Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!uunet!comp.vuw.ac.nz!waikato.ac.nz!bwc
From: bwc@waikato.ac.nz (Ug!)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: virtual memory
Message-ID: <1991Jun27.132621.4081@waikato.ac.nz>
Date: 27 Jun 91 01:26:21 GMT
References: <10396@suns502.crosfield.co.uk> <1991Jun25.231650.3432@comp.vuw.ac.nz>
Organization: Voonyercity fo Kaiwatoe
Lines: 36

Gavin Flower writes:
> 
> Looking at the market that Acorn is addressing the Archimedes/Risc-Os to,
> I think that virtual memory is inappropiate at this stage.  When hard discs
> become standard on almost all Arcs, and certainly all new Arcs, then it 
> might become a desirable option.   

I disagree.  Acorn is targeting a very similar market with the Archimedes to
Apple with the Macintosh.  System 7 now includes virtual memory.  I think
virtual memory is now almost essential for the Archimedes.  The top line models
all sell with Hard Drives now.
 
> If you really need virtual memory you should be looking at a "real"
> operating system like UNIX!

Hmm.  Unix has a lot of problems.  Firstly, *which* Unix?  This is a 20-year
old operating system...  I prefer OS/2 myself.  Still, cooperative scheduling
seems to be the way to go for event-driven architectures.  The overhead
involved with task switching is so much lower.  This is why I find running
RiscOS on my 305 faster than OpenWindows on a Sun.

> Be careful of trying to force Acorn to make Risc-Os too complex, and
> difficult to configure, for the bulk of the users!

You get that with any complex system.  Do you want a toy, or a real computer?
But adding virtual memory wouldn't make things much more complex - it's done
reasonably well with Microsoft Windows 3.
 
> I think a new entry level machine which starts at 4 Meg,
> upgradeable to 16, might be more appropiate.
>   :-> what about me with my 1 Meg A310, groan... <-:

Know the feeling...  I run a 305 expanded to 2 MBytes with 2 floppies.  I can't
afford a hard drive, sob sob.
 
							Ug!