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From: davidsen@steinmetz.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix
Subject: Re: Uniforum...
Message-ID: <1182@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Feb-87 13:15:15 EST
Article-I.D.: steinmet.1182
Posted: Fri Feb  6 13:15:15 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Feb-87 03:08:16 EST
References: <1160@hplabsc.UUCP> <211900001@mirror>
Reply-To: davidsen@kbsvax.UUCP (william E Davidsen)
Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 61
Summary: I was excited

In article <211900001@mirror> rs@mirror.UUCP writes:
>Yeah, there was nothing spectacularly NEW! and EXCITING! at the
>UniForum show.  The (implied) theme was Selling to the Government.

If you were looking for a $4500 laptop Cray with SRV.3 source
license included, I agree. On the other hand there were some
thing which excited the hell out of me.

Standards
=========

  SCO and Microsoft announced that the next major release will
be fully compatible with SRV.3. This will increase portability
to these systems, and will avoid having to learn the current
bizarre system administration required.

  DEC, DG, Apollo, and six other major companies announced
support for X-windows. To me this means that I can write
graphics software that won't have to be rewritten every time I
port it, that I will have more choice of software, since vendors
will be able to more easily support multiple configurations, and
that I will have a better choice of hardware which runs the
applications I need.

Networking
==========

  More support for nfs, especially the ability to use PC's as
cheap systems without disk. Competition between software vendors
driving the prices down.

Hardware
========

  Many new 80386 based machines coming on the market at
relatively low prices. This should provide the level of
performance of a 68020 at a lower cost. The ability to run MSDOS
programs as tasks under UNIX allows me to avoid ever running
MSDOS itself again, and to take advantage of the inexpensive
programs available in a PC environment. Previously running MSDOS
to use good applications was like diving for treasure in a
cesspool... rewarding but unpleasant.

  PC based X-windows terminals look as though they can help
reduce the press for console time on workstations. Some of our
machines are busy 12 hours on many days. These stations will
allow remote use by at least one additional user without an
unacceptable drop in performance.

----------------

I'm sorry that you're so bored with the show, but I see that my
life supporting several thousand users (no not by myself), is
getting easier, and that more people will be able to get
workstation performance at (top of the line) PC prices.

-- 
bill davidsen			sixhub \
      ihnp4!seismo!rochester!steinmetz ->  crdos1!davidsen
				chinet /
ARPA: davidsen%crdos1.uucp@ge-crd.ARPA (or davidsen@ge-crd.ARPA)