Version 7 of PC-DOS is expected some time this quarter says IBM Corp, but the company has become increasingly reticent about its plans for the product. Analysts in the US have been suggesting that IBM will use the new and improved version of its MS-DOS to lure current users of Microsoft Corp’s MS-DOS 6.22, who are unlikely to see an upgrade of their system. IBM says it is simply offering users choice but adds that it has been picking up MS-DOS users since PC-DOS 6.1. Karl LaWall, worldwide brand manager for PC-DOS marketing, said the company hopes to sell millions of copies this year for users wanting a system that is a bit faster with more options at an upgrade price of under $50. IBM is keen to point out that PC-DOS 7.0 will have improved funct ionality over MS-DOS 6.22, while being compatible, and given that Microsoft has already said it will wait to see what sort of uptake Windows95 has before planning improvements to MS-DOS, it seems likely that IBM is going to go after the installed MS-DOS base. Speculation in the US has it that Microsoft is going to attempt to convince current MS-DOS users that their future lies with Windows95 but if it does not produce an upgrade of MS-DOS it could lose its installed base, likely to PC-DOS 7.0 rather than see every user move to Windows95. Some version of MS-DOS – mostly Microsoft’s and IBM’s – is running on more than 100m IBM-compatible computers in the world today. Tens of millions of those machines also run some variant of Windows 3.1, the graphical environment that runs on top of MS-DOS and shields users from MS-DOS’s cryptic commands and complications. Windows95 will be an operating system in its own right that does not have an MS-DOS core and some users may be reluctant to make that leap. The key question for IBM and Microsoft is how big a market remains for either. LaWall’s comments make it clear that IBM thinks the market for an upgraded release is big enough that it may ship millions of copies this year. Microsoft, however, appears to hold the belief that MS-DOS is dwindling although when the San Jose Mercury News contacted Microsoft for its opinions, nobody was around to make a comment. Features in PC-DOS 7.0 that MS-DOS users have been crying out for – Reterface programming and memory management – could very likely attract MS-DOS users. New features in PC-DOS 7.0 are Stacker data compression that will be backwards compatible with Superstore, the system that has been used in previous versions; Reterface programming which IBM says will enable programmers to write more powerful batch commands far more easily; the ability to execute calculations from the command line; the use of wild cards to find programs; an improved virus checker; access to protected mode services; a mouse-aware text editor that enables users to move the cursor with a point and click; file synchronisation for notebook users to synchronise their files with their desktop; and extra memory addressability.
