Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!sics.se!vall!fk From: fk@vall.dsv.su.se (Fredrik Kilander) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: TOS 2.0 Keywords: TOS NEODESK DCDESKTOP ROMS Message-ID: <1030@vall.dsv.su.se> Date: 7 Nov 90 12:07:45 GMT References: <35495@cup.portal.com> <1238@digi.lonestar.org> Organization: University of Stockholm, Sweden Lines: 39 To throw fuel onto the old debate over ROM-based vs diskbased TOS I'd like to point out an incident that may not only be my private experience but is possibly shared by other ST owners around the world. As I took my 1040 to the local repair shop for a new power supply (it worked almost three years before it broke, not bad) I asked for a new version of TOS to be installed at the same time. This was promptly done but no clear statement was obtainable from the repair shop exactly what version of TOS I was going to get. As I went to fetch the computer I brought with me a compilation of net-news comments (what lovely a source of information this network is) and together I and the guy who had made the installation managed to deduce that the 6-chip ROM set was (dont gasp) TOS 1.2. In september 1990! 1.4 has been around for a year, at least! Anyway, It turns out that 1.2 is what they can get their hands on in terms of *SPARE PARTS*. Get it? Not, system software, that volatile substance we so dearly address, but little tiny chips which makes the machine work. Without any deeper investigation to back this up, it does gives one pause for thought. For starters, ROM-based OS does give faster boot, a better security against viruses, but also a slower rate of release and bug-fixes. But the major impediment of ROMs is in my opinion that ROMs that are once manufactured represent a significant investment. Even when EPROMS are used the media is not as easily reusable as when diskettes are used. This means that the investment must be secured (ie the chips sold) before a new release is considered. Naturally this encourages everyone who have obtained ROMs in order to sell them further, to get their money back on old ROMs first. I should point out that I did not buy from Atari directly (the repair shop services several brands of computers) and if I had I may have been able to obtain 1.4 or higher. -- =============================================================================== Fredrik Kilander, Dpt. of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University Internet: fk@dsv.su.se Voice: +46 8 16 45 00 Fax: +46 8 703 90 25 ===============================================================================