69-462: GEM (for Graphics Environment Manager ) is a discontinued operating environment released by Digital Research in 1985. GEM is known primarily as the native graphical user interface of the Atari ST series of computers, providing a WIMP desktop. It was also available for IBM PC compatibles and shipped with some models from Amstrad . GEM is used as the core for some commercial MS-DOS programs,
138-489: A real-mode environment to run multiple CP/M-86 and DOS programs concurrently and support up to three users (one local and up to two hooked up via serial terminals). In 1987, Concurrent DOS 86 was rewritten to become Concurrent DOS 386, still a continuation of the classical XIOS & BDOS architecture. This ran on machines equipped with the Intel 80386 and later processors, using the 386's hardware facilities for virtualizing
207-523: A shell that turned the user's display into a menu -oriented " desktop " for selecting and running PC applications. These operating environment systems allow users much of the convenience of integrated software without locking them into a single package. In the mid 1980s, text-based and graphical user interface operating environments such as IBM TopView , Microsoft Windows , Digital Research 's GEM Desktop , GEOS and Quarterdeck Office Systems 's DESQview surrounded DOS operating systems with
276-445: A shell that turned the user's display into a menu -oriented " desktop " for selecting and running PC applications. These programs were more than simple menu systems—as alternate operating environments they were substitutes for integrated programs such as Framework and Symphony , that allowed switching , windowing , and cut-and-paste operations among dedicated applications. These operating environment systems gave users much of
345-421: A complete PC, this offered considerable cost savings, as well as facilitating multi-user applications such as accounts or stock control in a time when PC networks were rare, very expensive and difficult to implement. CP/M-86 1.1 (with BDOS 2.2) and MP/M-86 2.1 were merged to create Concurrent CP/M-86 3.0 (also known as CCP/M-86) with BDOS 3.0 in late 1982. Kathryn Strutynski , the project manager for CP/M-86,
414-540: A complete operating system with DOS as a bootloader ( Windows 9x ) and a complete operating system, Windows NT , was developed at the same time. All versions after Windows ME have been based on the Windows NT kernel. Concurrent DOS 4.1 Multiuser DOS is a real-time multi-user multi-tasking operating system for IBM PC -compatible microcomputers. An evolution of the older Concurrent CP/M-86 , Concurrent DOS and Concurrent DOS 386 operating systems, it
483-510: A license to further develop Multiuser DOS from Novell in 1994 and renamed their product REAL/32 in 1995. Similar to FlexOS / 4690 OS before, IBM in 1995 licensed REAL/32 7.50 to bundle it with their 4695 POS terminals. IMS REAL/32 versions: REAL/32 7.50 to 7.74 report themselves as "IBM PC DOS" version 3.31, whereas 7.80 and higher report a version of 6.20. LBA and FAT32 support was added with REAL/32 7.90 in 1999. On 19 April 2002, Intelligent Micro Software Ltd. filed for insolvency and
552-555: A long dispute over the "look and feel" of the GEM/1 system, which was an almost direct copy of Macintosh (with some elements bearing a closer resemblance to those in the earlier Lisa , available since January 1983). This eventually led to DRI being forced to change several basic features of the system. (See also: Apple v. Digital Research .) Apple would later go on to sue other companies for similar issues, including their copyright lawsuit against Microsoft and HP . In addition to printers
621-578: A low-footprint user interface for OpenDOS in mobile applications as Caldera View , but these plans were abandoned by Caldera UK in favour of DR-WebSpyder and GROW . Caldera Thin Clients (later known as Lineo ) released the source to GEM and GEM XM under the terms of GNU GPL-2.0-only in April 1999. The development of GEM for PC continues as FreeGEM and OpenGEM . On the Atari ST platform,
690-520: A more general-purpose graphics library known as GSX (Graphics System Extension), written by a team led by Don Heiskell since about 1982. Lee Jay Lorenzen (at Graphic Software Systems) who had recently left Xerox PARC (the birthplace of the modern GUI) wrote much of the code. GSX was essentially a DRI-specific implementation of the GKS graphics standard proposed in the late 1970s. GSX was intended to allow DRI to write graphics programs (charting, etc.) for any of
