"Linux Gazette...making Linux just a little more fun!"

The Answer Guy

By James T. Dennis, answerguy@ssc.com
Starshine Technical Services, http://www.starshine.org/

Buying DESQview and/or DESQview/X

From Larry Herzog Jr. on 19 Sep 1998

Do you have any idea where someone can by the final releases of both Desqview386 and Desqview/X??

Larry,

Unfortunately I don't. If they don't offer it direct from Quarterdeck (try calling and pestering for it via voice line) then I have no idea where you could get it.

I presume you ask because you found a references to DESQview on my web pages. The fact is that I gave up on DV (and MS-DOS in general) about five years ago --- when I switched to Linux full time.

Linux will run on just about any hardware that could support DESQview/386 --- and it's DOSemu package is just about as good as DV ever got. XFree86, the X Windows system supported by Linux (and the other freenix varieties) is much more stable and modern than DESQview/X ever was (although I did like dwm --- their quick little window manager, and "appman" (applications manager).

I think it's a pity that Quarterdeck as done so poorly. However, I must say I saw it coming. That's one of the reasons I left their employ when I did (long before they gutted the whole department I had been in).

I think that the best things that Quarterdeck could do now are:

• Release DESQview, QEMM386, the DESQview API programming kits etc all under the GPL. [I think one of the other Open Source(tm) licenses would work fine, too; for example, the NPL style with Quarterdeck filled in as originator. -- Heather]
• Encourage Caldera (current owners of DR-DOS --- and a major distributor of Linux) to incorporate these into their DR-DOS package (which is now targeted toward embedded x86 systems)
• Release the DV/X sources, dwm and the related utilities.
• Start writing Linux and freenix applications --- and adding some professional polish and consumer touches to various freeware projects and sell collections of these add-ons.
• Offer paid Linux telephone support (Quarterdeck had the most effective and efficient tech support department that I've ever seen or worked with --- with the most expeditious and sensible call escalation methodology. If they haven't obliterated that from their corporate memory --- they could rock! I, the Linux Gazette "Answer Guy" would call them in a heartbeat if they were offering commercial support.

But, alas and alack, it is not likely to be. Sorry I can't help you more than that.

Copyright © 1998, James T. Dennis
Published in Linux Gazette Issue 33 October 1998

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