Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!iuvax!inuxc!att!ihlpb!gregg
From: gregg@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Wonderly)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: The NeXT Problem
Message-ID: <8954@ihlpb.ATT.COM>
Date: 19 Oct 88 13:55:58 GMT
References: <3884@encore.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 36

From article <3884@encore.UUCP>, by bzs@xenna (Barry Shein):
> It does seem obvious that the main advantage of the removeable optical
> disk in the University environment is with University purchased
> clusters of machines.
> 
> A student comes in with his/her disk, sits down at a machine (any
> machine on campus), plugs it in and boots. Other software etc can be
> gotten from NFS file servers which would mount on boot. Doesn't really
> matter which NFS server, any one on the local net will do (a little
> PARC-like clearinghouse software to broadcast for an appropriate
> server would take care of that "will the NeXT binaries server please
> mount itself on my /usr/local partition!")

This brings up some interesting prospects.  There are certain security
issues, but these could probably be resolved by accessing a remote
password file so that a student with a NeXT computer couldn't create a
bogus password entry to read others' mail.  A remote password file would
also centralize the creation and maintainence of unique ID's.  The comp
center could then mass produce disks that contained the appropriate
environment to boot and access the remote file(s) and file systems, and
just sell them through the campus bookstore or whatever; very interesting.

If there was no identification on a disk as to who the use was, then
several students could share a disk, if they felt that the cost was
prohibitive.

The only real problem is that people who like to work at home would still
need to have a NeXT machine, because a terminal (or PC with emulator) would
no longer do the trick.  Personally, I think it is better for the students
to work together.  One can learn a lot from setting around and listening to
the guru's talk.

-- 
Gregg Wonderly
AT&T Bell Laboratories                   DOMAIN: gregg@ihlpb.att.com
IH2D217 - (312) 979-2794                 UUCP:   att!ihlpb!gregg