759-491: A multi-user operating system its price was higher than a single-user system, of course, and it required special device drivers, unlike single-user multitasking DOS add-ons such as Quarterdeck's DESQview . Unlike MP/M, it never became popular for single-user but multitasking use. When Novell acquired Digital Research in 1991 and abandoned Multiuser DOS in 1992, the three Master VARs DataPac Australasia, Concurrent Controls and Intelligent Micro Software were allowed to license
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#1732791994119828-478: A new version of the chip. In August, after extensive testing E-1 step samples of the 80286, Digital Research said that Intel had corrected all documented 286 errata , but that there were still undocumented chip performance problems with the prerelease version of Concurrent DOS 286 running on the E-1 step. Intel said that the approach Digital Research wished to take in emulating 8086 software in protected mode differed from
897-470: A single monospaced font. AES performs its operations by calling the VDI, but in a more general sense the two parts of GEM were often completely separated in applications. Applications typically called AES commands to set up a new window, with the rest of the application using VDI calls to actually draw into that window. GEM Desktop was an application program that used AES to provide a file manager and launcher,
966-416: A successor to CP/M-68K written in C . One of its main architects was Francis "Frank" R. Holsworth (using siglum FRH). Concurrent DOS 68K 1.0 became available for OEM evaluation in early 1985. The effort received considerable funding worth several million dollars from Motorola and was designed for their 68000 / 68010 processors. Like the earlier GEMDOS system for 68000 processors it initially ran on
1035-646: A very popular desktop publishing program for some time. Development of the production 68000 version of GEM began in September 1984, when Atari sent a team called "The Monterey Group" to Digital Research to begin work on porting GEM. Originally, the plan was to run GEM on top of CP/M-68K , both ostensibly ported to Motorola 68000 by DRI prior to the ST design being created. In fact, these ports were unusable and would require considerable development. Digital Research also offered GEMDOS (originally written as GEM DOS, it
1104-469: Is now freely available under the terms of GNU General Public License . The last retail release was GEM/3 Desktop , released on 3 November 1988, which had speed improvements and shipped with a number of basic applications. Commercial sales of GEM ended with GEM/3; the source code was subsequently made available to a number of DRI's leading customers. While GEM/2 for the PC still provided a GSX API in addition to
1173-493: Is the environment in which users run application software . The environment consists of a user interface provided by an applications manager and usually an application programming interface (API) to the applications manager. An operating environment is not a full operating system , but is a form of middleware that rests between the OS and the application. For example, the first version of Microsoft Windows , Windows 1.0 ,
1242-435: The 8-bit and 16-bit platforms CP/M-80 , Concurrent CP/M , CP/M-86 and MS-DOS ( NEC APC-III ) would run on, a task that otherwise would have required considerable effort to port due to the large differences in graphics hardware (and concepts) between the various systems of that era. GSX consisted of two parts: a selection of routines for common drawing operations, and the device drivers that are responsible for handling
1311-656: The Internet Archive , seems to be the latest release. By 2005, the realng.com website was mirroring the IMS main website, and had no mention of REAL/NG, only REAL/32. While the various releases of this operating system had increasing ability to run DOS programs, software written for the platform could take advantage of its features by using function calls specifically suitable for multiuser operation. It used pre-emptive multitasking , preventing badly-written applications from delaying other processes by retaining control of
1380-610: The WordStar word processor for DOS, would not, and native Concurrent CP/M (or CP/M-86) versions were required. While Concurrent DOS 3.1 up to 4.1 had been developed in the US, OEM adaptations and localizations were carried out by DR Europe 's OEM Support Group in Newbury , UK, since 1983. Digital Research positioned Concurrent DOS 4.1 with GEM as alternative for IBM 's TopView in 1985. Concurrent DOS 3.2 (with BDOS 3.2) in 1984
