Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!killer!ninja!sys1!trsvax!uhclem From: uhclem@trsvax.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: Jerry Pournelle on UNIX (From BYTE) Message-ID: <193500003@trsvax> Date: 9 Jan 88 00:30:00 GMT References: <1495@osiris.UUCP> Lines: 26 Nf-ID: #R:osiris.UUCP:1495:trsvax:193500003:000:1060 Nf-From: trsvax.UUCP!uhclem Jan 8 18:30:00 1988 <> >/*Written 10:35 am Jan 7, 1988 by phri.UUCP!roy in comp.unix.wizards */ > > > As for the first problem, why not use eeprom? It's non-volitile, >so you get almost-instant boots, but you can still write in it if you have >to under program control for updates. Great sounding idea, as the EEPROM has "infinite" read cycles and about 10,000 bit-changing write cycles. Problem is, the things are expensive. Look in your Allied catalog at the XICOR 2102, which is a 64 x 4 bit EEPROM. Price, $6.95. Okay, its from Allied, so the chip may be available from the maker for $1. But that is not even 64 bytes, it is 64 nibbles. 1K byte would cost you $32. There are more dense EEPROM's available (I just happened to know the price of that one), but the price per byte doesn't decline fast enough. EEPROM to store 200K of kernel code is going to cost a few military-style dollars. "Thank you, Uh Clem." Frank Durda IV @ ...decvax!microsoft!trsvax!uhclem ...convex!infoswx!hal6000!trsvax!uhclem