PC-DOS 3.3

[Scott Stevens]

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 08:49:41 +0000
Mark Firestone <pdp11_70 at retrobbs.org> wrote:

> Richard wrote:
> 
> >In article <200512121013520860.18A48FB0 at 10.0.0.252>,
> >    "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>  writes:
> >
> >  
> >
> >>On 12/12/2005 at 4:00 PM Mark Firestone wrote:
> >>
> >>    
> >>
> >>>I don't suppose anyone has a copy of PC-DOS 3.3 they'd be
> >willing to  >>part with, or make disk images for me?  I have to
> >restore an application  >>on a PS/2 model 30 that requires it,
> >and we've lost the disks (probably  >>about 10 years ago...)
> >>>      
> >>>
> >>I've got MS-DOS and PC-DOS versions going back to 1.0 on
> >file--including >the really reprehensible DOS 4.0, but wherein
> >lies the permission to >distribute these things?  .
> >>    
> >>
> >
> >You might enquire here about legitimate purchasable copies of
> >old versions of DOS: <http://www.oldsoftware.com/email.html>
> >
> >I know he regularly seeks out copies of MS-DOS 6.22 for resale.
> > He
> >may have access to older versions as well.  If he does, he will
> >send you original media, etc., not a disk copy.
> >  
> >
> I understand your position.  However, the machine did come with
> PC-DOS  3.3, and they own the machine.   No one is trying to
> pull one over on  IBM and have anything that they aren't
> entitled to.  They just did one  of those famous clean outs and
> threw the disks away.
> 

Machines of that era did not necessarily 'come' with any version
of DOS by default.  My father's first IBM-PC could have been
bought with just the cassette drive, or  if you wanted to buy the
floppy controller card and a drive or two, with CP/M-86, or
PC-DOS.  There wasn't the sort of 'bundling' arrangement that came
into vogue later.  My first copy of DOS (version 3.1) was one I
paid $80 for, which I believe at the time was the going rate for
IBM PC-DOS.  I remember poreing over that manual from IBM as it
was the only documentation I had at the time for the new system
software I was learning.  At that point in history you could NOT
buy MS-DOS in a retail package, but that was the standard way to
buy PC-DOS: as an optional add-on to the system.

The PC-DOS 3.3 would be a seperate invoice item.  Owning the
hardware in no way implies the purchaser owned an OS to run on it.