1449-416: The X Window System under preparation as well. Lee Lorenzen left soon after the release of GEM/1, when it became clear that DRI had no strong interest in application development. He then joined with two other former DRI employees, Don Heiskell and John Meyer, to start Ventura Software . They developed Ventura Publisher (which was later marketed by Xerox and eventually by Corel ), which would go on to be
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#17327919941191518-522: The B-1 step of prototype chip samples, Digital Research, with evaluation copies of their operating system already shipping in April, discovered problems with the emulation on the production level C-1 step of the processor in May, which would not allow Concurrent DOS 286 to run 8086 software in protected mode. The release of Concurrent DOS 286 had been scheduled for late May, but was delayed until Intel could develop
1587-566: The GEM API; GEM/3 no longer did. GEM/4 , released in 1990, included the ability to work with Bézier curves , a feature still not commonly found outside the PostScript world. This version was produced specifically for Artline 2, a drawing program from the German company CCP Development GmbH . The system also included changes to the font management system, which made it incompatible with
1656-685: The Motorola VME /10 development system. Concurrent DOS 68K 1.20/1.21 was available in April 1986, offered for about 200 000 dollars to OEMs. This system evolved into FlexOS 68K in late 1986. Known versions include: In parallel to the Concurrent DOS 68K effort, Digital Research also previewed Concurrent DOS 286 in cooperation with Intel in January 1985. This was based on MP/M-286 and Concurrent CP/M-286, on which Digital Research had worked since 1982. Concurrent DOS 286
1725-575: The PC-compatible world, such as graphics adaptors , sound cards , CD-ROM drives and mice. Although many of these were soon rectified – for example, graphical terminals were developed, allowing users to use CGA , EGA and VGA software – it was less flexible in this regard than a network of individual PCs, and as the prices of these fell, it became less and less competitive, although it still offered benefits in terms of management and lower total cost of ownership. As
1794-797: The Sydney-based unit was spun out into Citrix' Advanced Products Group. Known CCI Multiuser DOS versions by Concurrent Controls, Inc. (CCI) include: All versions of CCI Multiuser DOS report themselves as "IBM PC DOS" version 3.31. Similar to SETVER under DOS , this can be changed using the Multiuser DOS DOSVER ;x.y utility. In 1999, CCI changed its name to Applica, Inc. In 2002 Applica Technology became Aplycon Technologies, Inc. Known adaptations of IMS Multiuser DOS include: All versions of IMS Multiuser DOS report themselves as "IBM PC DOS" version 3.31. Intelligent Micro Software Ltd. (IMS) of Thatcham , UK, acquired
1863-554: The ability to run up to ten GEM and DOS programs at once, swapping out to expanded memory (XM) through EMS / EEMS or to disk (including RAM disks , thereby also allowing the use of extended memory ). Data could be copied and pasted between applications through a clipboard with filter function (a feature later also found in TaskMAX under DR DOS 6.0 ). Digital Research planned to offer GEM XM as an option to GEM Draw Plus users and through OEM channels. The GEM XM source code
1932-471: The actual output. The former was known as GDOS (Graphics Device Operating System) and the latter as GIOS (Graphics Input/Output System), a play on the division of CP/M into the machine-independent BDOS (Basic Disk Operating System) and the machine-specific BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). GDOS was a selection of routines that handled the GKS drawing, while GIOS actually used the underlying hardware to produce
2001-463: The animations for things like opening and closing windows. It was otherwise similar to GEM/1, but also included a number of bug fixes and cosmetic improvements. In 1988 Stewart Alsop II said that GEM was among several GUIs that "have already been knocked out" of the market by Apple, IBM/Microsoft, and others. GEM XM with "GEM Desktop 3.0" was an updated version of GEM/2 in 1986/1987 for DOS (including DOS Plus ) which allowed task-switching and
2070-551: The company hoped to receive license fees from compatible makers. Developers reacted with what BYTE described as "a small explosion"; it reported that at a DRI-hosted seminar in February 1985, more than half of the attendees agreed that GEM's incompatibility with Compaq was a serious limitation. Later that month the company removed the restriction. Applications that supported GEM included Lifetree Software's GEM Write . At this point, Apple Computer sued DRI in what would turn into
