Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!eecae!tank!phd_ivo@gsbacd.uchicago.edu
From: phd_ivo@gsbacd.uchicago.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Various questions...
Message-ID: <2174@tank.uchicago.edu>
Date: 7 Mar 89 23:20:08 GMT
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Organization: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
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>   Harder: Whatta mean there's no printf? (Actually, all of the major 
> programming environments come with shells for lamos who can't use TransSkel.)

I am just about to go out and buy myself a NeXt computer---withou having seen
one yet. I want to use it as a vanilla UNIX for a while, and slowly get familiar
with Next peculiarities. I would therefore appreciate information about:

Software:
	(1) Can I write simple UNIX C programs (i.e. using stdio.h), and run them
	from some sort of command line?
	(2) Is there a good symbolic debugger on Mach? (I am currently
	more familiar with VMS than the various UNIX brands.)
	(3) Has anyone tried using S on it? Is it difficult to install? Costly?
	(4) Has anyone used SAS on it?                 -"-               -"-
	(5) Is there a good Fortran Compiler?          -"-               -"-
	(6) Is there a TeX/LaTeX version for it?       -"-               -"-
		Does it work well with the NeXt printer?
Hardware:
	(1) How reliably is data stored on the OD? I realize that the head
	shouldn't crash, but do sectors go bad (often) ?
	(2) Is the OD usable for normal applications? How does its feel
	compare, say, to a Macintosh 65ms harddisk?
	(3) Has anyone made a 9600baud modem out of the DSP? Can it be
	used to communicate with a USR Courier HST?

Any information would be appreciated.                   

ivo welch	phd_ivo@gsbacd.uchicago.edu