Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mdisea!mitchell
From: mitchell@MDI.COM (Bill Mitchell)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: Re: What's the difference ...
Keywords: SysVR3 diffs
Message-ID: <1991Apr7.142820.16256@MDI.COM>
Date: 7 Apr 91 14:28:20 GMT
References: <1991Apr5.225609.19814@cbfsb.att.com> <1991Apr6.165841.7850@bilver.uucp>
Distribution: na
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
Lines: 30

Just picking a small nit

In article <1991Apr6.165841.7850@bilver.uucp> wbeebe@bilver.uucp (Bill Beebe) writes:
>You do _NOT_ get 386 support with the PH 1.5, although you do get 286
>protected mode and virtual consoles ala SCO Xenix. Minix is a classical
>hacker's OS; it comes with full source, and can be modified and twisted
>to your heart's content.
>
PH 1.5 minix will run on a 386 as well as on a 86/88 or a 286.  On a
286 or 386, you get protected mode operation (wild programs abort with
a memory protection violation instead of doing writes where they should
not).

You do not get virtual consoles with PH 1.5 (At least I think not, I'm
running 1.5.10 upgraded over the net, not 1.5 distributed by PH).  As
I recall, virtual console support is a nonstandard enhancement which
appeared on the net after PH released 1.5.  It's one of those modifications
or twists (modified twists?) (twisted modifications?) which was made
by a minix user who was able to add it because he had the source.

So far as I know, it's not certain yet whether virtual console support
will become a part of standard minix in future PH releases.  Ditto
for 386 support (another nonstandard enhancement which supports
executables larger than 64k+64k.

Minix, of course, also runs on 68000 machines, and has no 64k limit there.


-- 
mitchell@mdi.com (Bill Mitchell)