thoughts on UNIX and older systems

From: John Ruschmeyer <jruschme_at_exit109.com>
Date: Sat Jan 16 18:45:52 1999

> > Of course, it's a good feeling to even have the option.
> > Because 10 - 12 years ago, what were your UNIX options, if
> > you weren't the government or a university?
> >
> > 1) You could buy expensive hardware that ran a UNIX variant.
> > 2) You bought a workstation from Sun or Apollo - still not cheap.
> > 3) If you were lucky, you got one of the few Cromemcos or
> > Perkin-Elmer desktops, that ran UNIX. But they weren't
> > much less expensive than the Sun, Apollo, etc workstations.
> > (Fortune's desktops were in the workstation price range.)
> > 4) If you were really lucky, you found a good deal on a used
> > PDP from someone with a UNIX license who forgot to wipe the
> > disks or tapes - but then you were illegal.
> > 5) You bought Minix. Minix was cheap, and you got source, but
> > it was really meant to be a teaching tool. It was well done,
> > but extremely limited. (Nevertheless, Tanenbaum's _Operating
> > Systems Design and Implementation_ is still an excellent book.)
> > 6) If you were *really* lucky, you got a good deal on a working
> > workstation.

Three more thoughts...

7) You shell out big bug for XENIX or Microport SVR2 on the AT.

8) You buy one of the "fire sale" AT&T Unix PCs (7300).

9) You "cheat" with a clone envoronment like Wendin's PC/Unix or
   early MKS toolkits.

<<<John>>>
Received on Sat Jan 16 1999 - 18:45:52 GMT