"But it soon became clear that IBM was committed to keeping DOS 2.0 as close as possible to the eight thousand bytes [8K] used by DOS 1.1, so as not to disrupt their existing user base. [...] The first version of MS-DOS 2.0 shipped with IBM PC XT as PC-DOS 2.0 on March 8, 1983. It required about 20 KB of RAM, far more than MS DOS 1.0, so both versions continued to be sold simultaneously for a while."
And that approximate doubling, in RAM requirements, year by year (compare to Moore's Law for hardware!) for Microsoft's OS'es, has got us, fellow students of computer history, to where we are today -- with Microsoft OS'es being the size that they are and requiring the RAM that they do!
And it all started with upgrading (or "upgrading", take your pick of term!) an 8KB OS to a 20KB OS! :-)
"The hope is that the progress in hardware will cure all software ills. However, a critical observer may observe that software manages to outgrow hardware in size and sluggishness."
Comments
And that approximate doubling, in RAM requirements, year by year (compare to Moore's Law for hardware!) for Microsoft's OS'es, has got us, fellow students of computer history, to where we are today -- with Microsoft OS'es being the size that they are and requiring the RAM that they do!
And it all started with upgrading (or "upgrading", take your pick of term!) an 8KB OS to a 20KB OS! :-)
"The hope is that the progress in hardware will cure all software ills. However, a critical observer may observe that software manages to outgrow hardware in size and sluggishness."
-- Martin Reiser, quoted by Niklaus Wirth
Well said, Liam Proven, well said!