Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!midway!uwvax!titanic.cs.wisc.edu!tonyrich
From: tonyrich@titanic.cs.wisc.edu (Anthony Rich)
Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm
Subject: Re: Need info for an S-100 bus system
Message-ID: <11566@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 24 Oct 90 23:52:12 GMT
References: <1990Oct11.201515.22306@news.iastate.edu> <1990Oct12.000849.12599@news.clarkson.edu> <6565@vanuata.cs.glasgow.ac.uk> <751@fnx.UUCP>
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Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
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Dag Erik Lindberg writes:

>Cromix requires Cromemco's dual CPU card, and the OS itself runs on the
>68000 CPU only.  You could run multiple CDOS sessions time-sliced on the
>Z80 CPU.  (CDOS is/was their CP/M clone).

That's Cromemco's "68000 Cromix"...I have an old version of it and
still use it.  But Cromemco also sold a different product called
"Z80 Cromix."  I saw it running once, a long, long time ago.

Here's a blurb about Z80 Cromix from an old Cromemco product catalog:

"Cromemco's CROMIX multi-user, multi-tasking operating system is a UNIX-
like system which is available for use on all Cromemco Z80-A microcomputer
systems with a minimum of 128K of RAM. [...]  Important features:

. Multiple tasks, multiple users [I wonder what response time was like?!]
. Multiple hierarchical directories
. Record level locking
. Interprocess communication using pipes & signals
. Execution of multiple processes in a single memory bank
. Prioritized process execution
. I/O redirection
. Flexible shell [Actually pretty primitive.  Looping via IF - GOTO...]
. Login with password, access permissions on files
. Resident, swapping-free execution of tasks and servicing of users
  through bank selection for rapid context switching."

Not too bad for a cut-down UNIX-like OS that ran on a Z80 and floppies.
I wonder if there are any surviving copies out there?

  -- Tony

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