Visual DOS 2024 Tech Preview

A New, Advanced Operating System

Operating System Technology Previews and alpha versions usually do not become the final product. Take Windows Vista for example, where as Longhorn it promised a new kernel, database file system,  and BeOS like storage of data that can be used by multiple applications like contacts, and email.

Or how Windows XP lost Watercolor. And how every MacOS beta since 2007 promises features that never make it.

This is the Visual DOS 2024 Technology Preview. A skunkworks testing build that makes huge changes to the underlying OS, promising online-only AI processing of all commands, natural language command line, a new database file system, and more.

None of those made it into Visual DOS 2024, and due to a disaster at the primary server farm, natural language processing of commands is still TBD. But, due to the illegal archiving of proprietary software for historical value, this very early build of Visual DOS 2024 was preserved. And lands on your desk on a firewire 800 thumb drive. 

What else to do but boot it?

What's In The Box?

• 5,000 words of new story content in the Visual DOS universe that's really this universe but you don't know it yet.
• You've been lied to the entire time.
• It's been Visual DOS since 1995.
• Content warnings.
• A freaking file system because I'm unhinged (it's in the background, maybe I'll front it at some point). 
• Send help.
• Networking support I don't know why.
• Sounds.
• Graphics!
• Disassociation!
• It's called Springfield, named after the beautiful city/town of the state of ... huh... I don't know which Springfield and most people that have seen Visual DOS still have no idea what it is or what it's about. And now it's an operating system and I suspect people are gonna be more confused. Springfield is the perfect name.

How to Use

Visual DOS 2024 Technology Preview 2 Code Named Springfield is distributed as an ISO. You can theoretically boot it on bare metal x86 hardware, or any virtualizing software. I tested it using VMWare Workstation. I may be trapped by capitalism or a corporate shill. Who knows?

Type help to get more information.

Type help command to see a list of commands available.

Use man [command] or command /? for more information on a command. Want to see what the AI is saying? Use debug inspect-streams.

Do you use the Dvorak Keyboard Layout? Use the command asdf to quickly switch.

How to Play 

This isn't a game. It's real life! Explore the file system that didn't need to be written but was anyway. Find a cryptogram puzzle, or find a way unencrypt all messages and peruse them in a frustratingly random way. You might discover what Visual DOS is, or at least the banal habits of you'd wish you didn't know. Or skip to the spoilers and pretend you don't know what to do.

Spoilers

• Use the DEBUG command with the following parameters:
• inspect-streams - to inspect the AI streams
• But the AI is unhinged
• trace-stream - will tell you which AI node is acting up.
• inspect-node [nodeID] will let you connect to that AI node.
• You will have a record added to a category that lets you connect directly to the AI stream. Use READ on it.
• Every Read on the stream may be different than the previous. The differences may have clues.
• Use man commandname to find out how to use commands to do the above
• Use READ on the inbox.db in the confidential category to present a cryptogram. The key remains the same until reboot.
• Proceed far enough into the main story and the index.db is presented in cleartext instead.

Content Warnings

Visual DOS 2024 contains the following mature content

• Mentions of abuse and assumed SA
• Swear words
• Violence
• Close to current events - Not adding this a a joke, it's 2025 and current events is legitimately rough
• PTSD
• Common transgender trauma