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From: tjt@styx.UUCP (Tim Tessin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.wizards,comp.sys.misc,comp.bugs.sys5,comp.bugs.misc
Subject: Re: REQUEST: Comments on IN/IX SysV UNIX (corrections)
Message-ID: <21393@styx.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-Apr-87 14:46:02 EST
Article-I.D.: styx.21393
Posted: Mon Apr 20 14:46:02 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 21-Apr-87 01:03:18 EST
References: <869@chinet.UUCP> <137@tmsoft.UUCP>
Reply-To: tjt@lll-tis-b.ARPA (Tim Tessin)
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA
Lines: 48
Keywords: INTERACTIVE Systems, comments, opinions, Series/1
Xref: mnetor comp.unix.questions:1982 comp.unix.wizards:1973 comp.sys.misc:517 comp.bugs.sys5:107 comp.bugs.misc:47

In article <137@tmsoft.UUCP> mason@tmsoft.UUCP (Dave Mason) writes:
> In article <869@chinet.UUCP> wmf@chinet.UUCP (William M. Fischer) writes:
> >I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with the
> >IN/IX UNIX System 5 Operating System from INTERACTIVE Systems located in
> >Santa Monica, CA.
> >Particularly interested in impressions of communications and development
> >system capabilities.
> 
> I hope it's getting better, but Ser/IX (Unix on an IBM Series/1) is,
> I believe, a version of this.  (...never heard of Unix on a Series/1?,

Not true!  There are actually three versions of UNIX which run on a 
Series/1:  CPIX, SERIX, and S1/IX (or possibly Ser/IX).
CPIX was developed for IBM by some CS group at some university (I forget where)
It is V6 derivative.  SERIX is sold by the CMI corporation and S1/IX is sold by IBM.  Both SERIX and S1/IX were developed by the COSI company and have
absolutely NO relationship to Interactive Systems products.

> It's hard to say what's their fault & what's just the Series/1.  One of
> the most maddening things is they have basically System V, but with Berkeley
> terminal drivers....so nothing, that does anything at all fancy, ports!

True. (And they have a 16-bit address space to boot [no pun intended])

> The manuals are also AFU...MAYBE better for a novice, very frustrating
> for someone familiar with Unix.  Nroff doesn't work.  Little things.
> (AIX - System V for IBM PC-RT has similar fouled up manuals, I believe

No comment, what the vendor does with UNIX manuals when they leave the 
sub-contractor can't be explained!
If nroff doesn't work, maybe you should be running SERIX and not S1/IX
Call CMI, they probably can help you.  (SERIX is currently supported
I don't know about S1/IX.)

> On the bright side, anyone that can make a pretty bug-free C compiler
> for the Series/1 can't be stupid.  (Though anyone who would try might
> be considered a little mentally unstable; it's the weirdest architecture
> I've ever seen....makes the 8086 look positively reasonable.)

Hey, the pay was good!  And wow, what an experience!  Kernel hacking at its
finest!

> 	../Dave Mason,	TM Software Associates	(Compilers & System Consulting)

Tim Tessin (One of the former SERIX-S1/IX System Architects)

Phone: (415) 422-8971 / 422-4758 
ARPA:  tjt@lll-tis-b.ARPA
UUCP:  {ihnp4,dual,sun}!lll-lcc!styx!tjt