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From: francis@math.uchicago.edu (Francis Stracke)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Mac Classic question
Message-ID: <1990Dec10.001749.9393@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 10 Dec 90 00:17:49 GMT
References: <48129@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> <1990Dec2.093816.26712@world.std.com> <1990Dec4.193225.16330@DMI.USherb.CA>
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Organization: Mathematics Department, University of Chicago
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In article <1990Dec4.193225.16330@DMI.USherb.CA> mazu@terre.DMI.USerb.CA
(Marc Mazuhelli) writes:

>What about this scenario:  you power-up your (diskless) Mac, it boots
>from its ROM disk, establishes a connection with an AppleShare
>server (running ApleShare version 3 (or 4 :-)) where your real system 
>folder is (with all its inits, fonts, ...).  Then it becomes a bit less
>obvious...  The Mac does a "pseudo-reboot" with the remote system
>folder, loading all the inits, cdevs, ... and (after a few minutes)
>you're up and running!

BLEAH! Major problems.  Speed (most obvious, probably crippling
just by itself).  Unless Apple did some really tough stuff to the
System, you'd need a separate copy for every machine on the net.
If it were possible to share Systems, then you'd be vulnerable
to whatever viruses anybody on the net exposed their Systems to
(bec. the System *cannot* be write-protected).  If not, you'd
need something like 10-15M allocated for an average-sized zone.
That is *not* cheap.  (Of course, I think the reason for running
a diskless-workstation net is not cost, but security--you have to
buy the machine with a disk anyway.  Again, security goes all to
hell if somebody else can install something in your system folder.)

>Now how about some predictions on the time it would take to boot
>with 20 or 30 inits and cdevs???

It'd be faster to wait for Apple to come out with a handheld costing
$50, outperforming a IIfx, and running System 8.  It'll happen...
eventually. :-)

| Francis Stracke		| My opinions are my own.  I don't steal them.|
| Department of Mathematics	|=============================================|
| University of Chicago		| Until you stalk and overrun,	     	      |
| francis@zaphod.uchicago.edu	|  you can't devour anyone. -- Hobbes 	      |