FreeDOS 1.3 Release Candidate Available For Retaining MS-DOS Compatibility In 2019

The first release candidate of FreeDOS 1.3 is now available, which is the open-source effort continuing to maintain compatibility with classic MS-DOS.

FreeDOS developers considered moving towards being 32-bit with this release, but instead they have opted to remain 16-bit in order to retain full compatibility with classic DOS. FreeDOS is still committed towards preserving classic support, but at least they have promoted zip/unzip support to being part of their "base" package group.

UEFI support was also evaluated for FreeDOS 1.3, but was decided against it at this time. Some of the dated considerations that developers made about FreeDOS 1.3 can be found via their Wiki.

FreeDOS 1.3 RC1 is available for copying to USB flash drives, VMware images, and CD images. Those wanting to try out this latest FreeDOS testing release can find it on SourceForge.