While my primary interests are in CP/M and S-100 systems, there's interest in the community of those users in TurboDOS. Discussions in the last several years have lead to a recent (2011) apparent release from copyright of TurboDOS. This Web page provides a little background, the notice of release, and Web links. Most recent revision of this page dated Mar 1 2011. (c) Copyright 2011 Herb Johnson. Corrections appreciated. - Herb Johnson
TurboDOS was a multiple processor and multiple user operating system developed around S-100 cards and systems, and released in 1982 by a company called "Software 2000 Inc." That company was formed by Mick Busch apparently in 1977, in Arroyo Grande, California. As of Feb 2011, an entry for Mick Busch in Linkedin says: "Owner/President Software 2000, Inc. (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Computer Software industry) 1977 - Present (34 years )."
The Z80 version of TurboDOS generally supports 8080 and Z80 programs which run under CP/M, plus it supports networks of multiple users running multiple processor; and shared mass storage. System brands supported with TurboDOS include MuSys, IMS International (former Industrial Micro Systems), Televideo, Morrow Designs, Advanced Digital, Intercontinental Micro Systems (ICM), Pulsar (Australian reseller), NorthStar, Teletek. Many of these were S-100 systems. Software packages for word processing and database were offered by other companies. An 8086 version was available by 1984. TurboDOS saw commercial and some personal use in Z80 systems of the 1980's and through the 1990's. It was not inexpensive to license for redistribution, or to purchase. The apparent Z80 (8080?)versions in use were TurboDOS 1.4+, preceeded by 1.4 and 1.30.
From the 1990's and into the 21st century, there's been occasional interest in TurboDOS in the vintage computing commmunity. A number of CP/M archive and related archive sites, as well as individuals with their own Web sites, have accumulated TurboDOS materials or discuss systems or software. In Jan-Feb 2011, there was another round of discussion of TurboDOS in the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.cpm. (See this commentary about one particular poster in that newsgroup.)
A suggestion posted by N8VEM developer Andrew Lynch led to an apparent inquiry to Mick Busch. A notice published by Per Frejvall in Usenet newsgroup comp.os.cpm on Feb 10 2010 titled "TurboDOS is now free!" says quote:
Bearer of good news, it is good to be! Message from Mike Busch, co-founder of Software 2000 and creator of TurboDOS: "Per, Software 2000, Inc. Is no longer enforcing its copyright on TurboDOS. Have fun with it, and thanks for asking. Mike" Unfortunately, they don't have any copies of the sources. We'll have to disassemble if we want to hack it. I will, in a short while, prepare a complete download package and send it to Gaby and Peter Schorn. /per
See the site notes below for descriptions of the persons mentioned.
Gaby Chaudry as mentioned above is the owner and operator of the "unofficial CP/M" archive Web site. Peter Schorn has supported CP/M for some time and supports his Altair 8800 simulator based on SIMH simulators. Per Frejvall of Sweden has worked with TurboDOS for many years; I do not have a public Web location for him. A search of comp.os.cpm archived messages will uncover more information about TurboDOS, from years of prior posts.
Owners of other CP/M and related archive sites, responded to the above post, and indicated interest in hosting (additional) TurboDOS documents and files. I'll provide links to them here as I find them. Unfortunately, Web searches for "Software 2000" and "TurboDOS" often find copies of the Wikipedia description, on Web pages designed to "attract" general searches to ads.
UK mirror of bitsavers.org, TurboDOS by IMS
Bill Buckles's TurboDOS museum site
z80cpu.eu mirror of the oakland CP/M archive of TurboDOS
z80cpu.eu copy of Fritz Chwolka's dyndns.org site with IMS 5000 manuals and binaries including a Z80 and 8086 TurboDOS Implementors Guide Also look in the adjacent "lftechnologies" directory (another brand for IMS).
z80cpu.eu copy of Fritz Chwolka'sdyndns.org site with Philips P3500 or 3500 system which used TurboDOS. Includes TD programs written by and release to the public domain by a "S. Kluger"
There was a review of TurboDOS published by the ACM as follows:
TurboDOSTM multiprocessor operating system
Author: William A. Schultz
Published in: ACM '83 Proceedings of the 1983 annual conference on Computers : Extending the human resource
pages: 138 - 139
This article can be purchased online.
