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From: chenr@tilt.UUCP (Raymond Chen)
Newsgroups: net.micro,net.rumor
Subject: Re: New Half gigabyte ROM...CD vs LASER
Message-ID: <102@tilt.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 6-May-84 01:55:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: tilt.102
Posted: Sun May  6 01:55:42 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 6-May-84 07:44:12 EDT
References: <266@nmtvax.UUCP>, <725@ihuxx.UUCP> <271@nmtvax.UUCP> <1050@qubix.UUCP> <6834@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1072@qubix.UUCP>
Organization: Princeton Univ. EECS
Lines: 38

There's just one problem with this.  It's a *ROM* !!  How many of you out there
would like to run your VAXens with most of UNIX on a ROM?  Consider the number
of unfixable bugs.  It would make a great distribution medium, but five years
(hopefully less) from now, when I have a VAX+ class machine sitting on my desk,
I want to run the *smallest* amount of straight, canned software I can get away
with.  Call me spoiled, but I've gotten to *like* having the source code on-
line.  I don't hack it (unless I can't avoid it), but it's nice to know that I
can, since there always seems to be one more major bug. (Remember the vi
modeline feature?)

For crying out loud, you couldn't even use a binary debugger.  At the current
prices, I don't think the additional storage would be worth the additional
frustation.  Now, a half-gigabyte RAM would be something worth looking into.
Read/write players are out, but they're only one-time writes.  Still, if the
price of disks came down low enough, that wouldn't be bad (when the price of
the r/w players come down.  They are *expensive*.).

By the way, I read an earlier rumor about IBM going the secrecy road with its
successors to the PC.  That would positively make me want to p***, excuse me.
I own a PC, and the thing I like most about it is the documentation.  How
many other micros give you BIOS listings, instructions and examples on
how to write and install custom device drivers, full documentation on the
graphics chip, etc.?

I can see it, five years from now.  A blue, sealed box with the IBM logo on
it, running half a gigabyte of unalterable IBM software.  Ugh.  Pardon me, 
but I'm feeling a little sick...

		Source licenses are wonderful things...


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The preceding message was brought to you by --

		Ray Chen
		princeton!tilt!chenr