2139-444: The convenience of integrated software without locking them into a single package. Alternative operating environments made terminate-and-stay-resident pop-up utilities such as Borland Sidekick redundant. Windows provided its own version of these utilities, and placing them under central control could eliminate memory conflicts that RAM -resident utilities create. In later versions, Windows evolved from an operating environment into
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2208-570: The development of the 68000 version, they were given full rights to continued developments without needing to reverse-license it back to DRI. As a result, the Apple-DRI lawsuit did not apply to the Atari versions of GEM, and they were allowed to keep a more Mac-like UI. Over the next seven years, from 1985 to 1992, new versions of TOS were released with each new generation of the ST line. Updates included support for more colors and higher resolutions in
2277-504: The enhanced functionality of DR's later single-user PC DOS clone DR DOS 5.0 , after which the product was given the more explanatory name "Multiuser DOS" (a.k.a. MDOS), starting with version 5.0 (with BDOS 6.5) in 1991. Multiuser DOS suffered from several technical limitations that restricted its ability to compete with LANs based on PC DOS . It required its own special device drivers for much common hardware, as PC DOS drivers were not multiuser or multi-tasking aware. Driver installation
2346-435: The hardware, allowing most DOS applications to run unmodified under Concurrent DOS 386, even on terminals. The OS supported concurrent multiuser file access, allowing multiuser applications to run as if they were on individual PCs attached to a network server . Concurrent DOS 386 allowed a single server to support a number of users on dumb terminals or inexpensive low-specification PCs running terminal emulation software, without
2415-473: The interactions of multiple programs. Later versions supported dumb terminals and so could be deployed as multiuser systems. Concurrent CP/M-86 3.1 (BDOS 3.1) shipped on 21 February 1984. In February 1984 Digital Research also offered a version of Concurrent CP/M-86 with windowing capabilities named Concurrent CP/M with Windows for the IBM Personal Computer and Personal Computer XT . This
2484-498: The likes of Timeworks Publisher . Artline 1 still ran on GEM 3.1. Another version of GEM called GEM/5 was produced by GST Software Products for Timeworks ' Publisher 2.1. It contained an updated look with 3D buttons, along with features such as on-the-fly font scaling. It came complete with all the standard GEM 3.1 tools. This version was produced from GEM 3.13 with only the Bézier handling taken from GEM/4. GEM Desktop itself
2553-451: The most notable being Ventura Publisher . It was ported to other computers that previously lacked graphical interfaces, but never gained traction. The final retail version of GEM was released in 1988. Digital Research later produced X/GEM for their FlexOS real-time operating system with adaptations for OS/2 Presentation Manager and the X Window System under preparation as well. In late 1984, GEM started life at DRI as an outgrowth of
2622-453: The name was later changed to GEM . Under GEM, GSX became GEM VDI (Virtual Device Interface), responsible for basic graphics and drawing. VDI also added the ability to work with multiple fonts and added a selection of raster drawing commands to the formerly vector -only GKS-based drawing commands. VDI also added multiple viewports , a key addition for use with windows. A new module, GEM AES (Application Environment Services), provided
2691-701: The need for expensive workstations and then-expensive network cards. It was a true multiuser system; several users could use a single database with record locking to prevent mutual interference. Concurrent DOS 6.0 represented also the starting point for the DR DOS family, which was carved out of it. Known versions include: Concurrent PC DOS XM 5.0 emulated IBM PC DOS 2.10, whereas Concurrent DOS XM 6.0 and Concurrent DOS 386 2.0 were compatible with IBM PC DOS 3.30. Known CCI Concurrent DOS adaptations by Concurrent Controls, Inc. include: Other adaptations include: Later versions of Concurrent DOS 386 incorporated some of
