[GEM Development] Dev kit, 32-bits questions

[DAVID L. ORMAND]

New member here.  Easy question (hopefully) and relevant observation:

1. I have the "Borland Museum" Turbo C and C++, which I preferred
long ago for work projects.  I don't mind getting Pacific C,
as long as it is at least as full-featured as Turbo, but unless
there is a commanding reason to use Pacific over Turbo for GEM
work, I'd rather stick with Turbo.  I don't mind at all using
DJGPP, but I understand it only builds 32-bit apps, and GEM is
(so far) purely 16-bit. 

So is there a GEM developer kit with Turbo C libraries?

Also, what are the recommendations on a resource construction kit?

I have built a few for-fun amateurish GEM programs for Atari; I'd
like to have a go at peecee GEM.

2. Lots of talk in here about using GEM as a GUI for Linux/BSD.
My primary OS is Linux, but I tell you, for a laptop or even a
slow desktop, I'd rather have something that boots "almost
instantly".  Linux and BSD DON'T.  I am watching the Aranym project
closely, but again, it rides on Linux. My ST and Falcon boot
"almost instantly."  Granted that 16-bit peecee GEM, as it stands,
is dated and limited, and a native 32-bit GEM would be much better,
I would figure there would be more interest in going that route,
rather than messing with Unix, where X and KDE/Gnome (and other
systems) are well-established and well-supported.

Is there any interest or motion in this direction, or are we
waiting for FreeDOS32?