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From: slocum@hi-csc.UUCP (Brett Slocum)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: Downside and Upside
Message-ID: <8706111647.AA02770@hi-csc.uucp>
Date: Thu, 11-Jun-87 12:47:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: hi-csc.8706111647.AA02770
Posted: Thu Jun 11 12:47:53 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jun-87 11:43:02 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 63

Dan Freedman writes: 
> ... with "rm", you can remove a sysboot file, but with "dlf" you
> can't.

First of all, you can delete a sysboot fil with 'dlf', you just need
to change the type of the sysboot file from 'boot' to 'uasc' using
'obty'.  The reason that 'rm' will delete it is that Un*x doesn't
understand file types, and doesn't care that a file of type 'boot'
should not be deleted, unless the user REALLY wants to.  This is a
good thing because I would be mighty upset if the sysboot file on my
Winchester got erased, and my system was dead until I could INVOL the
disk again.  If the sysboot file is missing from a Winchester, all
reboots will fail.

> The area in which the cursor must be in order for you to type is
> far too small. . . .  This is a fundamental flaw due to the
> same cursor being used for both pointing and text insertion.

First, I have never had trouble hitting the 'next window' key to get
to the input window.  I don't mind making one keystroke every now and
then.  I never hear complaints about this either.  Second, I am not
aware of any workstation that uses two cursors.  How would you control
them?  One cursor for the mouse, and one for the arrow keys?  And
which one do you use for text input??  Two cursors seems absurd to me.

> You can just barely use the system as a user without knowing
> Aegis (until your processes need blasting)

'kill' works just fine for killing processes, and 'kill -9' has taken
care of the same things that 'sigp -blast' has, in my experience.  We
have many users here who know nothing about Aegis who get along fine
without it.

> ... ALL the keys ... self-repeating

I would probably spend half my time erasing extra characters, if they
were all auto-repeat.  That's what the 'repeat' key is for.

> Serial ports do not seem to be accessable from any node except
> the ones that they are connected to.

Remote processes can access sio lines.

> tabs

You can redefine the tab key to be a real tab.  See earlier message.

> DSEE ... certain "simple" things difficult (like moving a library
> from one system to another).

I've moved many libraries between systems, use 'cpt'.  I have separate
directories that contains one system and associate library
directories.  I just used 'cpt' to copy the library from one place to
another.  When someone sets that library as current, the system
directory is updated.


I have yet to see a system that transparently integrates as many
drastically different machines as Aegis does.  Everything from ancient
dn400s to Alliant's concurrent processor.   Look at the bizzareness
Sun goes through to handle 68000s and 68020s.