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DOS Emulator In and Out of App Store

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the going-for-hte-record dept.

gent01 writes "A company called Fast Intelligence got DOSBox running on iOS and dubbed it iDOS. It's been stuck in review for the app store for some time. Evidently the iDOS app was in the app store this morning, but it has already been taken down."

11 of 338 comments (clear)

  1. Why emulate Denial of Service? by Orga · · Score: 4, Funny

    Aren't most iPhones still on AT&T? I'm not sure why you'd need to emulate no service.

  2. Well, duh. by pclminion · · Score: 4, Informative

    Duh. By emulating DOS, you allow the user to run any DOS program they want. In other words, you make the device programmable. That's a no-no on the App store.

    1. Re:Well, duh. by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The App Store has no problem with Battle for Wesnoth as a GPL app. Apple doesn't have a problem with the GPL. The FSF has a problem with Apple.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    2. Re:Well, duh. by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Informative

      I hate to break the news to you friend but BfW basically did an end run around the GPL by having the main developers license to Apple under different restrictions. There is still some stink over this since not all the contributors agreed. you can read more here but I would say since the FSF wrote the GPL if they say it ain't compatible then it ain't, period. Considering the whole basis of the GPL is the four freedoms, which you simply can't have because Apple uses both hardware and legalese to restrict what you can do with the code, I just don't see the two coming to any real agreement.

      Either you have to own ALL the code so you can re-license it in a more restricted form as MYSQL used to do, or you simply can't play in Steve's garden. Personally I don't care for the walled garden approach but if that is your thing, enjoy. But logical hoop jumping won't make a walled garden into a free commons, nor will it make an Apple iDevice compatible with the four freedoms.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  3. It's available for Android by LodCrappo · · Score: 5, Informative

    As "aDosBox".. http://androiddosbox.appspot.com/

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    -Lod
  4. Re:Yup by harrkev · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Really, are they so threatened by a 30-year-old operating system that they have to kill it?

    This is the ONE reason that I hate Apple. Wonderful hardware, great software, management needs to be shot. I am a geek. If somebody arbitrarily decrees that certain classes of software WILL NOT be allowed on a platform, I arbitrarily decree that they get absolutely none of my money.

    If Apple would have a change of heart about such things, I would be their biggest fan. As it is, I am their worst foe.

    --
    "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  5. GPL3 by CritterNYC · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's actually GPL3 code that can't be used in any apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad due to the anti-Tivoization clauses in GPL3 and the completely locked down nature of iOS and the app store.

    --
    Portable versions of Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, etc
  6. Re:Newsworthy? by NotQuiteInsane · · Score: 4, Informative

    DOSBox is a reverse-engineered re-implementation of the PC BIOS (int13h et al) and DOS APIs (int21h et al) and the x86 CPU. There's no Microsoft, Digital Research, IBM or whatever code in there. At all.

  7. Re:This proves the previous story... by hedwards · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's because in the US it's considered acceptable to accuse a politician of being both fascist and socialist at the same time. Both sides when you get far enough are completely nuts, but try comparing Naziism with Soviet Communism. The difference is significant.

  8. I could have run cygwin! by Alain+Williams · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I had DOS then I could have installed an old version of cygwin and then got my favourite GNU tools working! Jobs would have had a fit it I could have done that.

  9. Re:Yup by meerling · · Score: 4, Insightful

    An incorrect quote. "The (laws) are meant to be (followed), not to be (questioned). And while I'm a (citizen) I'm very happy about these things. Something that doesn't require to be (thought about) and that doesn't need to be (discussed) and where even someone is actively taking away any temptation for me to waste my time on it is a nice change now and then."

    Products aren't meant to hacked. That's a voluntary process done by those with the skill and inclination when they feel the need, either from a defect in the original product, a lack of functionality in the original product, or a sense of curiosity and invention. You don't have to hack anything, you don't have to think either, but some people do, and many people feel that someone attempting to prevent them from doing non-dangerous and perfectly legal things with the products they bought is wrong. If you want to read something about the legal basis many people refer to, please look up "Doctrine of First Sale".

    IMO, if you aren't hurting anyone, it's none of their business what you do with your property. So if you don't want to alter your stuff, that's fine, all you need to do is to do nothing, but to say that others shouldn't because you don't feel like it is rather deplorable on your part.