More on UNIX for the PC/XT

[Tom Haapanen [DCS]]

< Posted for decvax!duke!dr >
			\tom haapanen
			decvax!watmath!watdcsu!haapanen
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I read your interesting summary of UNIX for PCs, etc.  I have been
using PC/IX for some time now and think the summaries left a few
misconceptions.  I'll leave it to you whether it's worth posting
any of this to the net.  

The most important misunderstanding seems to be whether it is multi-user
or not.  I have not read the license carefully, so I am not sure what was
intended, but it does seem to support at least two simultaneous users.
I put two asynch boards on the XT (the maximum).   I use one for another
user and the other for uucp (mail, etc.) via a smartmodem.  I can simply
give a mail command and the system automatically calls our departmental
VAX.  It also transfers files directly via uucp.  It can also handle
calls from a remote machine if the port is configured for incoming rather
than outgoing traffice (modem in auto-answer mode, a getty, etc).  I have
tried it just to check it out, but don't like to have calls coming in at
odd times.  When I expect mail or file transfers from our VAX, I initiate
the connection (uucico -r1 -sSystemname).  Meanwhile, two users can
do work.  I suspect it would support three users, but I have never
tried it.  It also supports connect (causing it to dial the remote
machine and then emulate a terminal).  Unfortunately the terminal
it emulates with the console is very primitive (no line insert or delete;
no character insert or delete.)  However, the user logged in on the
asynch port can just a easily run connect and then has the characteristics
of the terminal he is actually using (an H19 in my case.)

What impressed me most was the ease of installation.  I consider myself
to be knowledgeable about UNIX but not a guru.  I had few problems
and my 11 year old figured out what I couldn't (like by reading the
instructions).

I agree with the negative comments about the screen editor (and it
doesn't work with anything but the console.)  Mainly, I just don't
want to have to learn a new editor.  I want vi, or something else
good that will work on the other UNIX systems I use.
Dietolf Ramm