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From: chris@utgard.uucp (Chris Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.msdos
Subject: Re: Coherent:  does it have AWK, GNU, ...?
Summary: not as good as it sounds...
Keywords: coherent, awk, gnu
Message-ID: <1990Sep4.093103.4683@utgard.uucp>
Date: 4 Sep 90 18:20:09 GMT
References: <482@soi.UUCP> <1990Sep2.093805.13164@NCoast.ORG>
Distribution: na
Organization: QMA, Inc., Rancho Cordova, California
Lines: 31
FollowupTo: comp.unix.msdos
ReplyTo: chris@utgard.UUCP (Chris Anderson)

In article <1990Sep2.093805.13164@NCoast.ORG> ac119@cleveland.freenet.edu writes:
>
>Very interesting to see Coherent mentioned here.  I just saw the ad for it
>in PC Mag (9/11 issue).  This is a $99.95 software product that compares 
>itself to something selling for $1,495!

Wrongly so.  It is not in the same class as Xenix/286.  Coherent does
*not* have virtual memory... you are limited to what will fit into
your system's RAM.  Coherent is compiled with small model... 64k
text and data.  This rules out *any* of the GNU software.  Coherent
does not have a C compiler that supports any other models.  I'm not
sure that you can run news on it.  Maybe C news, if the shell is up
to it.

What it does have is a uucp that works.  It fits in roughly 10Mb of
disk space fairly easily.  Yacc/lex/other development tools (keep
that small model compiler in mind, though).

In other words, MWC is comparing itself against a product that does
*much* more.  Faster?  You bet, especially since you don't have to
take virtual memory into account.  It's roughly the same as Minix,
without the source code and support that Minix has.

BTW, we bought it.  And sent it back.

Chris
-- 
| Chris Anderson                                                       |
| QMA, Inc.                     email : {csusac,sactoh0}!utgard!chris  |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| My employer never listens to me, so why should he care what I say?   |