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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uwvax!umn-d-ub!rhealey
From: rhealey@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU (Rob Healey)
Newsgroups: unix-pc.general,comp.sys.att
Subject: Re: SysVR3 port for UNIX PC
Message-ID: <2928@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU>
Date: 20 Oct 89 00:21:45 GMT
References: <2917@umn-d-ub.D.UMN.EDU> <987@icus.islp.ny.us>
Reply-To: rhealey@ub.d.umn.edu (Rob Healey)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Minnesota, Duluth
Lines: 57

Me sez:
>|>	Anybody know if the SysVR3 port for the UNIX PC that was
>|>	"let out of the bag" at a recent USENIX BOF, is getting anywhere?
>|>	The rumor had it that some company was actually planning the port
>|>	and was starting it RSN. Anybody know if it's actually happening?
>|>
>
Lenny sez:
>At this current time, I believe were at a stand-still.  To make the 
>SVR3 port worthwhile, one would need to keep compatibility with the rest
>of the UNIX pc-specific operating system features. (ie. loadable device
>drivers, the device drivers themselves, etc...)
>
	Hmmm, sounds like the reasoning behind the stratagy of a company
	named Intel... Appologys to Lenny, but do we lose the
	possiblity of a SysVR3 UNIX because it can't support some of
	the fringe areas of the UNIX PC? I could live with having to
	mkboot/mkunix a 'la 3b2/xxx if that meant I could have Rev 3
	or higher UNIX. Opinions of my fellow unix-pc'ers???? If I
	can add drivers by relinking and rebooting I WOULDN'T complain,
	how about the rest of you? What's the net.opinion here?

	If some company came out with SysVR3 for the UNIX PC but it
	DIDN'T have loadable device drivers and shared librarys a 'la
	3.5x would you refuse to buy it? Lets have a survey!!! Assume
	you could relink the kernel a 'la 3b2/xxx and that shared
	librarys worked like those under 3b2/xxx's, would you still
	refuse to buy it?

	I'm well aware that there would be NASTY problems porting the UNIX PC
	drivers from dynamically loadable ones to statically linked ones
	but, the rest of the UNIX world seems to handle the restriction
	OK. By the way, how about making a deal for CTIX 6.2 or greater?
	I know some of my non-shared UNIX PC programs worked fine on
	a Convergent/Unisys S/80 running CTIX 6.2. Any chance CTIX
	could be hammered into a UNIX PC kicking and screaming all the
	way??

	As a final thought, to get SysVR3 off the ground we UNIX PC
	folks gotta put some $$$ where are dreams are. I'd be willing
	to fork out $600.00 - $1000.00 for a full development system
	on the UNIX PC that was rev 3.2 or higher, what about the rest of
	you? What would YOU pay? How can we get the thousands of unix-pc'ers
	needed to make this happen? There MUST be enough of us out there
	to finance a project like this. Assuming there are only 1000 of
	us at $600.00 a head, thats 600,000 dollars. Surely $600,000 plus
	some contributions from the crowd could get SysVR3.2 on our
	7300/3b1's!?

	Just some rabble rousing ideas to get unix-pc.general buzzing
	again...

			-Rob
p.s.
	Praise to Lenny and Tom for rustlin' up those $50.00 a shot
	3.51 OS's! I'm Mooooooooocho grateful guys! What patch disk
	sets are needed for it, just a?