It wasn't at all funny that i could run only ONE program at a time on a 386DX! X( As I said HORRIBLE memories....
It was the simplest O.S to start learning things with. Give me a PC XT with DOS(Free DOS would do) and C loaded on it, and copy of Yashwant Kanetkar's Let Us C i could set days and weeks at a stretch :-)
The ideal thing for students to start with. Then when they see GNU/Linux with GCC alson with Tanenbaum's Mordern Operating Systems then they would REALLy rock. :-)
Regards,
- vihan