Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pcserver2!kdenning From: kdenning@pcserver2.naitc.com (Karl Denninger) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Wet Dream or ... Summary: Alpha software? At least it's CONSISTANT Alpha software... Message-ID: <1991Apr21.141051.19376@pcserver2.naitc.com> Date: 21 Apr 91 14:10:51 GMT References: <1991Apr11.184136.10324@news.iastate.edu> <1991Apr12.151301.27159@pcserver2.naitc.com> <1991Apr19.235445.1831@iitmax.iit.edu> Distribution: na Organization: AC Nielsen, Bannockburn IL USA Lines: 53 In article <1991Apr19.235445.1831@iitmax.iit.edu> wallace@iitmax.iit.edu (Wallace) writes: >In article <1991Apr12.151301.27159@pcserver2.naitc.com> kdenning@pcserver2.naitc.com (Karl Denninger) writes: >>In article <1991Apr11.184136.10324@news.iastate.edu> john@iastate.edu (Hascall John Paul) writes: >>>In article <13964@adobe.UUCP> lemery@adobe.COM () writes: >>>}A couple of days ago, a consortium of companies (Microsoft, MIPS, >>>}DEC, SCO, and others) announced they would be supporting a new >>>}standard high performance PC/workstation to compete against the >>I have reasonably reliable information that SCO Unix will be dead as of >>December of this year. It's being replaced. >> >>The replacement? OSF/1! >> >>I have always hated SCO's 3.2 implementation. OSF/1, on the other hand, >>looks like a dream to me. A darn good dream. >Karl! You can't be serious. You want another alpha piece of >software, full of bugs and incompatiable with all you have! >Maybe in a few years OSF will be OK. At least it will be a common set of bugs. Right now I have to contend with bugs in Sun, MIPS, IBM (RS/6000 and PS/2 AIX) and ISC (80386). There is no common set of anything. Each supports things in a different way, with lots of differences in implementation and sets of problems. Sun, for example, seems to be unable to produce a working rpc.lockd. MIPS just did the same basic thing with Risc/OS 4.52; 4.51's rpc.lockd worked fine - until we upgraded the Suns to 4.1.1. IBM can't make it work at all with the current AIX release on the RS/6000. I won't even talk about the problems with ISC's network implementations (sockets dying, etc). The other item to remember is that OSF/1 source code can be purchased for less than the cost of a small bank. It will be applicable across platforms as well (at least to a large extent); something I don't have today with the many versions of "Unix" out there. Today, I have to buy an AT&T license, a SunOS license, a RISC/OS license, and an AIX source license -- IF I can get all those companies to sell my one at any price! Sure, OSF/1 may be "betaware" when it's released, but I will be able to fix the bugs myself -- something I can't do today with the multi-vendor/multi-implementation nightmare that we have right now. I believe the commonality is a good thing for all involved. -- Karl Denninger - AC Nielsen, Bannockburn IL (708) 317-3285 kdenning@nis.naitc.com "The most dangerous command on any computer is the carriage return." Disclaimer: The opinions here are solely mine and may or may not reflect those of the company.