While IBM was launching its new PS/2s, Microsoft Corp was inviting attendees to dance in five-four time by having the Dave Brubeck Quartet – biggest hit Take Five, written in quirky five-quarter time – on hand to give MS-DOS 5.0 a jazzy send-off. Key features of MS-DOS 5 are much easier installation – it checks out the machine and well-nigh installs itself, vastly improved help – write help and the command name and its function is explained, and lower memory requirements than earlier versions. There is also a hypertext shell with task switching borrowed from Windows, and Microsoft has also picked up a couple of utilities from Central Point Software Inc – undelete and unformat to restore accidentally erased or reformatted files. Microsoft hired a yacht for the launch on the Hudson River off Manhattan. It will be available from dealers in the US – at $100 – as well as from computer manufacturers, as hitherto.
