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Self-booting Disk
A self-booting disk is a floppy disk for home or personal computers that loads directly into a standalone application when the system is turned on, bypassing the operating system. This was common, even standard, on some computers in the late 1970s to early 1990s. Video games were the type of application most commonly distributed using this technique. The term PC booter is also used, primarily in reference to self-booting software for IBM PC compatibles. On other computers, like the Apple II and Atari 8-bit family, almost all software is self-booting. On the IBM PC, the distinction is between self-booting software and that which uses DOS-compatible operating systems. The term "PC booter" was not contemporary to when self-booting games were being released. Benefits * The software starts automatically, without any further action required by the user. * Copy prevention, because self-booting floppies often use a nonstandard filesystem or format. * Bypassing the normal operatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
America Online
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), who went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client launched in 1988, eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users. AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, and the most recognized brand on the web in the United States. It originally provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, pioneered instant messaging, and in 1993 began adding internet access. In 1998, AOL purchased Netscape for $4.2 billion. In 2001, at the height ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digital Research, Inc
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital images ***Digital versus film photography **Digital computer, a computer that handles information represented by discrete values **Digital recording, information recorded using a digital signal Socioeconomic phenomena *Digital culture, the anthropological dimension of the digital social changes * Digital divide, a form of economic and social inequality in access to or use of information and communication technologies * Digital economy, an economy based on computing and telecommunications resources Other uses in technology and computing * Digital data, discrete data, usually represented using binary numbers *Digital marketing, search engine & social media presence booster, usually represented using online visibility. * Digital media, media ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Executable Compression
Executable compression is any means of compressing an executable file and combining the compressed data with decompression code into a single executable. When this compressed executable is executed, the decompression code recreates the original code from the compressed code before executing it. In most cases this happens transparently so the compressed executable can be used in exactly the same way as the original. Executable compressors are often referred to as "runtime packers", "software packers", "software protectors" (or even " polymorphic packers" and " obfuscating tools"). A compressed executable can be considered a self-extracting archive, where a compressed executable is packaged along with the relevant decompression code in an executable file. Some compressed executables can be decompressed to reconstruct the original program file without being directly executed. Two programs that can be used to do this are CUP386 and UNP. Most compressed executables decompress the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-extracting Archive
A self-extracting archive (SFX or SEA) is a computer executable program which contains compressed data in an archive file combined with machine-executable program instructions to extract this information on a compatible operating system and without the necessity for a suitable extractor to be already installed on the target computer. The executable part of the file is known as a '' decompressor stub''. Self-extracting files are used to share compressed files with a party that may not necessarily have the software to decompress a regular archive. Users can also use self-extracting to distribute their own software. For example, the WinRAR installation program is made using the graphical GUI RAR self-extracting module Default.sfx. Overview Self-extracting archives contains an executable file module, a module used to run uncompressed files from compressed files. Such a compressed file does not require an external program to decompress the contents of the self-extracting file, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portable Application
A portable application (portable app), sometimes also called standalone, is a program designed to read and write its configuration settings into an accessible folder in the computer, usually in the folder where the portable application can be found. This makes it easier to transfer the program with the user's preferences and data between different computers. A program that doesn't have any configuration options can also be a portable application. Portable applications can be stored on any data storage device, including internal mass storage, a file share, cloud storage or external storage such as USB drives and floppy disks—storing its program files and any configuration information and data on the storage medium alone. If no configuration information is required a portable program can be run from read-only storage such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. Some applications are available in both installable and portable versions. Some applications which are not portable by default d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live USB
