GW Basic - Need a cd copy

[Kowalski]

I am trying to get a cd copy of GW Basic. I tried to download a copy from link removed by Allan to cd, but it didn't work. I would rather buy a cd so I don't mess up my computer. I am not computer savvy. The cd is for someone else.  Any thoughts where I can purchase this? Or any idea where I am going wrong with the download? Do I have to save to my C drive first before I can burn it to a cd?

I have read in this forum: “any version of the Microsoft QB from 4.0 on is a good choice for anybody who wants a replacement for GW-Basic.
If you only want the interpreter, use the QBASIC from windows 98.”

So on that note, I’m even more confused.  The person requesting the GW Basic cd has access to HP computer with Windows 95, 98 and a Dell laptop with Windows 7 (*But does not have internet access).  He wants the old GW Basic, not QBASIC.  I think he is trying to play old games or to learn programming.  I’m not sure what I should tell him or what to do?  Any help would be appreciated!  Thank you.

[Salmon Trout]

GW-BASIC is a copyright product so it can't be sold or distributed without permission.The only legal way to get a copy is by obtaining a legal set of MS-DOS floppy install disks. That web site that you linked to looks highly suspicious.

[Kowalski]

Thank you so much for the information!  I must agree about that website, looked odd to me too, but Norton said it was safe so I attempted to download.  Funny thing, hours after I tried to download, my email got hacked.  I have never had that happen before.  Thanks again for the GW Basic information.  Have a great day! 

[DaveLembke]

http://www.addressof.com/basic/#/Home

This is a cool GW-Basic Emulator website. Figured I'd share this in case it doesnt matter if its run in dos shell window locally or emulated in browser. Another member here pointed me to this a while back. Pretty Cool and most features work including color and sound etc.

[Linux711]

Um. link removed by Allan
Unzip and burn that to a CD. Make sure all file and path names are < 8 chars in length.

Anyway, if your friend is into retro programming, you should tell him to use qbasic instead. He could also use QB64 on windows if he'd like. I am pretty sure Microsoft does not still have a copyright on this product as it is being distributed for free on many legitimate sites, but even on the off chance that it is not, it is no longer being marketed and therefore nothing lost.

[Salmon Trout]

Um. [url to site hosting copyrighted material

Um. That link has already been removed once.

Um. It has already been pointed out that GW-BASIC is "still under copyright so it can't be sold or distributed without permission."

Um. It actually says that on the site you linked to.

Um. Didn't you read that?

Um. Did you read the CH rules when you joined? You had to click that you did.

Very little, if any, Microsoft software is legally abandonware. GWBASIC.EXE is copyrighted software. The copyright is owned by Microsoft Corp. When sold as a component program of MS-DOS, only Microsoft's copyright notice is shown on the GW-BASIC start-up screen. When licensed to other vendors by Microsoft, their own copyright notice may also be visible on the start-up screen. Regardless, the interpreter is a copyrighted product and it is not legal to sell or give copies of it away. Just because it is old that does not make it freeware.

[patio]

Well stated...

[Linux711]

Um. That link has already been removed once.

Um. It has already been pointed out that GW-BASIC is "still under copyright so it can't be sold or distributed without permission."

Um. It actually says that on the site you linked to.

Um. Didn't you read that?

Um. Did you read the CH rules when you joined? You had to click that you did.

Very little, if any, Microsoft software is legally abandonware. GWBASIC.EXE is copyrighted software. The copyright is owned by Microsoft Corp. When sold as a component program of MS-DOS, only Microsoft's copyright notice is shown on the GW-BASIC start-up screen. When licensed to other vendors by Microsoft, their own copyright notice may also be visible on the start-up screen. Regardless, the interpreter is a copyrighted product and it is not legal to sell or give copies of it away. Just because it is old that does not make it freeware.

Didn't think it was that big of a deal to post something that hasn't been marketed in almost 30 years. Imagine a site like that hosting copies of Microsoft Office or Visual Studio 2010 Pro, it would be taken down in a second. Microsoft doesn't really care about this product anymore. What can they do with it? It's pretty much a toy now.

I won't do it again; I just wanted to get my point across. I don't want a flame, so I'm going to stop here. It just bothers me how sensitive some people can be about intellectual property.

[Geek-9pm]

No my two cents.
Yes, it is a Copyrighted product.
Yes, it is so old there  is little reason to want it.

The division to let anyone use it  freely or not is the prerogative of Microsoft.

Microsoft offers many free versions of new products that ate a better presentation   of Microsoft's present program writing tools.

Some time ago MS established modern applications should be in a Graphic User Interface rather than  DOS based command line invocation. With the exception of system programs for administrators.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Basic

Visual Basic is a third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its COM programming model first released in 1991. Visual Basic is designed to be relatively easy to learn and use.[1][2] Visual Basic was derived from BASIC and enables the rapid application development (RAD) of graphical user interface (GUI) applications,

Which implies that anything g older is so..so retro. So 1990.

Did the OP ever say why he needs GW-BASIC?

