Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!ubc-cs!alberta!dvinci!news
From: lowey@herald.usask.ca (Kevin Lowey)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: OS/2 vs. Unix
Message-ID: <1990Mar22.000324.18577@dvinci.usask.ca>
Date: 22 Mar 90 00:03:24 GMT
References: <1990Mar15.152746.21025@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Sender: news@dvinci.usask.ca
Reply-To: lowey@herald.usask.ca
Organization: University of Saskatchewan
Lines: 42

From article <1990Mar15.152746.21025@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>, by srg@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu (Steven R Gerber):

>>Be serious. I use both DOS and Unix daily and I have a much better
>>history mechanism on DOS than I do on Unix.

> 	Did you mean you're using an additional utility (4DOS, stack, etc.)?
> 	If you mean the regular F3 etc., you gotta be kidding!

In OS/2 version 1.2, there is a history mechanism built in which works
similar to the popular CED utility for MS-DOS.  MUCH nicer than the stupid
"history" program in Unix.

>>I have job control and backgrounding too. You don't HAVE to have Unix
>>to do this.

> 	True.  You can kludge this (Windows, DesqView, etc.).
> 	But FACE IT: MS-DOS just plain ain't got it.
> 	I don't want to do back-flips to code.  BTW, have you every programmed
> 	for Windows?  It's a real pain-in-the-ass and the SDK is expensive.

I agree there, but the topic for this message is UNIX vs OS/2, not 
UNIX vs MS-DOS.  OS/2 is a full pre-emptive multitasking operating system,
and not a kludge like most of the MS-DOS multitaskers.

OS/2 has a number of advantages over Unix for single user machines.  First
of all, it is designed for low powered machines like my IBM model 60 with
a 40M hard disk.  To get an equivalent Unix system, you would require not
only Unix, but also X-Window.  How well would that work on my Model-60?

This problem is compounded when you start adding more users on.  To get an
equivalent GUI interface, my model 60 would have to run unix with x-window
locally, and each of the other users would also have to run at LEAST an 
X-Window terminal.  One X-Terminal costs the same as my model-60, with OS/2.

So why would I want to run 5 people off my model 60 using unix, when for the
same price I could have five independant machines, each dedicated to ONE user.
If I want, I can cheaply link these together with a LAN to get file sharing
and electronic mail abilities similar to what Unix offers.  

Heck, if I want to, I can even get Usenet mail feeds on my OS/2 system!

- Kevin Lowey