Unboxing MS-DOS 6.22 and Microsoft Mouse
Posted by my-names-gavin@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 31 comments
I present to r/vintagecomputing MS-DOS 6.22 [upgrade] and Microsoft Mouse unboxed...
I thought these two were a good combination to explore together and although the DOS 6.22 manual is more compact than the DOS 5 manual (\~670 pages for DOS 5; \~320 pages for DOS 6.22), there's still a nice amount of nostalgic information to digest. The Mouse guide was also provocative too for its references to using jumpers for hardware configuration from a bygone era (not forgotten here of course!) and configuring the Mouse.ini file to fine tune the mouse parameters
Bitsavers have a copy of an OEM DOS 6.22 manual if anybody is interested in perusing along with a slightly earlier copy of the Microsoft Mouse Manual
If the manuals aren't enough, checkout the DOS6.22 image files from WinWorldPC if you don't have these and the mouse driver too
I look forward to engaging with the replies in this post
AshuraBaron@reddit
That's awesome. I figured it was just a standard PS/2 mouse. But didn't know they had serial versions too. Thanks for sharing these!
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
You’re very welcome, it a pleasure to share; there was also a bus version too which had an ISA card (I believe?) but I’ve sadly not encountered that version yet
carcenomy@reddit
The InPort! They're a pain because you always find the mouse or the InPort card, rarely both. Bus mice are funny though, technically closer to what you'd find on an Amiga, Acorn or Atari.
Yes, I've been seriously considering getting a bare InPort card, using a PIC and basically getting a true hardware PS2 solution for early machines 😂
Lunkanovic@reddit
Yes, the one I have is the InPort! What a pain in the *ss to get a rare and expensive card, just to get that old mouse working again. I love it :p
carcenomy@reddit
I'd had a stray card from something that was in my stash for years, finally got the mouse to go with it because the person couldn't find the card hahaha!
Was a nice clean solution for pre PS2 stuff if you didn't want to lose or didn't have spare serial
Lunkanovic@reddit
Have one of those, but sadly not the card to go with it. But it's a nice mouse to have nevertheless! :)
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
I’m on the lookout for the bus version too which of course I’ll share should I encounter it!
You still got a nice box and some literature to enjoy which could be a good conversation piece too
mangamaster03@reddit
I love the idea of using a .ini file to set up mouse acceleration profiles. I had no idea that was originally a supported feature.
lw5555@reddit
Man, it's wild remembering a time when a mouse was novel.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
Indeed; it wasn't really until Windows 95 that really had to have a mouse with Windows as gaining focus with the keyboard could be tricky... but Windows 1 support mice!
goldPotatoGun@reddit
I can smell and hear it. I loved opening floppy packets. The perforated plastic. Tingles.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
I was amazed that the disks were still readable but you're right; there's something extremely satisfying about opening new goodies up and enjoying that 'new manufacturer smell'
homerdulu@reddit
Oh man the nostalgia of those simpler days
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
Yes, along the grinding of the HDD giving you assurance that something was happening; right or wrong!
ducon__lajoie@reddit
Microsoft mouse ? We had it for some time... Then my father bought the freakin' logitech marble ! This one was amazing:
https://mouses.info/1995-logitech-trackman-marble-trackball/
MWink64@reddit
The version with the scroll wheel may be the best trackball ever made. I also versions going back to the very first TrackMan, which was terribly unergonomic.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
How did you find the precision; other than my Mac trackpad, I couldn’t imagine using a mouse-like peripheral that the user doesn’t move
ducon__lajoie@reddit
It was great to use. I remember using it with well... deluxe paint, at the time, and moving it just one pixel in a given direction was much easier than with a regular mouse. It was fast, accurate, and very comfortable. I have never been able to use trackpads, and I have only been using regular mouses for the last two decades, so I'm not sure I would be comfortable with it again now, but at the time, the trackball was my preferred way, by far.
docshipley@reddit
I have that trackball, and one of almost every generation of Logitech trackball since.
With a little practice a good trackball can be more precise than a mouse, and it's much easier on your wrist and hand.
Some people fall in love with trackballs, some just don't.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
They’re probably like TrackPads, they’ve either got a firm adoption or rejection to their use
Just with you mentioning ergonomics, I noticed a lot of the earlier literature mentions safe use of the mouse and keyboard more frequently than what you see now
grateparm@reddit
I wish there was a modern recreation of the dove bar mouse with a capacitive scroll in the same vane as the Amiga tank mouse
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
Now this might pair beautifully with my Mac hardware
Cwc2413@reddit
Did the disks still have the smell?!
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
The 6.22 disks do because I bought that box sealed, so they’d remained sealed (plus readable!) over thirty years later after manufacture!
Soylent_Caffeine@reddit
Finally an unboxing photo post! Everyone wants to be the next Youtube star but a slideshow and text write up is far superior.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
Enjoying retro tech and chatting with like-minded Redditors is reward enough for me; I’m not interested in fame and the reason I decided not to video was because I feel you should explore at your leisure and not have to listen to me because once I start, I cannot stop!
I was very surprised this hasn’t already been done on Reddit so I hope you all enjoy my forthcoming posts
JasonMckin@reddit
If I recall, Microsoft started using this clear white box with a big bright icon and times new Roman like font around the time of MS-DOS 5.0 and applied this to all of their software.
It’s notable, because software boxes generally looked like crap before that. This was around the time that Windows 3.1 was released, which also had this bright white branding unlike Windows 3.0.
It showed how Microsoft was increasingly becoming more consumer-aware and investing in things like pretty boxes. Other vendors followed suit too. It was a very significant change in the industry going from PCs being just nerd machines with awful design, awful UI to increasingly cleaner designs to appeal to a broader market.
This white box generation lasted a couple years before the Windows 95 generation of bright blue boxes.
Nobody really buys software at a store anymore, but there was a time when the industry was finally waking up to being a consumer industry and these boxes are evidence of that.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
I have the white box and mouse too (with the 'basic' aesthetics) but you’re spot-on about the increasing use of graphics with the retail packaging - certainly marks a shift in strategy from Microsoft and then other vendors
Tuxlwurm@reddit
I got the mouse box but not the mouse.
my-names-gavin@reddit (OP)
I'm sure your box is a valued addition to your collection, mouse or no mouse!
Did you see my previous post; there are a couple more mice pending exploration plus a BallPoint too for mobile users of the 1990s if you like your peripherals?!
Now that I've got my software/manuals sorted, I'm intending on acquiring some vintage hardware for the real experience plus to see if some of these peripherals work!
Tuxlwurm@reddit
I am not collecting these. I found it and it is now towering on a pillar over my desk.