[BC_Programmer]

Didn't think it was that big of a deal to post something that hasn't been marketed in almost 30 years. Imagine a site like that hosting copies of Microsoft Office or Visual Studio 2010 Pro, it would be taken down in a second. Microsoft doesn't really care about this product anymore. What can they do with it? It's pretty much a toy now.

My neighbour never seems to drive his truck. Does this mean I can take it? It's an abandoncar right? So I can just take it for a drive whenever.

It just bothers me how sensitive some people can be about intellectual property.

Well maybe it bothers me how sensitive my neighbour is about his physical possessions. The Truck just sits there. He doesn't seem to care about it. Therefore, I should be able to take it. I mean really I don't see a logical problem with that!


(of course that blurs the line between Physical property and intellectual property, but the fact is that everybody owns some physical property, but far fewer actually own intellectual property, so it's a lot easier to pretend it's not a problem. Because it isn't their problem.

[Salmon Trout]

It just bothers me how sensitive some people can be about intellectual property.

This just shows the depth of your lack of understanding. This is not about you telling your school buddy how to get GW-BASIC. Computerhope is a site on the World Wide Web, and is indexed by Google. Think about what "World Wide" means for a moment. It means that anyone, anywhere in the world, can type a search term into Google and get directed straight here. It also means that anyone at Microsoft can do the same, and then instruct lawyers to take action, which may range from sending a "Cease and desist" letter to stronger stuff. This would clearly be a bad thing for the owner of CH. It's not that most people are "sensitive" about intellectual property as such, more that they care about a useful forum that they enjoy being part of.

[Geek-9pm]

Salmon Trout, Excellent!

Did the OP intend to get GW-BASIC for free? If so, Why?
Did the OP not look for certifiable physical copies of the product? There are vrsions of the product still in warehouses in pristine condition.One source of legal versions of the product are on the eBay auction site. Bat Both eBay and Microsoft watch for any  non-verifiable  sales of the product.Vendors who stockpiled old versions of MS-DOS with GW-BASIC have the right to make a small recoup of their investment in a out0of date  material.

To use the metaphor used by BC. imagine my neighbor has an old truck parked in his yard with a for sale sign. The price is very low. The truck is in good condition. So will I become annoyed because hie does not want to just give it to me for nothing?  And shall I co spire with others no steal his truck and claim that no wrong was done? Because I wanted it?
Using that form of logic, if something is very old and cheap, it is alright to just steal it. How absurd!

Again, it is for sale. Legally. Why become a thief for a few dollars?

Old, used and out of Print MS-DOS for Sale
http://www.emsps.com/oldtools/msdos.htm
Above is one of a number of sites offering old Microsoft  materials. Legally.
Microsoft has comments on this topic. So they have not 'abandoned' the old truck.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/72095
Yes, the post is old, but still in the Knowledge Base and indexed by Google.

[BC_Programmer]

Also since GW-BASIC/QuickBASIC are part of Older Operating Systems, sometimes you can get them on the cheap or for free from local companies that have since upgraded but still have the valid licenses for the older software.

Windows 95 has QBASIC on the CD-ROM in the "old_msdos" directory. (f or win98 I'm guessing it's in the (old_win95/old_msdos/ directory) for GW-BASIC I think you need to find MS-DOS 5 or earlier.

[Salmon Trout]

for GW-BASIC I think you need to find MS-DOS 5 or earlier.

not earlier than 3.2, and not later than 4.0

[DaveLembke]

not earlier than 3.2, and not later than 4.0

I have a 5.25" floppy in storage that is DOS 2.11 and it has GW-Basic on it. I think DOS 2.11 was the first to come with GW-Basic.

As far as DOS 5, ... DOS 5 came with QBasic and not GW-Basic, BUT you can run line numbered GW-Basic style programs in QBasic through legacy support. So if they needed to run code that was in GW-Basic, it will work under QBasic interpreter if not compiled, and if they cant get their hands on a legal copy of GW-Basic. QBasic just as BC_Programmer pointed out can be acquired off of many OS versions.

Back in the day when I upgraded to DOS 5 in 1992, I was pleased to find out that programs written in GW-Basic were supported under legacy interpretation. But because of this, I also stuck to the habit of using GW-Basic line number programming technique longer than I should have. So it was nice that legacy support was added to QBasic, but at that point in time I should have been pushed to Quick Basic without Line numbers. Diving into C/C++ programming in college 1997, it was great that I had prior programming knowledge, BUT if I would have learned Quick Basic before learning C/C++ it would have been much smoother. The good thing is that my professors were good at pointing out not to use GOTO's etc and write it all in WHILE or FOR loops etc which is proper programming. My programs in GW-Basic were prime examples of spaghetti code, especially if I had to add a section of code between line 120 and 125 and it was going to take more than 5 lines and I didnt want it to be a mess with spanned lines of instructions with : : : : : : to squeeze it in. My habit was to jump out from say line 121 and process something and then jump back to 122 between 120 and 125. If the program was small enough I'd rewrite it, but if it was 500 lines of code, it was likely full of goto's etc.