> Huh. I'd say the examples are perfectly good and on-point. While dealing with autoexec.bat and random BSODs wasn't fun, it's entirely orthogonal to the fact that a DOS-era POS still offers orders of magnitude better UX than current-era browser POSes, or than most web apps for that matter.
What are you talking about? How in the world is a DOS that can only run a single app at a time better than a system that can run dozens of apps at once? How is non-multitasking a better experience? I remember DOS pretty well. I remember trying to configure Expanded Memory vs Extended Memory. Having to wait for dial-up to literally dial up the target machine.
Edit: I didn't realize the poster was talking about Point-of-Sale devices. So the above rant is aimed incorrectly.
> It also doesn't change the fact that Google Maps is very bad at being a map. It's entire UI flow is oriented for giving turn-by-turn directions for people who know where they are and where they are going;
That's exactly what it's made for.
> As someone who builds their own PC every couple years: it still does. It's actually worse now,
No way. Things just work nowadays. Operating Systems have generic drivers that work well. Its so much easier now to build a machine than it was years ago. I remember taking days to get something up and running, but now its minutes. Maybe an hour?
I really hate these "good old days" posts, no matter what the subject. The days of the past weren't better, there were just fewer choices.
> What are you talking about? How in the world is a DOS that can only run a single app at a time better than a system that can run dozens of apps at once? How is non-multitasking a better experience?
The person you were replying to was specifically talking about POS (Point of Sale) systems.
Retail workers use these systems to do repetitive tasks as quickly as possible. Legacy systems tend to be a lot faster (and more keyboard accessible) than modern web-based systems.
It is not uncommon for retail workers to have a standard Windows workstation these days so they can reference things on the company website, but then also shell into a proper POS system.
What are you talking about? How in the world is a DOS that can only run a single app at a time better than a system that can run dozens of apps at once? How is non-multitasking a better experience? I remember DOS pretty well. I remember trying to configure Expanded Memory vs Extended Memory. Having to wait for dial-up to literally dial up the target machine.
Edit: I didn't realize the poster was talking about Point-of-Sale devices. So the above rant is aimed incorrectly.
> It also doesn't change the fact that Google Maps is very bad at being a map. It's entire UI flow is oriented for giving turn-by-turn directions for people who know where they are and where they are going;
That's exactly what it's made for.
> As someone who builds their own PC every couple years: it still does. It's actually worse now,
No way. Things just work nowadays. Operating Systems have generic drivers that work well. Its so much easier now to build a machine than it was years ago. I remember taking days to get something up and running, but now its minutes. Maybe an hour?
I really hate these "good old days" posts, no matter what the subject. The days of the past weren't better, there were just fewer choices.