Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!ncar!tank!msuinfo!sharkey!wyn386!danielw From: danielw@wyn386.mi.org (Daniel Wynalda) Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix Subject: Re: Open desktop Keywords: ODT X11 Motif Message-ID: <346@wyn386.mi.org> Date: 30 May 90 13:06:24 GMT References: <394080@neabbs.UUCP> <706@n4hgf.uucp> Reply-To: danielw@wyn386.UUCP (Daniel Wynalda) Organization: Wynalda Litho Inc, Rockford MI Lines: 59 >In article <394080@neabbs.UUCP> omeer@neabbs.UUCP (OSCAR VAN.DER.MEER) writes: >>I am suprised that there is no news about SCO's Open Desktop. >>Am I in the wrong area for message? If not could anybody who is using >>the product send me a short review of their experiences with the >>Open Desktop. > I agree with most of what was replied in the first response on Open Desktop. We had SCO ODT running here at the Grand Rapids Business Expo about a week ago. We were running on a DELL EISA 80486/25 machine. This machine really ran nice. We tried installing a BUNCH of packages to see what would/could run under ODT. We had 16MB RAM with a SuperVGA card in it. The ODT wasn't able to use the SuperVGA modes at this time, just standard VGA I believe... The DOS emulation appears to work quite well (DOSMERGE) as I was able to pop up a DOS window, load MICROSOFT WINDOWS in the WINDOW, and load Lotus 123 from Windows. All ran and worked on a dynamically sized screen. Graphs worked to the screen as well. All of the Xenix stuff we loaded was able to run. We had representatives out from SCO to the show. They brought the 80486 Server version of the NFS and TCP/IP. We didn't ever use it but I imagine it is similar to the Xenix TCP/IP implementation. I've never played with NFS so I won't pretend to comment on that yet... One nice thing I ran into -- you can use all of the standard Unix multiscreens even if you are in ODT on some screens. --- thus, multiple sessions with multiple windows. The version of ODT we had was loaded with toys to demo the X-window capabilities. I don't know if the release version is... We had X-eyes (eyes that watch your mouse pointer), xclock, dclock, alot of the PIC, and GIF files with a viewer, some games, etc. I had never used Microsoft Windows up till this point but the windows were all very intuitive to the computer types... As far as performance goes, I didn't see any real degradation due to the graphics interface.... Of course I wasn't serving 16 terminals or anything either.... In short, (coming from a first time X-Windows user), the package appears to be quite robust. Nothing I loaded up trashed the windows server at all. The system never locked up on my beyond where I could just close a window and watch it go bye bye. There are about 100 copyright notices you see on boot. I find it amazing all of this stuff integrates and runs without the usually massive EASY TO FIND bugs (like VP/ix had/has). If you need X and are interested in running it on an 386/486 platform, I'd look into it. For our needs at this time, we have to continue to run Xenix. Both for lack of faith in a prototype operating system and because I need to feed lots of terminals. I have 2 Xenix machines running TCP/IP now with Xenix-Net on it. I might think of adding another machine to the net running SCO Unix or ODT and tying it in with the ethernet in one way or another. -- Daniel Wynalda | (616) 866-1561 X22 Ham:N8KUD Net:danielw@wyn386.mi.org Wynalda Litho Inc. | It's soon to be a united, neutral, mediocre world. 8221 Graphic Ind Pk. | You know you're losing your freedom when everything you Rockford, MI 49341 | like to do is taxed, charged "user" fees, or banned.