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From: mhorne@tekfdi.FDI.TEK.COM.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.computers.68k
Subject: Submission for mod-computers-68k
Message-ID: <8702192201.AA11039@tekfdi.FDI.TEK.COM>
Date: Thu, 19-Feb-87 17:01:27 EST
Article-I.D.: tekfdi.8702192201.AA11039
Posted: Thu Feb 19 17:01:27 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Feb-87 01:39:09 EST
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Path: tekfdi!mhorne
From: mhorne@tekfdi.TEK.COM (Mike Horne)
Newsgroups: mod.computers.68k
Subject: Re: 68000 O/S's, MMUs, et. al.
Message-ID: <787@tekfdi.TEK.COM>
Date: 19 Feb 87 22:01:25 GMT
References: <8702181533.AA27804@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: mhorne@tekfdi.UUCP (Mike Horne)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR.
Lines: 52

In a recent article, HELLER@cs.umass.edu writes:

>...multi-user systems it is needed.  It is doubtful
>that MMUs will ever be common on *little* home/office systems (i.e. ST's,
>Amiga's, Mac's etc.) - most of these system will be running well behaved

Guess again.  In the history of '*little* home/office systems', manufacturers
have always put the most up-to-date hardware in their machines at the time
of development.  Since most new CPUs have built in MMUs, new computers will
obviously have OSs that take advantage of this.  Atari, Apple, etc., aren't
going to put Z80s in their new machines with no MMU just because someone out
there can write a 'well behaved' program!  It's called 'computer evolution'.

>I really doubt that UNIX/MINIX will ever be the O/S of choice amongst home
>and office users:  UNIX is just too "weird" (why is the directory command
>"ls"?  why is the type command "cat"? what is an inode? - only UNIX hackers
>really understand UNIX).

Obviously you haven't given it much thought.  Gee, could "cat" possibly stand
for "concatenate?"  Naaa...  Pick up a book once in a while.

Gosh, I wonder why UNIX is showing up so often as THE operating system in any
new, state-of-the-art computer?  Even MS-DOS (yucko!) has some look/feel of
UNIX.  

>Secondly, I have found that I have had little or no trouble with runaway
>pointers totally trashing the system, at worst it just trashes the current
>"process". Re-booting just that process is suffientent. I guess I tend to
>write good code. Also, I have little need to run jobs in the background
>much. I guess I am just a synchronious user. I suspect that if I had UNIX on
>my system it would just cause an *increase* in the system overhead, because
>I would not use enough of it to justify most of what it would supply me
>with. I just don't have much need of forks and pipes (or even virtual memory
>- I will be going to a 4-meg system soon, which will provide me with more than

Gee, I'd never want a Jaguar XJS.  What would I do with all that power?  Boy,
it just doesn't make sense.  I'd much rather drive my Edsel.  Just the
right amount of power I need...

I find it hard to believe that you are not just joking!  You obviously like
the flavor of your foot, but I guess we all are entitled to an opinion.
I, too, had a small system, but I learned that a UNIX type system, with 
memory managment, Vmem, process forking, etc., unleashes power one couldn't
dream of before.  I suggest you send your messages about things you obviously
have no knowledge about to /dev/null.  That is, type 'cat > /dev/null'...


Mike
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Michael Horne - KA7AXD              FDI group, Tektronix, Incorporated
 INTERNET: mhorne@tekfdi.fdi.tek.com
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