Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!batcomputer!pyramid!voder!apple!phil
From: phil@apple.UUCP (Phil Ronzone)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: A/UX cost (and tape backup)
Message-ID: <7447@apple.UUCP>
Date: 19 Feb 88 20:26:02 GMT
References: <8659@allegra.UUCP> <76000127@uiucdcsp>
Reply-To: phil@apple.UUCP (Phil Ronzone)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, USA
Lines: 59

In article <76000127@uiucdcsp> gillies@uiucdcsp.cs.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>The appalling thing is that Apple told users to go out and buy an 80
>megabyte disk so they could run A/UX.  Now Apple turns around, says
>"throw away your disk, purchase OUR disk instead".  I'm suprised their
>is no outcry at this bait & switch tactic.

Sigh. Well, let me apologize for the fact that we here at Apple do NOT
have the most perfect corporation in the world. (I do think we have a
corporate plan for implementing a perfect coporation in the next quarter
however.) :-) :-) :-)

The Apple Tape Backup Unit is a SCSI device. The A/UX SCSI manager is, by
design, exceptionally robust. To ensure that the SCSI manager meets the
design goals of being very very robust, the source code was frozen at a
certain point. The Apple Tape Backup Unit was not ready for the A/UX source
code freeze. So, voila, no A/UX native support for the tape unit, hence,
aaarrrggghhhhh (Apple Marketing & Sales dying screams into the sunset ...)
no A/UX distribution on tape.

We did go begging on our knees to the Mac OS guys doing the Mac tape unit
software, and the next (soon very very soon) of release of Mac OS software
for the tape unit WILL support dumping and restoring of A/UX partitions on
an Apple HD80. NO plans right now for A/UX distribution on tape however.

Why you ask (scream)? Well, to the Apple factory, A/UX is no simple product.
For example, in ONE fell swoop, the A/UX manuals (all 6000+ pages of 'em)
DOUBLED the entire amount of Apple documentation in print. More important
are the "bundles", or configurations that the factory must produce. I.e.,
full A/UX systems, A/UX on an internal hard disk without a PMMU, A/UX on
an internal hard disk WITH a PMMU, A/UX on an external hard disk with and
without a PMMU, with and without various extra DRAM upgrades, with and
without manuals ...

A tape distribution right now would almost DOUBLE some of the configurations.
And all of this on a factory which likes to think in terms of a few
floppies (System Disk, Utilities, etc.).

But, we are getting there. Believe me, we winced a lot when we realized
that the tape unit would not be supported in the first release.

And, as for cost, well, PLEASE make sure that you are comparing retail
to retail! I was "beat upon" by a University professor for being much
more expensive that his favorite workstation. I pointed out that he
was comparing our price for a purchase of 100 units .vs. the price for
brand-X for 1200 units. End result, our price for 1000 units was cheaper
than brand-X at 1200.

Anyway, A/UX is our hard work - we here in Engineering finally get our
turn to be on the receiving end of criticisms, suggestions, etc. - and
we DO listen hard. Just like a Mac .vs. a PC, try A/UX. You will like it.

Remember - it is a Mac. Under A/UX or the Mac OS, you have the Toolbox
and the Mac look and feel. Ain't nobody else got that ...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip K. Ronzone, A/UX Technical Manager                   APPLELINK: RONZONE1
Apple Computer, Mail Stop 27AJ, 10500 N. DeAnza Blvd.  Cupertino, CA  95014
UUCP:  ...!{sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual,unisoft}!apple!phil