From: ftit@campine.engin.umich.edu (Sergej Roytman)
Subject: Not in FAQ
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 05:02:54 EST
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor
Originator: ftit@campine.engin.umich.edu


Hi.  I hope to get my bachelor's in computer engineering within the year
and leave college for a job in the Real World.  I think that a Unix
machine of some sort would be a Good Thing for me; I could log into my
work account from home when necessary and have a real Unix system to
play around with and keep sharp as I gather bucks for my master's
degree.  [34]86 are out -- they cost megabucks (well, kilobucks anyway)
even if I download a public-domain Unix and besides, they're Intel-
based.  Prejudice.

I was very interested to hear about the ATT Unix PC.  It seems to be
everything I'll need: a compact Unix machine with a Motorola CPU (must
learn Motorola -- I hear good things about the instruction set) and a
real-live operating system, unlike the Minix that is nominally available
for my (ancient!) IBM PC.  I subscribed to this newsgroup and read the
FAQ, but I still have several questions for you Unix PC types about your
machines.

 1.  What are we talking about, anyway?  You speak of hump-backed and
     non-hump-backed cases for different disk drives, but what does the
     thing look like?  Do I need extra floor space or desk space for the
     card cage?  Does this thing drain huge amounts of power?  Does it
     run all the time as the Unix boxen at U of M do or does one power
     it down occasionally?  Also, what does the standard machine have --
     mouse?  dumb or smart terminal? printer interface and driver?  Is
     it runnable in theory with a reasonable setup, or does it require
     Hardware that No-one Mentions like 9-track tape drives and washing-
     machine cartridge disks to make it more than a toy?
 2.  Many of the postings here sound pretty advanced in a hardware way.
     I'm currently working on getting an Apple ][+ back in working
     order, but am not good for anything much more complicated --
     software weenie here.  Is this thing terribly difficult to
     maintain?  What sorts of manuals are available?  What does sending
     a machine to the repair place mentioned in the FAQ cost?  What does
     doing it oneself entail -- wire wrapping? soldering? CMOS VLSI
     chips surface-mounted directly to boards with no way of replacing
     a defective one?
 3.  I hear of a DOS 73 card which -- what?  Is it something like an '86
     with its own memory and access to system I/O which enables the 3b1
     to run PC software, or is it something more primitive?
 4.  The builtin modem is 1200 baud.  The FAQ mentions doing something
     wizardly (well, not too wizardly, but still more compliceted than
     simply plugging a card into my 8088 IBM klunker) to get it up to
     2400.  Are there drivers and serial cards that enable one to use
     faster external modems?
 5.  How easy is it to expand the 3b1?  How many free slots on the
     backplane (motherboard?) are there and what sorts of output are
     available?
 6.  How much maintenance does a Unix system need, anyway?  I almost
     have a degree in CE, but all the Unix boxen I've used are
     maintained by the University; I've gone root on Minix, but that may
     not be quite enough experience for keeping a true Unix machine
     happy :-).  The fact that the 3b1 is no longer supported by AT&T
     may make it harder to keep alive.
 7.  How much software is out there for the 3b1?  I saw the lists at the
     OSU FTP site but don't know if it's the result of many years' work
     by a couple of programmers, or if new programs are written on a
     semi-regular basis.
 8.  On a related topic, what's the latest Unix available for the 3b1?
     Is there any advantage to keeping an older version -- like SVR4
     tends to scribble the hard drive every full moon?
 9.  I'm a student and hence, by definition, poor.  What would a basic
     system -- say, CPU, terminal, whatever is needed to make a 9600
     baud modem go in it, external 3.5" disk drive or cheap tape drive
     for backups, maybe a DOS card -- cost?  Where can a 3b1 be
     obtained?  If I get it from the net, what should I know?  It would
     be interesting if I closed a deal for $400, say, and found out that
     I have to hire a piano moving company from Hawaii to Michigan just
     to get the beast home!
10.  Anything else you could be generous enough to share with me?

I apologise for the length of this post, but the 3b1 seems like a very
interesting system and a possibility for getting a Unix box at home.  It
looks like a "live" computer too, unlike say, a PDP-8 which, though
fascinating-sounding, seems to require a raised floor and a staff of DEC
maintenance personnel, not to mention a large amount of time and effort
on the part of the owner, to run.

Thanks in advance for any information.

--
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|  ftit@engin.umich.edu   |   "... a stainless steel rat in the       |
|    (Sergej Roytman)     |  ferroconcrete wainscoting of Internet"   |
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