Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!portal!cup.portal.com!thad
From: thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga outclassed
Message-ID: <28192@cup.portal.com>
Date: 23 Mar 90 13:46:18 GMT
References: <90078.164636JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu>
  <1990Mar20.024459.5030@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <28107@cup.portal.com>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 57


Re: "AMIGA Outclassed" (by new Apple announcements), hmmmm.

Well, a 40MHz 68030 would be "nice", and it seems Apple finally learned of
the existence of something called DMA (for the SCSI bus), but let's look a
bit further into just WHAT was announced.  And for that look, let's read
from the journal of Apple's "friend", DEC; specifically, DIGITAL REVIEW, the
March 19, 1990 edition, pages 1 and 6 (extracted):

"                APPLE UNLEASHES FX and A/UX Unix (sic) V2.0"

Apple Computer this week will attempt to expand its position into the
workstation arena with a high-end offering for Macintosh devotees called
the Macintosh IIfx.  In addition, Apple is bolstering its A/UX Unix (sic)
offering with version 2.0, which provides a full implementation of AT&T's
Unix (sic) System V 2.2, support for X windows, and the ability to run
existing Max applications alongside A/UX applications.

The Macintosh IIfx uses a 40MHz 68030 microprocessor, a 32KB static RAM
cache and a 68882 floating-point co-processor for mathematical functions,
Apple officials said.

Also included are dedicated I/O processors that company officials said
increase the efficiency of the system by managing low-level I/O tasks, such
as the Apple Desktop Bus, floppy disk drives and serial ports, which
previously were handled by the 68030.  A dedicated SCSI/DMA controller
improves SCSI performance with this Apple offering.

...

Apple's release 2.0 of A/UX considerably strengthens the company's Unix (sic)
offering.  Although it does not yet support the popular AT&T Unix System V 3.0,
A/UX does offer full support for AT&T Unix System V 2.2, Posix 1003.1,
Berkeley File System, NFS version 3.2 enhancements, shared libraries, X
windows and relevant Unix standards, so users can port existing Unix
applications to A/UX with minimal effort, company officials say.

...

Industry analysts said ... (the new Mac) will not be overly competitive in
the Unix workstation arena ... it's several revisions behind the current
AT&T Unix release .... [the IIfx] doesn't have the power and price/performance
to successfully compete ... at about $13,000, the price of the new Mac with
a color monitor, 8MB of memory and 160MB hard disk is not competitive ...
Apple's priced themselves out of the market with this one.
"

Gee, has the love-affair between DEC and Apple reached the 7-year itch point
in just 2 years?  :-)

BTW, the A/UX V2.0 won't even be available 'til Summer '90.

For the record, CBM is (has) porting (ported) AT&T UNIX System V 4.0 as its
UNIX offering, and "rumor" suggests it (CBM's UNIX) will be available BEFORE
Apple's; it (CBM's UNIX SV4.0) was already demo'd at Uniforum.

Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]