IBM XT OS Now Runs a Browser, CP/M, and MS Word 1.1a
Os8088.com: IBM XT OS now has a Browser, CP/M 2.2 with Z80 core and MS Word 1.1a
os8088, a virtual machine for the IBM PC XT, has added a web browser that fetches real pages over Ethernet or a parallel cable, a CP/M emulator with a Z80 core, and a C compiler that enabled a new word processor. The browser lays out pages as text and tables, while CP/M runs classic software like Microsoft BASIC. The latest addition is a version of Microsoft Word 1.1a that fits in 47KB and saves .DOC files.
The network is not the slow part: drawing a window full of text takes longer than fetching the page.
- Sohcahtoa82
> Opening an encrypted connection means one very large multiplication. On a 4.77 MHz 8088 it takes minutes.
I've done it.
It took a lot of loop unrolling and optimizations in order to get the TLS 1.2 handshake to complete before the server timed out the connection, but I've successfully gotten it to work, and with only 384 KB of RAM.
The implementation doesn't verify the server certificate (would certainly take too long), but it successfully performs an HTTPS request to Wikipedia as a proof-of-concept.
One of these days I'll clean up the code and post it here.
- Telemakhos
So, this is less a technical than an aesthetic question—why does it look like an old Macintosh? I think I would have thought of GEOS [0] before Macintosh. There's also Windows 1.0 and 2.0.
Why 3.5" floppy drive icons instead of a 5.25"? The images of the OS running on hardware [1] have mostly 5.25" drives.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEOS_(8-bit_operating_system)
- erminpour
Yay, I guess? It's impressive that AI can build something like this, but do you really understand how all the components work?
AI is really good an taking what we already know and producing something that works, but what about new innovations?
With all that said, this is still pretty cool.
- jggonz
os8088 is an operating system written with AI tools in x86 16-bit assembly with an optional C/C++ app porting toolchain.
It runs on anything with an x86 processor from the early 8088/8086 CPUs up to the latest CPUs. It supports CGA/Hercules + VGA. Sound Blaster, NE2000 network and MFM hard drive support is now available.
We've also ported many cool apps: MOD trackers, TexPad, MS Word 1.1a (in ASM and C), CP/M 2.2 emulator with a ton of apps and games, and several ported games from the early arcade days.
Run it in the browser at:
Yes, the website has a lot of AI generated content. I'm working on a redesign and tooling to edit and rewrite the content by hand.
- K0balt
It seems
Like projects like this (that include basic productivity tools) could potentially enable a small resurgence in sovereign computing. A 5 dollar esp32 is powerfulll enough to emulate 8086 architecture while running a tcp/ip stack, DVP display, and usb input peripherals.
With a simple OS like CP/M or others, a low cost computer you can actually trust to only run trusted code is possible again.