Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!ucbvax!CS.UTAH.EDU!cetron%ced
From: cetron%ced@CS.UTAH.EDU (Ed Cetron)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re:  Workstations
Message-ID: <8801061658.AA06097@ced.utah.edu>
Date: 6 Jan 88 16:58:31 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 33


	1. currently ultrix is NOT  supported in the diskless mode, only 
		diskfull.

	2. I am relatively sure that 4.3bsd unix IS supported though.

	3. virtually all public domain engineering software has over time
		been ported to both unix/ultrix and vms.
	
	4. We have found a lot of heavy number crunching software, finite 
		element software, and a fair bit of ic and/or pcb design
		software which is also for vms only.

	5. I have yet to find a package which was vms only which didn't have
		a similar package SOMEWHERE which wasn't for unix also.

	6. We run all of our gpx's under vms mainly for speed since we do lots
		of huge fortran simulations, and for the advantages of diskless
		clustering.

	7. There are some packages which specify "X-windows only" which
		currently means unix/ultrix (as far as vaxen go) but vms will
		support X in the very near future.

	8. The bottom line is pick the os that you have the expertise to 
		support - After 17+ years at this game, and especially watching
		the developement of unix/ultrix and vms, I bet within the next
		4-5 years they will end up merging most of their user observable
		features and it won't matter anymore - witness DEC's decision
		to make vms POSIX compatible :-)

-ed cetron
cetron@cs.utah.edu