Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ukma!s.ms.uky.edu!kherron From: kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc Subject: Re: Norton Go Home! We don't want you! Message-ID: Date: 18 Feb 91 19:58:54 GMT References: <1819@public.BTR.COM> <466@bria> Distribution: na Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences Lines: 30 In article <466@bria>: >As I have previously stated, my beef with NU is that it >"induces" the statfs() call to lie about the true number of free blocks >on the machine. Norton is saving all of these; now, my application comes >along and asks how much disk there is. The OS lies, saying there are 'x' >free blocks, when there really is not. I start creating files, and >*whoom* run out of real disk space... _NO_YOU DON'T_. The whole purpose of this "lying" about free space is that Norton will free the blocks on demand, so as far as a user can tell, the space was never in use to begin with. Stated another way: Norton's is using the free space on your hard disk to save deleted files without making the space any less free; since it's in the kernal it can do that. The blocks "used" by Norton's do not meet the classical definition of in-use, since they're instantly freed upon demand. It think the basic question is: "Do you trust Peter Norton with your kernal?" The same question can be asked about every third-party device driver (including FAS, a public domain product yet!). It's just that Norton's is a somewhat more unusual kernal add-in than most, and, like others have said, it has the stink of DOS about it. I think I'm also detecting a bit of power-user arrogance here, too... -- Kenneth Herron kherron@ms.uky.edu University of Kentucky (606) 257-2975 Department of Mathematics "Never trust gimmicky gadgets" -- the Doctor