From: udo@umunk.GUN.de (Udo Munk)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Distribution: world
Subject: Re: Priorities for Coherent 4.0 development features
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Organization: Udo Munk's private BBS
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 22:24:30 GMT

, Shannon Hendrix (shendrix@PCS.CNU.EDU) wrote:
: 
: 	Well, people are saying that we should expect all that neato stuff
: for Coherent because it only cost $100.  Hmmmmm...  I expect, and get, all
: of that from Linux and it is free...  Fact is, with Linux and some others,

Linux is not for free, until someone copys it onto disks and gives them away
for no fee. You'll have to pay (or let others pay:-) the telecommunication
companys to get it. Or you may get it from a CD or maybe from a tape,
which also costs ~$100. The same is with 386bsd, I can buy tapes here,
somewhat expensiver then COHERENT, but the donation for B. Jorlitz
is included.

: you don't need any kind of device driver kit to write drivers and stuff
: for it.  Plus, no one hides information about Linux as MWC seems to do

Not fully true. You can't write device drivers with the basic binary
distribution as far as I know. You need a lot of sources from the
kernel stuff, to write a device driver and link it into the kernel.

: about the internals of Coherent.  No better way to alienate developers
: than to limit information about your OS.  Sucessful OS's have almost always
: had lots of detailed information available to programmers.  If the device

The COHERENT manual gives me all the information I need, to write
programs. If I have a problem I could ask MWC or other user here.
I'm not very interested on how the cache algorithm of COHERENT works and
things like that. If one wants to learn how to implement an OS one
should get Linux, Minix or 386bsd, where all sources are available.

: driver kit for Coh 4.x.x had been release (for free) with Coh this past
: summer Coherent might have really taken off.  As it was, MWC shipped us
: an incomplete kernel, a lot of 16-bit binaries, bugs, missing functions,
: and no device driver kit.  I'm not saying it was malicious or anything but

What is an complete kernel, System V.4? That's true, there shouldn't be
limited 16-bit binaries with COHERENT 4.0. Bugs are ok, there is no
bug free OS of this size out there. All bugs which are found should be
mailed to MWC, so that they get a chance to fix them in the next update.
Missing functions aren't a problem. Sit down and write them, or borrow
them from Linux or 386bsd :-) I hope we'll get the driver kit soon
(not free, people working at MWC also wants to live).

: it has hurt them for sure.  They have a nice product which will sell itself.
: They just need to advertise it more, provide *VERY* detailed and generous
: information about it, and get that device driver kit out.  Heavy duty

I aggree whit that.

: courting of universities and companies would help too.  Copies to students
: and professors with device driver kit and some development stuff for around
: half price would help too.  If a student can get Linux (which is almost
: good enought to give to a newbie now, I have) for free with great compilers,
: X11R5, networking, etc. or Coherent with none of that for $100 what do you
: think he/she will do?  Plus, MWC would be buying votes later on when that

Yes, his first try is Linux. But he didn't get it for free, someone
has to pay for that. Then what about documentation? After he gets Linux
running he has to buy some books about UNIX, I guess for ~$100 :-)
I'm not familar with Linux, but are books about UNIX usefull for Linux?
There must be differences between Linux and let's say System V, or Linux
wouldn't be free software.

: student gets a job and his boss says "What OS do you recommend?"  If MWC
: gives a little when he is a student, he might be more inclined to use it
: at work.  Apple is doing this now (although they are still too dang much...)
: and UNIX owes its rising popularity to the fact that students used it for
: free in college and now work in influential positions throughout
: corporate america.  IBM and Msoft would like to kill UNIX but I wonder if
: they can...

Come on, we are talking about an $100 OS, not about $x000. I think also
the students are able to pay that. I guess one also have to pay this
price to get Linux or 386bsd at least.
--
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