2760-510: The original DRI sources were ported again to be used in the free and open source TOS clone EmuTOS . New implementations of the AES portions of GEM have been implemented from scratch in the form of XaAES , and MyAES, both of which are fully re-entrant and support multitasking on top of the FreeMiNT multitasking extensions to TOS . The "full" GEM system consisted of three main parts: GEM VDI
2829-636: The original specifications; nevertheless they incorporated into the E-2 step minor changes in the microcode that allowed Digital Research to run emulation mode much faster (see LOADALL ). These same limitations affected FlexOS 286 version 1.x, a reengineered derivation of Concurrent DOS 286, which was developed by Digital Research's new Flexible Automation Business Unit in Monterey, California, since 1986. Later versions added compatibility with PC DOS 2.x and 3.x. Known versions include: The OEM Support Group
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2898-485: The output. The DOS version of GSX supports loading drivers in the CP/M-86 CMD format. Consequently, the same driver binary may operate under both CP/M-86 and DOS. The 16-bit version of GSX 1.3 evolved into one part of what would later be known as GEM , which was an effort to build a full GUI system using the earlier GSX work as its basis. Originally known as Crystal as a play on an IBM project called Glass ,
2967-539: The raster-side of the system, but remained generally similar to the original in terms of GKS support. In 1992, Atari released TOS 4, or MultiTOS , along with their final computer system, the Falcon030 . In combination with MiNT , TOS 4 allowed full multitasking support in GEM. When Caldera bought the remaining Digital Research assets from Novell on 23 July 1996, initial plans were to revive GEM and ViewMAX technologies for
3036-422: The source code of the system to take over and continue independent development of their derivations in 1994. Known versions include: All versions of Digital Research and Novell DR Multiuser DOS reported themselves as "IBM PC DOS" version 3.31. Known versions by DataPac Australasia Pty Limited include: In 1997, Datapac was bought by Citrix Systems, Inc. , and System Manager was abandoned soon after. In 2002
3105-486: The system also contained drivers for some more unusual devices such as the Polaroid Palette . DRI responded with the "lawsuit-friendly" GEM Desktop 2.0 , released on 24 March 1986, which eventually added support for VGA , sometime after its release in 1987. It allowed the display of only two fixed windows on the "desktop" (though other programs could do what they wished), changed the trash can icon, and removed
3174-632: The traditional "desktop" environment that users had come to expect from the Macintosh. Unlike the Macintosh, the GEM Desktop ran on top of DOS ( MS-DOS , DOS Plus or DR DOS on the PC, GEMDOS on the Atari), and as a result the actual display was cluttered with computer-like items, including path names and wildcards. In general, GEM was much more "geeky" than the Mac, but simply running a usable shell on DOS
3243-475: The window management and UI elements, and GEM Desktop used both libraries in combination to provide a GUI. The 8086 version of the entire system was first officially demoed at COMDEX in November 1984, following a demonstration on the 80286-based Acorn Business Computer in September 1984 where the software had been attributed to Acorn, and the system was shipped as GEM/1 on 28 February 1985. GEM Desktop 1.0
3312-403: Was a complete rewrite in the C language based on a new system architecture with dynamically loadable device drivers instead of a static BIOS or XIOS. One of its main architects was Francis "Frank" R. Holsworth. The operating system would function strictly in 80286 native mode, allowing protected mode multi-user , multitasking operation while running 8086 emulation . While this worked on
3381-490: Was a huge achievement on its own. Otherwise, GEM has its own advantages over Mac OS such as proportional sliders. Native PC GEM applications use the file extension .APP for executables, whereas GEM desktop accessories use the file extension .ACC instead. All desktop accessories (and also a few simple applications) can be run under ViewMAX without modification. Operating environment In computer software , an operating environment or integrated applications environment
3450-559: Was also called "Project Jason"), a DOS-like operating system aimed to port GEM to different hardware platforms. It was available for 8086 and 68000 processors and had been adapted to the Apple Lisa 2/5 and the Motorola VME /10 development system. Atari decided in January 1985 to give up on the existing CP/M-68K code and instead port DRI GEMDOS to the Atari ST platform, referring to it as TOS . As Atari had provided most of
