Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool2.mu.edu!uunet!isis!dkessner
From: dkessner@isis.cs.du.edu (David D. Kessner)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: How wrong is MS-DOS? (or: What is the definition of obsolete)
Message-ID: <1991Jan10.060415.21471@isis.cs.du.edu>
Date: 10 Jan 91 06:04:15 GMT
References: <20235@netcom.UUCP>
Reply-To: dkessner@isis.UUCP (David D. Kessner)
Organization: Math/CS, University of Denver
Lines: 32

In article <20235@netcom.UUCP> feustel@netcom.UUCP (David Feustel) writes:
>Does Unix support scanners, real-time A/D & D/A? How much does it
>cost?
>
>-- 
>David Feustel, 1930 Curdes Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, (219) 482-9631
>EMAIL: netcom.uucp

I think UNIX does support scanners, but I forgot there I saw this.  There
is no real reason why it coulden't.  There are UNIX FAX's, why not a scanner?

A friend of mine once described UNIX as a non-real-time system, "Your computer
is running in a hospital monitoring a heart rate.  The heart fails so it
sends mail to the doctor..."

I never said that UNIX was perfect.  But there are other OS's that will do
real-time things in a multi-tasking sort of way.  Take the Amiga, for example.
This is a $600 machine that will multi-task and sample audio at the same time.
Then there is always the Silicon Graphics machines...

UNIX costs no more than a similarly configured PC.  A two user licence of
ESIX (SysV for the 386), the development version, costs $500.  The unlimited
user, development version, with manuals runs $1000.  SCO UNIX runs no more 
than $2500 with all the bells and whistles.  NOVELL NETWARE 386 v3.1 runs no
less than $5000!  $7000 is closer (We are a dealer for NOVELL, but I forgot our
price). 
 
UNIX is more expensive, when compared to a single user MS-DOS 386 system 
running something like Desqview, but you get what you pay for!  There are
some things that MS-DOS just CAN'T do, like multi-user!

David Kessner		kessner!david@csn.org