Post #1057667
2026-02-07 04:24 UTC
@fluidlogic I worked on PDP 11s from the mid 70s to 1981 then onto Vax gear. So 16bits then 32 bits. It meant I got into 32 bits early and I wasn't interested in the PC machines. I did dabble in Windows towards the end of the 80s because a client wanted it and... only 16 bits? Are you kidding me?
Replies (2)
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@argv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-02-07 04:31
@rogerparkinson Windows 2.1 and later aren't entirely 16-bit. Apps run in real mode and use 20-bit segmented addressing, but if it's running on a 386 or later then the kernel will run 32-bit and map pages in and out of the 20-bit address space in response to GlobalLock calls. But you'd have to wait until 1993 to get a Windows in which apps can directly use 32-bit addressing. That's when NT 3.1 and Win32s (a shim to run 32-bit code on regular Windows 3.1) came out. @fluidlogic
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@fluidlogic@oldbytes.space 2026-02-07 09:53
@rogerparkinson did you skip the 8-bitters entirely? You're a candidate for the minicomputer poll!