3519-507: Was also responsible for loading up the drivers and any requested fonts when GEM was first loaded. One major advantage VDI provided over the Macintosh was the way multiple devices and contexts were handled. In the Mac such information was stored in memory inside the application. This resulted in serious problems when attempting to make the Mac handle pre-emptive multitasking, as the drawing layer ( QuickDraw ) needed to have direct memory access into all programs. In GEM VDI however, such information
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#17327919941193588-440: Was also the project manager for Concurrent CP/M-86. One of its designers was Francis "Frank" R. Holsworth. Initially, this was a single-user operating system supporting true multi-tasking of up to four (in its default configuration) CP/M-86 compatible programs. Like its predecessors it could be configured for multi-processor support (see e.g. Concurrent CP/M-86/80) and also added "virtual screens" letting an operator switch between
3657-458: Was an adaptation of Concurrent CP/M-86 for the LSI-M4, LSI Octopus and CAL PC computers. These machines had both 16-bit and 8-bit processors, because in the early days of 16-bit personal computing, 8-bit software was more available and often ran faster than the corresponding 16-bit software. Concurrent CP/M-86/80 allowed users to run both CP/M (8-bit) and CP/M-86 (16-bit) applications. When a command
3726-479: Was compatible with applications for CP/M-86 1.x, Concurrent CP/M-86 3.x and PC DOS 2.0. It was available for many different hardware platforms. The version with an IBM PC compatible BIOS/XIOS was named Concurrent PC DOS 3.2. Kathryn Strutynski was the product manager for Concurrent PC DOS. Efforts being part of a cooperation with Motorola since 1984 led to the development of Concurrent DOS 68K in Austin , Texas, as
3795-606: Was entered, the operating system ran the corresponding application on either the 8-bit or the 16-bit processor, depending on whether the executable file had a .COM or .CMD extension. It emulated a CP/M environment for 8-bit programs by translating CP/M system calls into CP/M-86 system calls, which were then executed by the 16-bit processor. In August 1983, Bruce Skidmore, Raymond D. Pedrizetti, Dave Brown and Gordon Edmonds teamed up to create PC-MODE, an optional module for Concurrent CP/M-86 3.1 (with BDOS 3.1) to provide basic compatibility with PC DOS 1.1 (and MS-DOS 1.1 ). This
3864-526: Was more complex than the simple PC DOS method of copying the files onto the boot disk and modifying CONFIG.SYS appropriately – it was necessary to relink the Multiuser DOS kernel (known as a nucleus ) using the SYSGEN command. Multiuser DOS was also unable to use many common PC DOS additions such as network stacks , and it was limited in its ability to support later developments in
3933-598: Was not a full operating system, but a GUI laid over DOS albeit with an API of its own. Similarly, the IBM U2 system operates on both Unix / Linux and Windows NT . Usually the user interface is text-based or graphical , rather than a command-line interface (e.g., DOS or the Unix shell ), which is often the interface of the underlying operating system. In the mid 1980s, text-based and graphical user interface operating environments surrounded DOS operating systems with
4002-693: Was originally developed by Digital Research and acquired and further developed by Novell in 1991. Its ancestry lies in the earlier Digital Research 8-bit operating systems CP/M and MP/M , and the 16-bit single-tasking CP/M-86 which evolved from CP/M. When Novell abandoned Multiuser DOS in 1992, the three master value-added resellers (VARs) DataPac Australasia, Concurrent Controls and Intelligent Micro Software were allowed to take over and continued independent development into Datapac Multiuser DOS and System Manager, CCI Multiuser DOS, and IMS Multiuser DOS and REAL/32. The FlexOS line, which evolved from Concurrent DOS 286 and Concurrent DOS 68K ,
4071-583: Was released on 28 February 1985. GEM Desktop 1.1 was released on 10 April 1985 with support for CGA and EGA displays. A version for the Apricot Computers F-Series, supporting 640×200 in up to 8 colors, was also available as GEM Desktop 1.2 . Digital Research also positioned Concurrent DOS 4.1 with GEM as alternative for IBM 's TopView . DRI originally designed GEM for DOS so that it would check for and only run on IBM computers, and not PC compatibles like those from Compaq , as
