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From: jmunkki@kampi.hut.fi (Juri Munkki)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.misc,comp.os.misc,comp.misc,comp.arch
Subject: Re: The NeXT machine has been announced! (long)
Message-ID: <16562@santra.UUCP>
Date: 20 Oct 88 17:18:46 GMT
References: <360@elan.UUCP> <2070@cloud9.UUCP> <528@fabscal.UUCP> <1152@mmm.UUCP> <5826@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> <3542@phri.UUCP> <34946@clyde.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@santra.UUCP
Reply-To: jmunkki@kampi.UUCP (Juri Munkki)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 38

In article <34946@clyde.ATT.COM> wtr@moss.UUCP (Bill Rankin) writes:
>there are two solutions: (that are realistic)
>
>a) ether-net.  but only if you don't need that disk
>   for swap space.
>b) use a hardrive as a root filesystem.  keep your swap 
>   space here too, to increase speed.
>c) tape drive.

You could also write special boot disk that would not boot unix, but
a program that is capable of copying files from one laserdisk to another.
You could then use most of the 8MB (possibly even 8MB, if you use the
256KB video-RAM) to copy the files.

Of course it might be possible to write a program that stops all other
processes for a while, makes sure that it has all the RAM in the machine
and then enable the user to make the copies.

Remember: Just because a machine comes with Unix as the standard operating
	  system doesn't mean that you can't run anything else on it.

You might even be able to prepare NeXT mach for the removal of the main
storage device in the same way that a Mac handles removing floppies. A
Mac also has to be able to read/write to/from the system disk at any time.

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|     Juri Munkki jmunkki@hut.fi  jmunkki@fingate.bitnet        I Want   Ne   |
|     Helsinki University of Technology Computing Centre        My Own   XT   |
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P.S.	Everyone knows that booting a unix box in order to do something is
	not a good idea. Please do not reply to this article if you don't
	have anything constructive to say. My guess is that NeXT mach knows
	(or will know) how to handle an "ejected" disk.
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|     Juri Munkki jmunkki@hut.fi  jmunkki@fingate.bitnet        I Want   Ne   |
|     Helsinki University of Technology Computing Centre        My Own   XT   |
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