Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!prls!pyramid!athertn!paul
From: paul@athertn.Atherton.COM (Paul Sander)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: What about Unix?
Keywords: Unix
Message-ID: <27597@athertn.Atherton.COM>
Date: 22 Jul 90 07:16:50 GMT
Organization: Atherton Technology, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 55


A while back I posted a request for information regarding the forthcoming
Unix port to the Amiga, along with any confirmations/denials of various
rumors.  I've gotten some requests to post a summary to the net, so here
goes.

To refresh everyone's memory, here are the rumors I'd been hearing:
- Source licensed from AT&T port of System V Release 4 (that is, Commodore
  has a source license and is doing right, but customers get binaries only)
- Available in September
- Not available this year, and will require a new machine
- Has been in beta test for a long time
- Some people talk about it in the present tense

Based on response (i.e. the number of responses that were consistent), I
consider the following to be reliable:

- Amiga Unix is System V Release 4, binaries only
- It was demoed at the last two USENIX
- It will run on an A2000 with 68020 or 68030 installed
- It will run on an A3000

Response was less for these, but confirmed, so I consider these marginally
reliable:

- X Windows runs on it
- Delays are due to AT&T's slowness to bless any System V Release 4
  implementation on the 680X0
- Includes TCP/IP and NFS

Additional new rumors follow.  Take these with a grain of salt:

- Motif runs on it
- ABI complience
- Unix will also be able to run on the other Amigas, provided that they have at
  least 50MB HD, and 2-4+ MB RAM.
- Runs ArcNet and DECNet
- A new machine will be shipped with Unix bundled
- X Windows will support monochrome only
- Open Look runs on it

There are still no hints on its release date.  Guesstimates range from
September until "sometime early next year."

Thanks to the following people for their help:
Dan Bachmann (danb20@pro-graphics.cts.com)
Stefan Buchholz (stefan@concour.cs.concordia.ca)
Dan Hankins (dan-hankins@cup.portal.com)
David S. Herron (david@twg.com)
Kurt J. Lidl (lidl@eng.umd.edu)
Udo K Schuermann (walrus@wam.umd.edu)
-- 
Paul Sander        (408) 734-9822  | "Passwords are like underwear," she said,
paul@Atherton.COM                  | "Both should be changed often."
{decwrl,pyramid,sun}!athertn!paul  | -- Bennett Falk in "Mom Meets Unix"