4140-528: Was released. In these forms, GEM survived until DRI was purchased by Novell in June 1991 and all GEM development was cancelled. Throughout this time DRI had also been working on making the GEM system capable of multitasking. This started with X/GEM based on GEM/1, but this required use of one of the multitasking CP/M-based operating systems. DRI also produced X/GEM for their FlexOS real-time operating system with adaptations for OS/2 Presentation Manager and
4209-552: Was relocated into Digital Research's newly created European Development Centre (EDC) in Hungerford , UK in 1986, which started to take over further development of the Concurrent DOS family since Concurrent DOS 4.11, including siblings like DOS Plus and successors. Developed in Hungerford, UK, versions 5 and 6 (Concurrent DOS XM, with XM standing for Expanded Memory ) could bank switch up to 8 MB of EEMS to provide
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#17327919941194278-616: Was shown publicly at COMDEX in December 1983 and shipped in March 1984 as Concurrent DOS 3.1 (a.k.a. CDOS with BDOS 3.1) to hardware vendors. Simple DOS applications, which did not directly access the screen or other hardware, could be run. For example, although a console program such as PKZIP worked perfectly and offered more facilities than the CP/M-native ARC archiver, applications which performed screen manipulations, such as
4347-516: Was sold off to Integrated Systems , Inc. (ISI) in July 1994. The initial version of CP/M-86 1.0 (with BDOS 2.x) was adapted and became available to the IBM PC in 1982. It was commercially unsuccessful as IBM 's PC DOS 1.0 offered much the same facilities for a considerably lower price. Neither PC DOS nor CP/M-86 could fully exploit the power and capabilities of the new 16-bit machine. It
4416-427: Was soon supplemented by an implementation of CP/M's multitasking 'big brother', MP/M-86 2.0 , since September 1981. This turned a PC into a multiuser machine capable of supporting multiple concurrent users using dumb terminals attached by serial ports . The environment presented to each user made it seem as if they had the entire computer to themselves. Since terminals cost a fraction of the then-substantial price of
4485-426: Was spun off in 1990 as a product known as ViewMAX which was used solely as a file management shell under DR DOS . In this form the system could not run other GEM programs. This led to a situation where a number of applications (including ViewMAX) could exist all with their own statically linked copy of the GEM system. This scenario was actually rare, as few native GEM programs were published. In 1991, ViewMAX 2
4554-454: Was stored in the device itself, with GDOS creating "virtual devices" for every context – each window for instance. GEM AES provided the window system, window manager, UI style and other GUI elements (widgets). For performance reasons, many of the GUI widgets were actually drawn using character graphics. Compared to the Macintosh, AES provided a rather spartan look and the system shipped with
4623-601: Was taken over by one of its major customers, Barry Quittenton's Itera Ltd. This company was dissolved on 2006-03-28. As of 2010 REAL/32 was supplied by Integrated Solutions of Thatcham, UK, but the company, at the same address, was later listed as builders. REAL/NG was IMS' attempt to create the "Next Generation" of REAL/32, also named "REAL/32 for the internet age". REAL/NG promised "increased range of hardware from PCs to x86 multi-processor server systems". Advertised feature list, as of 2003: By 10 December 2003, IMS made "REALNG V1.60-V1.19-V1.12" available, which, based on
4692-476: Was the core graphics system of the overall GEM engine. It was responsible for "low level" drawing in the form of "draw line from here to here". VDI included a resolution and coordinate independent set of vector drawing instructions which were called from applications through a fairly simple interface. VDI also included environment information (state, or context), current color, line thickness, output device, etc. These commands were then examined by GDOS, whose task it
4761-436: Was to send the commands to the proper driver for actual rendering. For instance, if a particular GEM VDI environment was connected to the screen, the VDI instructions were then routed to the screen driver for drawing. Simply changing the environment to point to the printer was all that was needed (in theory) to print, dramatically reducing the developer workload (they formerly had to do printing "by hand" in all applications). GDOS
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