Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Tektronix shutdown & move away from 88k's?? Message-ID: <2828@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> Date: 1 Nov 90 22:30:37 GMT References: <2176@lupine.NCD.COM> <42310@mips.mips.COM> <43029@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> <2804@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <1481@frapper.nsc.com> <3686@skye.ed.ac.uk> Reply-To: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen) Organization: GE Corp R&D Center, Schenectady NY Lines: 27 In article <3686@skye.ed.ac.uk> richard@aiai.UUCP (Richard Tobin) writes: | If this happens (and of course, we've all been looking forward to it | for some time now...) it could greatly open up the market for unix | workstations. Right. Just like MINIX did, Coherent did, etc. You can get UNIX SysV.3 for <$1k now, today, from several people. You can't get a workstation size performance (ie. enough resolution and CPU to run X) for less than $4k, and you have to build it yourself to do it. The cost of the extra disk to hold the source is more than the cost of UNIX from a commercial vendor. If and when these versions come out and get as reliable as the commercial products they will be effective in opening some new markets, people who want to play with the o/s, but buying from a vendor is cost effective for a business. Note that companies pay Cyngus $100k/yr each to not have to patch, upgrade, install, etc, the GNU software. And I suspect that the cost for a whole o/s would be at least double that. There are just not enough competent people to do compiler or o/s work to change the market much. If you doubt the lack of good people just hink about the quality of the products turned out by some highly successful vendors ;-) -- bill davidsen (davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen) The Twin Peaks Halloween costume: stark naked in a body bag