Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!sri-unix!sri-spam!ames!ptsfa!ihnp4!cbosgd!osu-cis!tut!elwell From: elwell@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Clayton Elwell) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Status of Apple UNIX ? Message-ID: <402@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Date: Sun, 11-Oct-87 20:45:36 EDT Article-I.D.: tut.402 Posted: Sun Oct 11 20:45:36 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Oct-87 01:51:23 EDT References: <397@nikhefh.UUCP> <4029@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> <742@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <381@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <2060@nicmad.UUCP> Organization: The Ohio State University Dept of Computer and Information Science Lines: 61 lalonde@nicmad.UUCP (John Lalonde) writes: You're a funny guy if you think that Unisoft's networking code is more 'solid' than Sun's code. I know of many OEMs who have not been thrilled with Unisoft's code. Hmm. Have you actually USED A/UX? Have you helped Apple test out the A/UX network code? The A/UX network code is based on the Sun and 4.3 code (or was last I checked). So far it's the first machine that doesn't run vanilla 4.3 I've seen in person that runs 'bind' and the resolver code correctly, not to mention subnetting, which Sun did wrong for quite some time. Repeat after me: A/UX != Uniplus. This is not speculation, folks. We had one of the first EtherTalk boards out of Cupertino, and we've been pounding on A/UX pretty hard from a networking standpoint. I say the Mac toolbox access from AUX will not pan out like everybody seems to think it will. Access to the toolbox is single threaded. Why would anyone want a single threaded graphics environment on top of a multitasking kernel? Why not just use X or NeWS if you are running A/UX? Have you seen the number of toolbox managers that don't work (yet) under A/UX? Nothing says it will *stay* single-threaded. If I were Apple, I'd be working real hard with the Mac OS folks to come up with a Layer Manager that would work under A/Ux or Multifinder. Aside from that, X runs on it already, and NeWS would be a natural, but I'd wait for Sun's next release (the one with the X11 server built in). Pardon my annoyance, but complaints based on what you've heard about a product that hasn't even been !@$$#! released seems to me to be a little unreasonable. Sometimes you guess wrong, after all. A Sys V File System on top of a I/O subsystem like in the Mac II will be SLOW. Unisoft uses *Sun's* Virtual File System design to support NFS but retains the standard Sys V file system. At least Unisoft put in some BSD features (sockets, select) and some of *Sun's* efforts (NFS, Virtual File System). But A/UX is not BSD. Period. Neither is it Uniplus. Period. Neither is Sun OS BSD. Period. -- John LaLonde Systems Engineering Group Nicolet Instrument Corporation uucp: {ihnp4,seismo,decvax,harvard}!uwvax!nicmad!lalonde I like A/UX, but you can't even buy it yet. OSU CIS chose the Sun 3/50 over Mac IIs for a major (250+ unit) order in part because the Mac II with A/UX wasn't ready yet. We were still impressed as with what Apple had out as a beta. I stand by my position. -- Clayton M. Elwell The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science (614) 292-6546 UUCP: ...!cbosgd!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!elwell ARPA: elwell@ohio-state.arpa (not working well right now)