Small UNIX system pricing vs. MS-DOS

[Dave Tweten]

From: campbell at maynard.UUCP (Larry Campbell)

> Forget about multitasking, mountable file
> systems, etc., let's just see what you'd have to add to MS-DOS to make
> it even close to a typical PC Unix.  I'm using very rough rule-of-thumb
> prices based on retail prices for comparable products:

Fine, and I'll add to the right the prices and utilities I have actually
added to my MS-DOS version 2 system to provide the required FUNCTIONALITY.

> C compiler		$ 300 |	$ 259	Microsoft C 3.0
> lint			  500 |	    0	Option included in Microsoft C
> as			  100 |	  109	MASM 3.0
> vi, ex, ed		  600 |	   75	"ed" portion of PC-WRITE (with sources)
> plot, graph, spline	  200 |	    -	I don't need them
> make			  100 |	    0	included with MASM
> adb			  300 |	    0	SYMDEB, included with MASM
> nroff, tbl, neqn	  500 |	    0	"pr" portion of PC-WRITE (price above)
> spell			  100 |	    -	Waiting for my free PC-WRITE update
> TOTAL			$2600 |	$ 443	MY TOTAL

> All of the utilities I've listed (and lots more) come with VENIX/86, which
> sells for $800.  I think it's a bargain.  (Note that I didn't even list all
> the stuff you just can't get for MS-DOS:  awk, bc, dc, sh, csh, uucp, m4,
> tar, time, lex, yacc...)

Had I wanted to save more money I could have substituted CHASM (public
domain) for MASM, legally got a copy of PC-WRITE from a friend (free), and
bought DeSmet C instead of Microsoft, for a total of $155.  MS-DOS itself,
naturally, came free with my Zenith XT-clone.  Note that I didn't even list
my $45 optimizing FORTRAN compiler (Microsoft, version 3.2) or all the public
domain utilities I use with MS-DOS: touch, dosedit, kermit, whereis, blank2,
older, lu, sq, usq, etc., all FREE and most with sources.

Looks to me like AT&T has largely priced UNIX out of the wider PC market,
when you consider real needs and real prices, rather than looking at the
products of years of creeping utilityism and "list" prices.

> Larry Campbell, UNIX and VENIX fan.

Dave Tweten, UNIX and MS-DOS *user*.