Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!emory!att!cbnewsh!wcs From: wcs@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (Bill Stewart 201-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs) Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops Subject: Re: Unix laptops Message-ID: <7411@cbnewsh.ATT.COM> Date: 17 Jan 90 02:29:29 GMT References: Reply-To: wcs@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (Bill Stewart 201-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs) Distribution: comp Organization: Not Quite Anarchy Lines: 37 In article pedz@pedz.austin.ibm.com (Perry Smith) writes: ]If we totally disrequard price, is there a laptop which runs Unix in a Sure. I first saw it about 5 years ago - a DG-1 with VENIX on 2 720-KB floppies - really limited, but the real stuff. Minix is nicer with a hard disk, but a 2x1.44 or even 2x720 machine with enough memory is surprisingly capable. Most 386 laptops can run System V, either from AT&T, SCO, or ISC. 386s are still a bit heavy, and it's not much fun if you only have a 20MB disk. An intermediate solution is to get a light-weight 286 box and run one of the Xenix flavors or Microport if it still exists - or Minix for low $$. The AT&T System V/MLS secure operating system people have a couple of 386s that they carry around to give demos. If you don't mind a little weight and AC power, a Toshiba with the red VGA screen can be really impressive. > I'd like to have BSD Unix (or mach) .... EMACS ... TeX ... X With a good emacs (MicroGNU?) and csh if you like the stuff, you can learn to like System V. Really. I haven't tracked Minix for a couple years, but it's a lean and mean communications kernel is you want something like a micro-Mach instead. AT&T's emacs is TECO-flavored instead of GNU-flavored (though there's a lispy add-on), and it's small, fast, and clean. For TeX you'll need a real disk, though there are DOS TeX's around as well as UNIX. X is ok on VGA; if your screen is much less than that you might as well use text. Now, if only that GridPad were a 386 .... next year? It already comes with a hard disk if you're willing to use a thicker heavier beast, and it's really not that expensive ( <$5K, though I'd rather spend <$1K.) -- # Bill Stewart AT&T Bell Labs 4M312 Holmdel NJ 201-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs # ho95c has gone the way of all VAX/785s, so I'm now on erebus.att.com