Unix on the PC ("IBM" version)

[Lauren Weinstein]

I have a bit more information about this.  What IBM is actually selling
is a port of Interactive's IS3 for the PC, which is a System III
derived product.  Now, whether or not you get excited about this
depends on how you like products from Interactive Systems Corporation
and whether or not you like IS3, which in many ways is not "standard"
System III.  They are apparently providing their INed editor as the
only standard display editor [this is their product based on the "Rand
Editor" family (various versions known as "re", "ned", "e", etc...)]
Some people like this style of editor, though personally I much prefer
"emacs"-style or "vi"; the latter two are certainly more generally usable
on many machines, especially "emacs" with its support on many non-Unix
systems and full termcap capabilities in most cases.

Performance is something of a question mark.  Since I'm told it is a
pretty straightforward port of VAX IS3, with the necessary changes
for the PC architecture, one can probably assume that it may thrash
around quite a bit on the PC/XT's single disk, and also that the
basic set of program objects probably doesn't leave one hell of a lot 
of free space on that disk.  The kernel will probably be pretty
hefty in size as well.

Clearly, for persons who prefer V7-type systems over System III
(especially on small machines with fairly limited environments)
the Interactive system will probably not be terribly desirable,
even if all else were equal.  There are, of course, numerous other
choices of Unix and Unix-like systems for the PC, some of which 
are presumably faster and smaller than a System III-type port
would probably be.  (As you can probably tell from this message,
I've never been a big fan of System III, but that's a personal
opinion and a whole different topic...)  Of course, it is pretty clear
that porting of V7-oriented applications will generally be easier
to V7-like systems than to System III variants.

Oh yes, while pricing isn't completely firm, it appears likely 
that the single unit price for the Interactive PC/Unix will be
about $900.  This is fairly expensive -- almost twice as much
as some of its competitors currently on the market.  This may
well be another significant factor in the long run.

--Lauren--