Now there are two 512MB computers running 98SE rather than one running 1GB and XP. :-)
At work I have to have a W98se boot CDR on hand to "fix" the XP machine 'cause XP won't let one directly access the disk (e.g. for using a disk editor).
P.S. DOS runs REALLY fast on a relatively current computer.
Indeed it does. In fact it does on any Pentium.
I triple boot DOS 6.2, Win 95 and NT on my laptop - DOS for speed and assembly language experimentation, 95 because it was the OS the computer came with, and NT because certain software requires it. Each runs in its own partition, with an extended partition containing FAT 16, FAT 32 and NTFS areas so each OS has additional area to work with.
Back to your comment - have have a second computer at work, a 200mhz pentium, running DOS for data crunching. It's nothing short of incredible how fast a DOS program (running interpreted !) can zip through thousands of complex records. Currently I'm using it to analyze 19,000 work order records for actual performance versus estimates with a fairly complex set of rules.
The older OS's were designed for systems that had MUCH less resources than is commonplace today. Consequently they offer much higher performance for certain tasks.