[EN] Microsoft open sourced MS-DOS 4.0
In a move that has left me both intrigued and mildly amused, Microsoft has decided to dust off its archives and release the source code for MS-DOS 4.00 under the MIT license. The latter comes a decade after the tech giant released the source for MS-DOS 1.25 and 2.0, in what appears to be a recurring pattern of "embracing" open innovation every ten years or so.
Yes, you read that right. The same Microsoft that once labeled Linux a "cancer" is now making peace with its past and opening up code that's nearly as old as the company itself. Neither the less, it's kinda fascinating n operating system that was written entirely in 8086 assembly code nearly 37 years ago, back when 5¼-inch floppy disks were still a thing.
The source code, binaries, and documents are now available on GitHub for those who want to take a trip down memory lane.
And who cares ? After all, it's not every day that you get to see big boy Microsoft peeping for open source.
Better late than never, right?
https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/opensource/2024/04/25/open-sourcing-ms-dos-4-0/