Welcome to FreeDOS

Gregory Pietsch created libm, as a public domain math library for programming. Gregory writes about the new release: "For this version, I have worked on edge cases regarding complex numbers and dug deep into the C99 Standard." Please help test the library and provide feedback to Gregory, or reply to the freedos-devel email list. You can download the new version from the FreeDOS Files Archive at Ibiblio, under /devel/libs/libm

Did you know FreeDOS has a YouTube channel? The latest videos are about getting people interested in programming, like a program to make a Cylon "eye" move back and forth on the screen, and how to write a simple file viewer. We hadn't posted videos in a while, but previous videos from before the break included a comparison of Quattro Pro with a modern spreadsheet, a demonstration of video resolutions on DOS, how to use VIM on FreeDOS, and how to install Borland TurboC++ on FreeDOS. The channel also sometimes covers more general "retrocomputing" topics like a history of tech writing with ed and nroff, a look back at original style C, and using Linux like original Unix. For more, subscribe to the FreeDOS YouTube channel.

If you like "dungeon" style adventure games, you might be interested in Angband. Angband is a free, single-player dungeon exploration game, where you play an adventurer seeking riches, fighting monsters, and preparing for a final battle. Angband is open source software at the Angband website. Ben Collver has compiled a DOS version of Angband 4.2.5, which you can download at archive.org.

Laaca has shared an update to his system information program, now called MySysInf. Laaca writes: "New in version 1.2: + Detection of Virtual DMA Services (VDS) + Help screen is translantable to other languages like other program messages + Specific logo for FreeDOS (also see the help for /G option) - Now properly works from read only disk drives." You can download it directly as a zip file from MySysInf 1.2 zip, with source code.

Previously, MySysInf was called Fetch4FD. Here was the original announcement on March 20: Fetch4FD is a DOS version of the neofetch program from some Unix and Linux systems. (Neofetch displays information about your system, next to an ascii logo of some kind.) Laaca's Fetch4FD is based on Dosfetch by Leah Neukirchen, but is heavily reworked and extends its capabilities, including: + screen is not deleted before program output + output can be redirected to file + multilingual support + help screen + detects RAM over 4GB + detects hard drives over 2GB + more informative CPU detection. You can download it directly as a zip file, at Fetch4FD. Includes source code.

The lDebug debugger (spelled with a small L) is a line-oriented DOS debugger based on FreeDOS Debug/X, originating as an MS-DOS Debug clone. Release 8 is a maintenance release with some bugfixes, testing updates, new progress displays for the executable depackers, and a smaller release sources archive achieved by dropping temporary and listing files, and building only ELDs without the XLD variants. The lDOS boot iniload and inicomp stages can be patched using new utilities provided as C programs. For more details, see the email list announcement or find "everything lDebug" at the lDebug website. We've also mirrored this release on the FreeDOS Files Archive at Ibiblio, under /dos/debug/ldebug/rel8.

Bernd has released an update to FreeDOS FDISK, the program that creates and manages partitions on fixed disks. Version 1.3.14 provides these fixes: + Fix a drive letter disagree between DOS and FDISK in cases involving multiple disks and a mix of active and non-active primary partitions. + Prevent querying LBA capabilities via INT13,41, if LBA access is disabled by the user. This caused some broken BIOS to crash the system, like BIOS version 0.9.4 of Book8088 and Xi8088. The new version has these changes: - Do not check for extra cylinders by default. DR-DOS refuses to use partitions exceeding the BIOS reported disk size, despite being valid. - Update German translation. You can find the new version at FDISK at GitHub, or in the FDISK releases.