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From: bh2@doc.ic.ac.uk (B Hogan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn,eunet.micro.acorn
Subject: Defence of Acorn/RISC OS
Message-ID: <2862@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk>
Date: 7 Feb 91 12:24:41 GMT
Sender: news@doc.ic.ac.uk
Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, London, UK.
Lines: 29


In article <1210@culhua.prg.ox.ac.uk>, as@prg.ox.ac.uk (Andrew Stevens) writes:
> 
>>	1) No *proper* usage of MEMC's dynamic paging facilities
>>	2) No pre-emptive context switching
>>	3) No virtual memory
>>	4) No POSIX compliance
>>	5) A WIMP without an X interface mechanism
>>	6) Hacked up in ARM code - resulting in multiple
>>		obscure bugs. How many UNIX boxes have to be hard reset
>>		at least twice in every serious software development
>>		session? - the Arch. does.
plus lots of other crap.
I can hardly believe this article was serious. What sort of price do you
expect this wonder, do anything machine to cost? Basically you want a UNIX
workstation, which costs far more and goes a LOT slower due to all the
processor power swallowed by the OS, X windows, etc. Why not get a R260,
as it probably has everything you mention. Also, what are you doing to
need a reset twice, and UNIX has had 20 odd years and many versions
to remove the bugs.

Richard.K.Lloyd did a good defence of the Arc, but I think he has a tiny
mistake in his signature:
         Q: "What's the world's fastest home micro ?"
         A: "The Archimedes A3000. 4 MIPS for under 800 pounds.
                                                  ^^^^^
                                 Shouldn't this be 600?

Bryan H.