Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!algor2!jeffrey From: jeffrey@algor2.UUCP (Jeffrey Kegler) Newsgroups: gnu.gcc Subject: Re: potential market for Gnu OS Message-ID: <453@algor2.UUCP> Date: 10 Jun 89 06:04:51 GMT References: Reply-To: jeffrey@algor2.UUCP (Jeffrey Kegler) Organization: Algorists, Inc., Reston VA Lines: 36 In article hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick) writes: >From what has been said so far, it seems most likely that the Gnu OS >will be Unix-compatible, will be aimed at 32-bit machines, and will >not take any extraordinary pains to minimize memory use. Myself I hope it is heavily targeted to the 386 market. The 386 with an ISA or EISA bus is as close to an open hardware standard as exists. The user has his choice of vendors, and the ability to mix and match hard disks, monitors, boards, CPU's, mice, etc. The competition in terms of hardware prices is cutthroat. And the reusability of the thing for DOS guarantees a good resale price, for those who have to worry about the quality of the thing as an investment. >First, it cuts out most of our students. By and large they can't >afford 32-bit machines, particularly not with enough memory to run >"big" Unix software. If you price competition to the 386 market I think you will find while base prices may compare, as soon as you talk about any add-ons the prices soar, since there is no competition. A good UNIX box is still beyond a student budget, agreed, but I think best hope lies with the 386. It is already within the budget of a starving consultant like myself. And while there may be good reasons for bringing the GNU OS to a VAX, affordability cannot be one of them. This is not exactly an unbiased opinion. I want to run the GNU OS as soon as it comes out, and I own a 386 with a number of bells and whistles, which runs UNIX. If the first ports of the GNU OS do not include 386's, I am frozen out. More important, however, a 386 port would put the GNU OS into a lot of hands very quickly. -- Jeffrey Kegler, President, Algorists, jeffrey@algor2.UU.NET or uunet!algor2!jeffrey 1762 Wainwright DR, Reston VA 22090