Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!harvard!caip!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.cbm.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: net.micro.atari16 Subject: Re: Standard OS for 68000-based PC's Message-ID: <193@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> Date: Mon, 5-May-86 13:19:43 EDT Article-I.D.: cbmvax.193 Posted: Mon May 5 13:19:43 1986 Date-Received: Thu, 8-May-86 06:57:34 EDT References: <8605022009.AA03120@ucbvax.berkeley.edu> Reply-To: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 49 In article <8605022009.AA03120@ucbvax.berkeley.edu> montnaro%chenengo.tcpip@GE-CRD.ARPA writes: >Why Apple, Atari, and Commodore didn't see this light I am not sure. Since >they now each have their own (proprietary) operating system, it's unlikely >that they will change. > >What if you could pick and choose between three pieces of hardware, one >unifying operating system (some dialect of Unix jumps to mind), and three >(or more!) graphic shells? > >Mac -----\ /----- Mac Shell > \ / >Amiga ---------- Un*x ------------ Intuition Shell > / \ >Atari ST-/ \----- GEM Shell > >It sure would be nice! Perhaps we could all start off with a decent base of >software tools: compilers, SCCS, make, {n,t}roff, etc. Oh well, someday >maybe someone will market a PC with that kind of foresight... I think the main reason is twofold -- firstoff, a machine like the MAC was apparently conceived as more of a closed appliance computer, and as such didn't require a REAL operating system; it only has the MAC graphics environment to work with. As for there being no accepted standard 68000 operating system (which today seem a logical thing, especially considering there are people using MACs for development who could really benefit from a conventional CLI), that's mainly why none of the current big 3 used any one system (MAC didn't have one, and the Amiga and ST were developed concurrently. Though why the ST couldn't stick to standard CP/M-68K I don't know). Anyway, UN*X would have been nice on all machines, and as well my perference, but it wouldn't lend itself well to a basic 68000 based machine -- its too big to run completely from floppies, it like demand paged virtual memory, etc. Now if we had a minimal system with 10 Meg hard drive, 68010, and some MMU or other, then we'd be talking UN*X (or we'd be fools if we weren't). As for these machines being locked into their current OSs, that's probably true from the point of view of machine specific support; not that you couldn't write an OS-9 graphics shell that made Intuition calls, I just don't think its likely to be commercially supported. But like the workstation market, I think that the current manufacturers might decide sooner or later to support a standard OS (if an acceptable one emerges), just like Apollo has decided to also offer UN*X in addition to its propriatary Ageis OS. -- Dave Haynie {caip,inhp4,allegra,seismo}!cbmvax!daveh "There, beyond the bounds of your weak imagination Lie the noble towers of my city, bright and gold" -Genesis