What is an acceptable O/S for a 286? (Was: Re: microport memory)

[Steve Dyer]

In article <96 at dcs.UUCP>, wnp at dcs.UUCP (Wolf N. Paul) writes:
> In article <May.25.20.30.23.1988.15132 at aramis.rutgers.edu> hedrick at aramis.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick) writes:
>  >However I am reluctant to recommend SV/AT in any configuration, lest I
>  >mislead people into believing that I endorse it.
>  >(My problems are not with Microport specifically, by the way, but with
>  >System V.)
> 
> Well -- would you care to tell us what **IS** an acceptable OS for a personal
> computer?

I would suggest to Chuck Hedrick that having a flat 32-bit address space with
virtual memory instead of being saddled with a 286 makes a lot more difference
in one's attitude towards System V than you'd expect.  I've used SCO XENIX on
a 286, and both SCO XENIX and Bell Tech's UNIX 5.3.0 on a 386, and the
difference between the 286 and the 386 in terms of what can be ported easily
(i.e., little more than being recompiled) is enormous.

I find that the Sys V/BSD dichotomy is getting a little unconvincing.
I'm a 4.3BSD fan, but my home machine doesn't run it, and probably won't
ever (unless I finally save for that Sun 386i).  I find SCO XENIX 386
a perfectly fine environment, and with GNU Emacs and MH/sendmail/smail ported,
along with its multiple login screens accessible via ALT-Fn, it's a creditable
workstation surrogate.  My experience with Bell Tech UNIX 386 5.3.0 is more
recent, but it all seems to work, and with their ethernet card and Streamlined
Networks TCP/IP code, it interoperates with VS2000s and RT/PCs pretty well
on a campus network (missing right now are BIND and any SMTP server, but
that is pretty minor, the latter only awaiting some spare time on my part.
I can live with a host table right now [millions do].)

I am given to wonder what the nature of Chuck's objections are.  I know
it isn't BSD, but I've found that just to be a matter of accustomization
and customization.  You can't get a BSD box yet for the same price as a
386 box running XENIX 386, Bell Tech UNIX or Microport.

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer at harvard.harvard.edu
dyer at spdcc.COM aka {ihnp4,harvard,husc6,linus,ima,bbn,m2c}!spdcc!dyer