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From: tim@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (Timothy L. Kay)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: A different View of the value of OS/2 - it's better than UNIX
Message-ID: <3981@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: Mon, 14-Sep-87 12:53:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: cit-vax.3981
Posted: Mon Sep 14 12:53:30 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Sep-87 03:13:21 EDT
References: <494@parcvax.Xerox.COM> <961@looking.UUCP> <498@parcvax.Xerox.COM>
Reply-To: tim@cit-vax.UUCP (Timothy L. Kay)
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 30

Philip writes:
>Don't forget that IBM has had several years of selling UNIX on mainframes,

Really?  I have been consulting for IBM Research for several years.  I
have been asking them to get me a version of Unix for their mainframes
the whole time.  It doesn't even have to be a product, but simply
something I can use in house.  Zip.  They can't deliver.

As long as I have the floor, I might as well add my two cents regarding
the Unix vs OS/2 discussion.  I have been creating custom database
applications for businesses for many years.  I have done this using
MSDOS because of its availability and inexpense.  I am looking forward
to the prospect of 80386 and Unix.  Multiuser solves the multiple access
problem a whole lot better and less expensively than any of the
networking that the market has created.  I will be setting up the
whole show, so installation isn't a problem.  I'll be able to do remote
maintenance.

The only concern is the delicate file system.  Stallman says that GNU
(a more or less free Unix compatible), will have a fail safe file system.
This is possible as long as you are willing to have extra disk space
and pay a little in performance.  So, maybe somebody (are you listening
Microport???) could write a robust filesystem for Unix now.  Or, convince
GNU to release the filesystem part of the kernel early.

Of course, you don't have to worry about them shutting down the machine
correctly--I tell them never turn it off.  When Unix is running, I might
just disable the power switch.

Tim