IMS 5000 resources on retrocomputing.net
There are various on-line archives of the Walnut Creek CP/M CD-ROM, a public domain source of programs. Apparently the "TurboDOS Users' Group" of Livermore, California, contributed two file directories's worth of code, mostly by "S. Kluger" of Dallas TX. By name the directories are "CPM/TURBODS" and "CPM/TURBODSG". You will need ancient CP/M decompression programs to recover the files.
Here's a link to an email conversation I had with Ken Koswener, in Feb 2010, about his Industial Micro Systems experiences and TurboDOS activities. Quoted with permission.
As part of my S-100 (computer bus) manufacturer's manuals archives, I have paper originals or copies of the following manuals as shown on one of my S-100 documentation pages. Thanks to Emmanuel Roche for noting these to my attention.
Advanced Digital Corp. (ADC) Super 6 system SINGLE CARD
Turbodos 1.2 manual as follows:
Users Guide 120 pgs
Doc Update 12 pgs
Configuration Guide, with IMS hardware driver listings, 153 pgs
SuperSix Bios manuals (ver 2.2, 2.3) 30 pages
SuperSix Tech manual, schematics, 50 pages
The above sites and archives may have more Web links, and more resourses indexed by brands of systems which ran TurboDOS - not necessarily listed under "Turbodos". Discussions about TurboDOS have occurred over the decades in Usenet "newsgroup" comp.os.cpm (archived by Google et. al.). - Herb
Note: This Emmanuel Roche is NOT the French mathematician of the same name.
The Usenet newsgroup comp.os.cpm has existed for decades, as an email discussion about CP/M and related topics, including on occasion TurboDOS as noted in this Web page. For many years, Mr. Emmanuel Roche of France has used that newsgroup to post whole articles, source code, commentary about CP/M, and about his personal interests - actions contrary to almost everyone else's use of that newsgroup. The Google Groups archive of comp.os.cpm, or any other such archive, will show the extent of his activities there, and responses to his activities.
In particular, he's posted about TurboDOS, and at times assisted others about TurboDOS. At least one Web site I list here, credits Mr. Roche's activities. But Roche has no Web site I could point to, no archives - he uses comp.os.cpm for that. So I had nothing of "his" to point to.
When he found I created a Web page on TurboDOS which does not mention HIM, he posted a complaint in comp.os.cpm on Feb 15 2011 - after posting his own list of TurboDOS related sites, his personal itererary, etc. etc. I decided my response would be: to quote his own complaint, and his own list of accomplishments, as an inkling of what I'm talking about. Those interested can look at comp.os.cpm and see "more". - Herb Johnson
- quote -
Herb "Xerox" Johnson has (but don't know...) the following manuals: [reference to TurboDOS manuals in my S-100 archive, noted above on this Web page]
I was forgetting... Herb Johnson managed to write a Web page dealing with TurboDOS without mentioning my name... How curious! Me, when I do a Google search, the only person mentioning TurboDOS, years after years, in the comp.os.cpm Newsgroup is... me! It is me who mentioned Per's name, years after years (I refound some messages from Per that I had forgotten, being so busy). It is me who found and published Michael Busch's address. Etc, etc. "Corrections appreciated..."
Apparently, Herb "the barking dog" Johnson "had a problem with that......"
Finally, it is me, who has never seen or used a TurboDOS system, who understood it, and explained it, compared to MP/M-II with CP/NET. In addition, I now understand the system, and would be able to "reverse engineer" it, if I had enough time and money. (Of course, if I had the TurboDOS 1.43 system of Al Kossow at my disposal, this would be a piece of cake. Al, if you want to invite me in California...) I even have experience with PASM! (Another program that I am the only one to mention...)
All this resulting only from my logical thinking. (So far, I have read only one TurboDOS manual.)
Need I say more?
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. Emmanuel "Sherlock Holmes" Roche, France
- end quote -
Note: Emmanuel Roche historically refers to me as "Xerox", because he believes that he "owns" comp.os.cpm and subjects like CP/M and now TurboDOS - therefore anything I write about them must be copies of "his" work, which "only" he does. He has similar attitudes about others. He persists in using a public email list, but curses those who participate there, and others who act outside of that list on their own Web sites. Unbelieveable! - Herb Johnson
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Copyright © 2011 Herb Johnson