you still need control characters and it used epson control codes
on dot matrix printers so could not print to modern printers at all, not
even in 2012, I know cos i tried it.

I'd suggest anyone who wants to save memory looks at Jarte by Caroliner
Road Software instead. And this is today in 2016.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
wrote in message
...
On Monday, 5 November 2012 09:04:56 UTC, the_constructor wrote:
I am looking for some software called "Tasword PC" by Tasman Software.

I used this years ago before Windows 95 came onto the scene. It ran in
Microsoft DOS. I have an old laptop with not much memory which I would
like
it for.

Can anyone help please.?

Kindest regards,

Jim G

Tasword PC was available, as was Tasword PC 2. One was very similar to
Tasword 128 (ZX Spectrum) the other quite different in many respects. My
Father and I used these programs extensively back in the early 1990's and I
should still have a copy of Tasword PC on an old hard drive somewhere.

Note: This is a proper MS DOS version, not a Zx Spectrum emulation.