Dual boot options?

I have always enjoyed the flicker fast flips between dos text mode
apps, and even loading a graphic like DISPLAY to sort thru images
comes up quicker on the same hardware than pushing a mouse around on
Linux.

But we are where we are, that is on the net, so I must use Linux/
mozilla/tbird. I sometimes like to look at a video clip on Youtube
also. But what are my options besides Linux? I refuse to support a
monopoly empire like Micky$loth.

My low income, sense of frugality, and environmental sensibilities
dont leave the PC on all the time, so I appreciate a quick boot and
shutdown. Next to dos, OS2 is the best I've seen, and I have it
installed on another platform that I could install the os2 versions of
mozilla and tbird. But well meaning folks keep sending me links to
youtube so I have some idea of what's on National TV without having to
actually watch all the bullschitt myself.

One of the reasons I use Xandros, is that it *automatically* finds and
mounts all the dos partitions on all the drives, just like dos was
born to do. I *never* get told I dont "have permission" to access a
drive on my own *personal* desktop. Which is a clue to the basic Linux
problem, that it was designed from the ground up as a network server,
and thinks that my desktop is just one of the dweeb clients. It seems
to take so long to boot cause of all the networking functionality that
I dont need.

Back in the BBS days with my 56k modem, I could turn on the 486, and
come back later on after I fixed my coffee and granola to find my
email sitting there. I didnt havta logon to the desktop, or the BBS
host; back in the day of geeks, there wasnt nearly as much space
wasted on ad hominum or flaming, and the BBS nets like WWIV or Fido
had virtually no spam. i kinda miss that.

So- I see mention of os2, ecomstation, & BEOS. Any other alternatives?
Is there any effort to bring full net functionality to FREEDOS or
DRDOS?