OpenGEM
OpenGEM is a distribution of
FreeGEM, a
graphical user interface (GUI) for
DOS. OpenGEM is a non-
multitasking 16bit GUI.
OpenGEM is designed to provide commercial quality software for DOS users. In this it differs from projects like the now defunct SEAL GUI, or the unmaintained Desktop2 GUI. For the OpenGEM development team usability and support has always been as important as the code itself. This is because OpenGEM is intended to provide a GUI system and windowing framework for the FreeDOS operating system.
OpenGEM has been developed since 2001 by the Shane Land website, and is released under the
GNU GPL licence. This means that the software is free, and the source code is available for download as well as the finished product. The source code to OpenGEM is included in the OpenGEM SDK, which can be found on the Shane Land OpenGEM website.
OpenGEM is available in several different forms:
OpenGEM Core is a small, compact
GUI that requires less than one megabyte of space to install. It is designed to run on
Intel 8086 and above
PCs. OpenGEM Core uses a combination of code from
Digital Research GEM 3.13 and the FreeGEM community to provide a simple but powerful windowing system. It features like automatic drive detection, new icons, a new system font and 3D windows.
OpenGEM Complete contains all the files packaged with OpenGEM Core, along with
word processing,
spreadsheet,
DTP, graphical tools, an experimental
web browser, and other applications.
OpenGEM Deutsch is the German version of the OpenGEM software. Its functionality is comparable to OpenGEM Core, though the desktop currently used in OpenGEM Deutsch is slightly older.
OpenGEM/XM is the current Beta software project. It is a mutli-tasking version of OpenGEM Complete. The desktop interface is currently basic, and issues existing with printing.
It can be directly download from here.
OpenGEM Core, Complete, Deutsch and OpenGEM/XM have a system for updating system code, and installing new applications through packages on the Shane Land OpenGEM website. All four versions of OpenGEM also feature configuration tools, and a special feature to recover the system if code becomes corrupted.
OpenGEM works with
FreeDOS Beta 9 and above, DR DOS 5 and above, MS DOS 3.3 and above, PC DOS 3.3 and above, and REAL/32. OpenGEM will function on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows NT and Windows XP systems, though there are reports of the system hanging, especially under Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
*
Shane Land OpenGEM site*
Project Liberation page*
OpenGEM FAQ*
FreeDOS site
