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From: mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga: Which replacment OS?/UN*X ??
Message-ID: <3862@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Thu, 4-Jun-87 20:52:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: jade.3862
Posted: Thu Jun  4 20:52:55 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Jun-87 04:33:26 EDT
References: <600@gryphon.CTS.COM> <1705@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (My watch has windows) Meyer)
Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica
Lines: 86

In article <1705@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP> barnett@ge-crd.arpa  (Bruce G Barnett) writes:
<	The A2000 is a 16 bit machine that can support a 32 bit
<CPU card. If I buy a home computer, I would like to have
<a system that can be used for 5 - 10 years (sounds foolish - doesn't it :-).

Yeah, it sounds foolish. Anything you buy now will be in the "toy"
class four years from now. Including the Mac ][. I plan on buying a
new machine in the $3 to $5K price range every four years, and
probably haveing to start from scratch on software. If you plan on
those kinds of upgrades, it's amazing how easy it is to afford them.
On the other hand, when I get around to buying a car, I'll expect it
to run for 10-15 years :-).

<I can only afford a major purchase in computing power ONCE.

Once, ever? You mean when NeXT starts on their third-generation
machine, you expect to be using a machine you bought in the next 6
month or so? Or do you mean "only at infrequent intervals?" The two
make a *lot* of difference.

<	The floppy disk controller can handle double density floppys.
<	The CPU motherboard can support 128MBytes (with the right chips).
<	The system can support Parallel Processors, with any CPU
<		becomming the master. So I can add a 68030 (or whatever)
<		board, and use the original CPU board as an I/O handler.
<		Or vice versa.
<	UN*X is available Real Soon Now.
<	Video board is upgradable!
<	Seven 32 bit Slots!
<Clearly - the Mac II was designed for a long useful future.

Gee, except for the 32-bit data paths and massive memory, that sounds
like my second system. Of course, I had a *lot* more slots (22) than
that. I sold it for scrap a while back. Oddly enough, the amiga that
replaced has the same data paths, and 1/2 the memory capacity.

<Richard, you may not like UN*X. I do. Not only can I quickly develop
<scripts and programs, but I can port them to a large number of machines.
<I can develop software to run on Vaxes, Suns, Apollos, and Xenix
<machines.

You loose on Unix-compatable scripts on the Amiga.  AmigaDOS provides
a lot more power for scripts than the Amiga (pipes in the file name
space is a *major* win. Unfortunately, the tools that come with
AmigaDOS aren't nearly as nice as the tools that usually come with
Unix. But porting programs to/from real Unix turns out to be
straightforward, so longs as you avoid fancy terminal I/O and use the
directory library (anyone out there want the 4BSD directory library
for the Amiga? I got one), and watch out for libraries that aren't on
one system or another. Gee, those are the *exact* same things you have
to deal with in going from one Unix system to a different flavor (4BSD
vs. v7 vs. SysV).

And even now, I'm learning the joys of porting software from 4.2BSD to
Ultrix 2.0.

<As for your opinion on Unix, I guess you are critical with the user
<interface. The ADVANTAGE of UN*X is that you can change pieces of it
<easily. It is also well understood. 

You can't change Unix as easily as you can change AmigaDOS. The
message-passing pardigm internally gives you *lots* of flexibility.
For instance, adding NFS to AmigaDOS should be simple (Bob? Chuck?
What did Ameristar have you add - one driver?). But to Unix? Well -

	Sun says NFS is a drop-in. Well, it is. But it makes a big
	splash.
		-- Mike Karels

At the user level, about the only thing missing is the ability to put
in your own shell. You have to run one on top of the CLI. BFD.

<I would rather put my person time into understanding UN*X better, than
<learning a strange OS. No matter how Great and Wonderful it is, it
<won't help my daytime job.

That's a personal decision, and one I can't fault. I just don't agree
with you. I understand Unix far better than I'd like to. Maybe that's
why it makes me ill.

	<mike
--
How many times do you have to fall			Mike Meyer
While people stand there gawking?			mwm@berkeley.edu
How many times do you have to fall			ucbvax!mwm
Before you end up walking?				mwm@ucbjade.BITNET