A live USB is a portable USB-attached external data storage device containing a full operating system that can be booted from. The term is reminiscent of USB flash drives but may encompass an external hard disk drive or solid-state drive, though they may be referred to as "live HDD" and "live SSD" respectively. They are the evolutionary next step after live CDs, but with the added benefit of writable storage, allowing customizations to the booted operating system. Live USBs can be used in embedded systems for system administration, data recovery, or test driving, and can persistently save settings and install software packages on the USB device. Many operating systems including , , Windows XP Embedded and a large portion of Linux and BSD distributions can run from a USB flash drive, and Windows 8 Enterprise has a feature titled Windows To Go for a similar purpose. Background To repair a computer with booting issues, technicians often use lightweight operating systems o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live CD
A live CD (also live DVD, live disc, or live operating system) is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading from a hard disk drive. A live CD allows users to run an operating system for any purpose without installing it or making any changes to the computer's configuration. Live CDs can run on a computer without secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive, or with a corrupted hard disk drive or file system, allowing data recovery. As CD and DVD drives have been steadily phased-out, live CDs have become less popular, being replaced by live USBs, which are equivalent systems written onto USB flash drives, which have the added benefit of having writeable storage. The functionality of a live CD is also available with an external hard disk drive connected by USB. Many live CDs offer the option of persistence by writing files to a hard drive or US ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Self-booting IBM PC Compatible Games
Many IBM PC compatible games released between 1981 and about 1990 were self-booting and did not use MS-DOS, IBM PC DOS, or compatible disk operating systems. The phrase "IBM PC compatible self-booting disk" is sometimes shortened to "PC booter". Self-booting disks were common for other computers as well. These games were distributed on " or, later, ", floppy disks that booted directly, meaning once they were inserted in the drive and the computer was turned on, a minimal, custom operating system on the diskette took over. This was used as a form of copy protection until it became obsolete as games grew larger. Due to bit rot, original working versions of these floppy disks are rare, and many have largely been abandoned by their publishers. Some have been ported to other operating systems. See also * Lists of video games This is a list of all video game lists on Wikipedia, sorted by varying classifications. By platform Acorn * List of Acorn Electron games Apple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boot Diskette
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Traditionally made of leather or rubber, modern boots are made from a variety of materials. Boots are worn both for their functionality and for reasons of style and fashion. Functional concerns include: protection of the foot and leg from water, mud, pestilence (infectious disease, insect bites and stings, snake bites), extreme temperatures, sharp or blunt hazards (e.g. work boots may provide steel toes), physical abrasion, corrosive agents, or damaging radiation; ankle support and traction for strenuous activities such as hiking; and durability in harsh conditions (e.g. the underside of combat boots may be reinforced with hobnails). In some cases, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAM Disk
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Raja Ram (musician) (Ronald Rothfield), Australian * Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), US spiritual teacher and author * Kavitark Ram Shriram (born 1950s), Google founding board member * Ram Herrera, a Tejano musician Religion * Rama, incarnation of the god Vishnu in Hinduism * Ram and Rud, progenitors of the second generation of humans in Mandaeism Places * Ram, Serbia, Veliko Gradište * Lake Ram, Golan Heights, Syria * Ram Island (other), several islands with the name * Ram Fortress, Serbia * Ram Range, a mountain range in the Canadian Rockies * Ram River in Alberta, Canada * Ramingining Airport, IATA airport code "RAM" Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Ram'' (album), a 1971 album by Paul and Linda McCartney * RAM (band), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DR-DOS 7
DR-DOS (written as DR DOS, without a hyphen, in versions up to and including 6.0) is a disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. Upon its introduction in 1988, it was the first DOS attempting to be compatible with IBM PC DOS and MS-DOS (which were the same product sold under different names). DR-DOS was developed by Gary A. Kildall's Digital Research and derived from Concurrent PC DOS 6.0, which was an advanced successor of CP/M-86. As ownership changed, various later versions were produced with names including Novell DOS and Caldera OpenDOS. History Origins in CP/M Digital Research's original CP/M for the 8-bit Intel 8080- and Z-80-based systems spawned numerous spin-off versions, most notably CP/M-86 for the Intel 8086/8088 family of processors. Although CP/M had dominated the market since the mid-1970s, and was shipped with the vast majority of non-proprietary-architecture personal computers, the IBM PC in 1981 brought the beginning of what was eventu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
