Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!yale!husc6!ukma!david From: david@ms.uky.edu (David Herron -- One of the vertebrae) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: AMIX? Message-ID: <9087@e.ms.uky.edu> Date: 29 Apr 88 02:33:04 GMT References: <466@mailrus.cc.umich.edu> <863@gethen.UUCP> <391@brambo.UUCP> <50356@sun.uucp> <1878@sugar.UUCP> Reply-To: david@ms.uky.edu (David Herron -- One of the vertebrae) Organization: U of Kentucky, Mathematical Sciences Lines: 53 Keywords: Amiga AMIX Unix In article <1878@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes: >In article <50356@sun.uucp>, cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) writes: >> The problem comes when we get down to brass tacks and define what >> a "workstation" is. In my lexicon a workstation has 4 megabytes of >> memory, 1M pixels (optionally in color), 80Meg+ of disk space, UNIX* >> in some form or another, and a window system in system in some form or >> another. Ideally, it also has built in networking. >Memory... well, 4 megabytes is nice. I have that much in my Amiga. But >it's not necessary. Let's say you need enough memory that you can run the >rest of the stuff without swapping. Carnegie-Mellon specs 1 Meg for a >workstation, by the way. Well .. to give you an example of memory needs ... from memory, the memory requirement for the Kyoto Common Lisp version of Macsyma is about 4 megabytes. That's before you try to run any programs in it. I'd kinda-sorta like to have a Macsyma available to me but my 3b1 won't let me have a program that big. (Haven't looked into WHY yet, I just know that it won't). A Meg is minimal (3b1's are slooow with only a meg, but then that is probably more due to the disk involved rather than the memory). Regardless of how much memory we spec now, people will want more in the future. >Pixels... well, a megapixel display is nice. Part of the 3M definition. >But do you really need that? Unless you're doing CAD work you really only >need enough to fit a couple of "terminal-size" windows on the screen. With >ColorFonts you can even use antialiasing and get nice looking text. Egads. I suppose I could live with only 2 80x24 windows, but I've really been spoiled by *really*large* screens. As with memory, disk space, processor speed and every thing else, I want as much as the market will bear. It *is* nice that my 3b1 has multiple window available. But they're not available at the same time. The 3b1 screen is too small. >Networking... that's a toughy. But do you really need it for a home >workstation? YES! How else are you supposed to have, with a home machine, multiple things going on over your modem at a time? The coming age is one of even higher speed communication available AT HOME. High enough speed that you couldn't use it very effectively as "just" a terminal connection. You'll have enough bandwidth to make something like SLIP or DNET feasible, allowing you to be doing a terminal session + background file transfers from home. -- <---- David Herron -- The E-Mail guy <---- or: {rutgers,uunet,cbosgd}!ukma!david, david@UKMA.BITNET <---- Windowing... The Amiga has windowing. The Mac has windowing (echoes of <---- Jonathan Livingston Seagull: "Just flying? A mosquito can do that much!").