Re: Availability of dos 3.3 system disk

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

"Mr. Boffo" writes ...
> 
> On Fri, 19 Jan 2001 12:04:46 -0600, Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>
> wrote:
> 
> >olcott writes ...
> >>
> >> Does anyone know where I can get a copy
> >> of the system disk for the most recent release
> >> of Apple dos 3.3? Does anyone know the date
> >> of the most recent release of Apple dos 3.3?
> >
> >
> >     Look for DOS33NuVrsn.zip on Asimov or GSWV:
> >
> >ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/incoming/
> >http://www.grin.net/~cturley/a2zine/System/
> >
> >It looks like a pretty good bet to be 'the last DOS 3.3'.
> >
> 
> You really don't want the last version of Apple's DOS 3.3
> anyway. It is terribly slow. Apple never got their DOS right
> when it came to efficient sector reading.
>

     Yes. The surprising thing about Beagle's Prontodos patch was that it got
such a huge speed increase with a few mods and some added code that fit in
space left open in (the original) DOS 3.3.

     I guess it's natural for new users to believe that genuine Apple, Inc.
system software must be the best for Apple II computers. The first time we
tried a Prontodos-patched disk it was impossible to believe that the speed
boost was obtained without a gross sacrifice of reliability. I kept 'regular
DOS' backups of everything for months.


> You'd be much better off with a modified DOS 3.3, like
> Pronto-DOS, DSR-DOS, or David-DOS. These are usually up to
> twice as fast as Apple's "official" DOS 3.3 for reading disks.
> Rather than taking a nap while games load, games will pop up
> in just moments!
> 
 ....

     For sure. A recent check comparing file load times for three Apple DOS 3.3
releases (1980-1983) vs. speeded DOS 3.3's yielded the following:


Time to BLOAD MUFFIN from the 1983 DOS 3.3 System Master Diskette

Standard DOS 3.3 (1980-1983 versions)- 8.9 sec.
DavidDOS-                              2.8 sec
DiversiDOS-                            2.9 sec
EsDOS-                                 2.3 sec
Prontodos (two versions)-              3.0 sec


The speeded DOS's are 3-4 times faster. According to some reports, the speed
multiplier may be greater for some other operations.

     Olcott's question led to another check and a surprising discovery relating
to the well-known problem with original DOS 3.3. It does not correctly report
the size of files bigger than 255 sectors.

     I copied a 289-sector file to a DOS 3.3 diskette and tried doing a CATALOG
under each version. The official DOS 3.3's showed the file as having a length
of 33 sectors! (33 = 289 - 256)  Prontodos makes the same error. A CATALOG
under DavidDOS, DiversiDOS, and EsDOS shows 289 sectors.

     Similarly, the three regular Apple DOS 3.3 versions mark off all of Track
02 as in-use. So do DavidDOS and DiversiDOS-- at least the versions I have.
Yet, in 1982, Beagle's Prontodos made most of Track 02 (15 sectors) available
to users. (EsDOS does this, too.)

     Somehow, more than two years after the original DOS 3.3, Apple managed to
release updates which avoid fixing three well-known, easily repaired
weaknesses. Obviously, Apple wasn't especially interested in significant DOS
3.3 improvements-- which is why, today, a "DOS 3.3 user" seldom uses Apple's
official DOS 3.3.



Rubywand