Portable OS's (was: Re: Do OS's slow down with age?)

[Stacy L. Millions]

In article <2862 at kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, sloane at kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bob Sloane) writes:
> I have been looking for a portable operating system for some time...
>               ...        I mean one operating system that can run on several
> different machines, UNCHANGED.

While, MS-DOS must be portable, it will run on several different Brands
of computers UNCHANGED (5 * :-). Give me a break already, if you make
make any substantial changes in hardware (ie use a different processor
or bus) you are going to have to change the OS.

>                               While unix has been *modified* to run on quite
> a few different pieces of hardware, I am not convinced that it is "portable"
> and that VMS is "non-portable."  What do you consider portable versus non-
> portable?

Being able to modify the OS to run on a new peice of hardware is
what I consider portable. I challenge you to port VMS to run on
an 80286, pull that off and I will beleive the VMS is portable.

-stacy

-- 
"He to whom the early bird runs best learns wisdom and patience!
                          ... I can never remember proverbs" - Charlie Brown
S. L. Millions                                            ..!tmsoft!mcl!stacy