Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!usc!apple!mgchow
From: mgchow@Apple.COM (Mike Chow)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: X Window Emulator for the Mac
Keywords: X, Apple
Message-ID: <40738@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 4 May 90 17:06:24 GMT
References: <20489@boulder.Colorado.EDU> <722@limbo.Intuitive.Com> <1990May4.121905.16042@granite.cr.bull.com>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 44

In article <1990May4.121905.16042@granite.cr.bull.com> deangeli@granite.cr.bull.com (Douglas J. DeAngelis) writes:
>I feel the need to make another point about the differences between MacX
>and eXodus:
>
>1) Apple lists A/UX as one of its system requirements for running MacX
>   or X11.  This may at first seem logical, but there is no fundamental
>   reason to tie these together.  eXodus makes no such requirement, and
>   for people who are just looking to turn a few Macs around the site
>   into Xterms, this requirement could add significantly to the cost
>   (especially considering the Apple view that the extended functionality
>   of 2.0 will command significantly more cash flow than previous versions...)
>
Sorry, but you're confused about MacX.  MacX will run on both MacOS and A/UX,
and the real beauty is that the same MacX binary is used in both enrivonments.
You don't have to have A/UX to run MacX.  Another point is that MacX allows
you to use a Macintosh Window manager for your X windows, allowing very
nice integration with the Macintosh desktop.

>2) eXodus is an R4 server that works _today_.  The R4 server that Apple
>   has announced (called X11 for A/UX), in their words, "takes over the
>   console display".  Another minor ;-) point is that it doesn't work yet.
>   Crashing UNIX systems on a routine basis is much less pleasant than a
>   normal, friendly Mac crash.
I'm confused here.  First of all, as far as I know, Apple has not 
shipped an X server based on R4.  So, are you talking about the R4 sample
server from MIT?  If you're talking about unreleased/unsupported software, 
your comment that it "doesn't work yet" isn't very relevant in the context
of products that a company ships and supports.

I also don't understand your point about "Crashing UNIX systems on a routine 
basis", since the X11 server from Apple runs as a user process.  It possible 
for ANY UNIX X server to crash, but a user process that crashes won't kill 
the UNIX kernel.

>
>-- 
>==========================================================================
>Douglas J. DeAngelis			Bull Worldwide Information Systems 
>deangeli@granite.cr.bull.com		300 Concord Road  MA30-852A
>(508) 671-2552				Billerica, MA  01821


Mike Chow
mgchow@apple.com