Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!fernwood!portal!sv!daven
From: daven@svc.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: A/UX on Mac : Need an overview
Keywords: Mac A/UX
Message-ID: <1990Dec27.205240.22318@svc.portal.com>
Date: 27 Dec 90 20:52:40 GMT
References: <19450@netcom.UUCP>
Organization: Software Ventures
Lines: 50

In article <19450@netcom.UUCP> lpendley@netcom.UUCP (Lou Pendley) writes:
>i am looking into the Mac, as a new world to venture into.  i 
>would greatly appreciate any info on Unix running on the Mac.  i
>need to know basically at least the following questions:
>
>a)  is it the same look and feel of the typical Mac

Very much so! Mac applications still look like Mac applications. The
Finder running ontop of A/UX makes UNIX partitions look like regular
Mac partitions. You can of course bring up a shell with a command
line interface, but you still have a Mac-like window the shell lives
in. Also, many UNIX commands have "Commando" interfaces. This means
you get a window that shows all or most of the commands options and
switches. I find this much easier for issuing commands that I'm not
very familiar with. If you've ever used Commando under MPW, you'll
know what A/UX's Commando is like.

>b)  must you purchase special Mac software that only runs under A/UX

I suppose some companies do this, but if the software expects to run
under System 7.0, chances are it will run under A/UX without any
modification. For example, our program MicroPhone II v3.0 runs just
fine under A/UX. We don't sell a special version just for A/UX.

>c)  does anybody make software to run on A/UX

Most people make software that is compatible with A/UX, but doesn't
take special advantage of A/UX. These packages must run in the
MultiFinder process of A/UX. Apple is encouraging developers to
write software for A/UX that uses the Mac Toolbox, but runs as
a seperate process rather than a sub-process of MultiFinder. How
much software of this type exists I can't guess at.

>d)  has the industry accepted it as a viable Unix platform

I don't really know. I do know that I like the Mac Interface running
on A/UX. I like it better than NeXTStep or OpenLook. I also like
the fact that Apple has done a better job at hiding UNIX than NeXT
has. There is no Commando like feature under NeXTStep that I know
of, and I hate looking up command line options. I hate command lines
period! With A/UX I see the command line far less often that with
NeXTStep.



-- 
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   Dave Newman              |  daven@svc.portal.com        |  AppleLink: D0025
   Sofware Ventures Corp.   |  AOL: MicroPhone             |  CIS: 76004,2161
   Berkeley, CA  94705      |  WELL: tinman@well.sf.ca.us  |  (415) 644-3232