Advice Needed: 286 UNIX and X window

[Eric Berggren]

cyang%peruvian.utah.edu at cs.utah.edu (Cheng Yang) writes:


>Hi, everybody!  I have a 20 MHz 286 machine with a 287, 4 MB RAM, a 100 M hard
>drive and a 1024x728 monitor.  I am now considering to run UNIX and X
>window on that. ( I know it will be slow since the machine only runs 2.5 MIPS)

  Nice setup, however, what you ask is virtually impossible. There are UNIX
flavors available for the 286, but X-Windows is definately a 32-bit beast.

>The reason I am trying to run UNIX and X window is because I can learn more
>about UNIX operation working in kernel mode.  ( I can't do much while I am 
>not a super user using BSD in the university.)  Speed is not needed to me and
>price is very important.  (Students are so poor, everyone knows)  Which UNIX
>and X are best  for 286 machine?  How is the $99 Coherent?  It claims it's 
>better than Xenix.  Is it true?  Where to get UNIX source/binary files 
>(ftp site)?

  Well, (suppose you now have a 386), X-Windows under Coherent is impossible,
because it only allows 64k executables (I am told, do not quote), I have had
little success with large files and Xenix, however, they do have their version
of X called OpenDesktop (but lotsa $$).
  To date, there is no complete version of UNIX sources on the net. There is
some BSD stuff floating around, but it's been stripped of everything even
thought of by an AT&T son-of-a.. I mean person. There is in development a
386 BSD project soon to be "released." I do not know whether it will be a
complete package (as it is based on 4.3 with AT&T stuff). BSD 4.4 supposedly
will be AT&T free and will be released to the public (I am told, do not quote),
and a 386 version of this as well...

  Summary, you will need at least a 386 to run anything good. I can't really
recommend any 386 UNIX systems (as I am still trucking around with a 286, but
will soon upgrade and wait for the 386BSD system) You will need somthing that
is similar to BSD in order to use get mit X running. Anyway, hope this helps.

  Have phun!

-e.b.

> 
>Any suggestions are welcome!  

>Thanks a lot for your time in advance.


>*****************************************************************************
>*	Ho capito, signor,si!........                                       *
>*                                                                           *
>*Cheng Yang				Home Address:                       *
>*Department of Computer Science		808 East, 300 South, #3             *
>*University of Utah			Salt Lake City, UT 84102            *
>*E-Mail Address:cyang at peruvian.utah.edu	Tel: 801-322-1918                   *
>*****************************************************************************
==============================================================================
  Eric Berggren             |         "Life is a Turing Test;
  Computer Science/Eng.     |           We're all automatons!"
  berggren at eecs.cs.pdx.edu  |              - (click, whir, buzz, chirp)