Microsoft Corp’s MS-DOS 6, which will be available on Wednesday, will be offered at $50 for the first 60 days, and $130 thereafter, the company said: the two most compelling new features, the company says, are data compression to double hard disk space, and improved memory management; it also includes the capability to back up files, protect against viruses and reorganize files on the hard disk – the back-up technology was licensed from Symantec Corp’s Peter Norton group, and the anti-viral technology from Central Point Software Inc – but unlike Symantec’s Norton Back-Up, the back-up feature in MS-DOS 6 isn’t automatic and doesn’t support tape drives, and is also slower – and about 300 new viruses have been discovered since Central Point’s virus detection technology was frozen in MS-DOS 6 code; both companies hope to sell enhancements to the built-in products to users.
