new DOSMerge

[Vernon Schryver]

I've encountered difficulties with DOSMerge (yes, what else is new?).  My
latest problem is that a Logitech Bus mouse panics the kernel.  Thinking
that rumors that VP/ix was done by people who had heard of UNIX before they
started the project (DOSMerge was obviously done by IBM experts), I decided
that VP/ix would solve all of my problems.  Unfortunately, it seems that
VP/ix is a pure DOS-in-a-window sort of thing.  Interactive tells me that I
cannot run INTEL's PLM386 development stuff from a makefile, as I now do
with DOSMerge.  DOSMerge allows a DOS program which does no more than
character stuff to the console and keyboard to talk with UNIX standard
I/O.

Another restriction of VP/ix is that DOS programs can only talk to devices
that have drivers in the UNIX kernel.  DOSMerge was more ambitious and
tried to let the virtual 8086 machine reach out and have its way with the
AT bus.  It almost works, but obvious hassles with UNIX drivers make me
think that it is a idea which cannot be implemented reliably.

Interactive is running a very pleasant sales and pre-sales-support
operation, the 75% credit for Microport makes the price reasonble even if
they do force you to buy X, and good things are said of their SVR3.2, but
VP/ix does not do it for me.  Does someone sell DOSMerge for Interactive
UNIX?  Is there a version of SVR3 with DOSMerge with fixes since Microport
3.0e/1.1?  Is there something other than DOSMerge that would do what I
need, DOS in shell scripts and makefiles?

Before buying Microport 2.2 I tried to talk to Bell Tech.  That experience
and more recent statements by Bell Tech bosses in this forum have made it
unlikely that I will ever deal with Bell Tech in any incarnation.  I have
recently tried to talk to Everex, but they seem like either the old
Microport or Bell Tech--I cannot tell which.

Vernon Schryver
vjs at calcite.uucp    or    ...{sgi,pyramid}!calcite!vjs