Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!nnews!uunet!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: 8-bit death
Message-ID: <21395@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Date: 8 May 91 17:51:58 GMT
References: <1991May2.104907.25975@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1075@stewart.UUCP> <1991May7.145417.23345@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <1991May7.194753.3339@kessner.denver.co.us>
Reply-To: daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA
Lines: 34

In article <1991May7.194753.3339@kessner.denver.co.us> david@kessner.denver.co.us (David Kessner) writes:

>Which brings us to the ACE group.  You know, Microsoft, MIPS, DEC, SCO, 
>and Compaq(?).   The group that wants to port OS/2 to the MIPS CPU (and
>somehow run it on top of UNIX).  The group that wants to make OSF/1 and
>Ultrix merge, with SCO somehow fitting into the works.  God, what a
>nightmare!  Just think about it:  DEC Workstation _clones_ running
>a mangled UNIX with OS/2!

Actually, from all I've read on the ACE group, they're not trying to mix
OS/2 and UNIX together, per se.  They plan on two individual operating systems,
UNIX and a new MIPS-based OS/2, that can run on all machines.  Binary 
compatibility between all UNIX ports and all OS/2 ports.  The only 
compatibility between UNIX and OS/2 is at the source level, and there only
if you stick to standards, like maybe POSIX or X-Open or whatever function
libraries.

The most, or even only, interesting thing about this setup, is that it has all
of the elements in it that made PC Clones successful.  It has a big HW company
(DEC) and big SW company (Microsoft) behind it.  The HW can theoretically be
cloned by anyone.  The SW, HW, and Chips each come from separate companies,
so no company can really control the way any factor moves alone.  All this 
means is that it could be successful.  I personally like the MIPS architecture,
and would find such a setup less worrysome to get into than perhaps the 
current RISC alternative, SPARC, in which the OS comes from a company that's
also the largest vendor of systems in that market.

>David Kessner - david@kessner.denver.co.us            | do {


-- 
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: hazy     BIX: hazy
      "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight" -R.E.M.