Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!rpi!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen
From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Sun's Competitive Strategy (Was: Re: P1754
Message-ID: <2994@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Date: 5 Dec 90 13:46:35 GMT
References: <1990Nov16.225515.494@zoo.toronto.edu> <1990Nov25.194404.3376@dircon.uucp> <1635@unix386.Convergent.COM> <1990Dec2.014554.3491@Neon.Stanford.EDU> <2760@cirrusl.UUCP> <2764@cirrusl.UUCP> <3+_7KS1@xds13.ferranti.com>
Reply-To: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen)
Organization: GE Corp R&D Center, Schenectady NY
Lines: 50

In article <3+_7KS1@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes:

| But running DOS this horsepower is pointless, and under OS/2 or windows too
| much horsepower is wasted maintaining compatibility with DOS or fighting
| an inadequate graphics subsystem.

  When I can get V.4 with compilers, full TCP/NFS, and X-windows for
less than $1k, why would I run any of these things? Oh, and that
includes DOS under UNIX, so I can run all those MB of cheap/free
software, and enough Berkeley compatibility so I can run almost
everything I have on a Sun at work, at least if it uses X rather than
SunView.

| A plain jane 68000 at 7.16 MHz provides far better user response time and
| more functionality if it's not compensating for the mistakes of the past.

  Depends on what you're running. People confuse the CPU with the
software, and say they love the computer when all they see is the
interface.

  Running a multitasking o/s on an SX or 68010 makes them look about the
same, because they are: both have 32 bits internally, 16 externally. And
the [34]86 and 680[23]0. This is a bit blurry, because the chips don't
have as good a match as the SX/68010, but the performance is comparable,
running the same type of task.

  A much more interesting question (to me) is "what can be done with the
Mac interface to support subdirectories?" The command (diddle slashes
for UNIX or DOS) local/bin/graphics/myplotter maps to
	click/pop hard disk
	scroll and read, find local
	click and pop local
	scroll and read, find bin
	click and pop bin
	scroll and read, find graphics
	click and pop graphics
	scroll and read, find myplot
	click and run myplot

  I just can't feature doing this, and the Mac users all offer solutions
which effectively defeat having a tree structure, by putting everything
in some low level directory (yes I know these things are all called
something else and some clicks above are double clicks).

  There must be a better way. The pop and click stuff worked well for
floppies, it wears a bit thin with a pair of 1.2GB hard drives (which
look like two drives rather than one namespace with mounted partitions).
-- 
bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
    VMS is a text-only adventure game. If you win you can use unix.


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