From: rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly)
Organization: The Man With Ten Cats
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 16:57:02 GMT
Reply-To: rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly)

In article <9211165943@umunk.GUN.de> udo@umunk.GUN.de (Udo Munk) writes:
>Rick Kelly (rmk@rmkhome.UUCP) wrote:
>: In article <9211150337.AA12188@PCS.CNU.EDU> "Coherent operating system" <COHERENT@indycms.bitnet> writes:
>[...]
>: >3) a single user mode that can run without ttys (what for with no other users?)
>: 
>: UNIX is a multiuser operating system.  How would you use modems or serial
>: printers?
>
>Every UNIX system has a single user mode, that runs without ttys, for 
>save administration of the system.
>Under COHERENT change the "exit 0" to "exit 1" in /etc/brc and you
>get what you want. But I'm sure you don't want this :-)

This is sort of what I am saying.  I can't understand why anyone would
want reduced functionality.

>: >4) fast response for games (hey, games sell computers!)
>: 
>: Get an Amiga.
>
>Why? There are lot of games which are running fine on a PC under DOS.
>If COHERENT gets an GUI like MGR or X11 it's no problem to write or
>port some games which uses graphics. There are some nice games available
>which runs in text mode using curses. Of course nothing like Wing Commander,
>but also interesting (try to solve all the D&D's:-).
>Also if we get the device driver kit in our hands, it should be possible
>to write a device driver for an soundblaster.

DOS games kick the os out of the way and go right to the hardware.  This
would probably not be a good strategy with UNIX.

There are a lot of games for X11.

>: >5) A better graphics system than X.  X is too big, tries to do to much, and is
>: >   does everything against the rules of a well-done graphics system.  I like
>: >   it OK as far as using it goes, its just that it is too much.  MIT has been
>: >   saying they will make it small, remove redundancy, shink the net stuff,
>: >   and other things for awhile.  Meanwhile it seems to get bigger.  Then,
>: >   Sun makes this Open Windows stuff which slows things down even more.
>: 
>: Dump Motif and right something new.
                  ^^^^^
I wonder where my brain was when I wrote this?

>Or take a look at MGR.

It moght be interesting.

>: >6) A simplification of administration.  File permissions are a real big
>: >   problem for most users.  Perhaps a new file system that would be real
>: >   simple, like DOS but with long filenames and extended attributes.  The
>: >   kernel would still support a standard FS but if you don't need it...
>: 
>: Right.  Turn UNIX into DOSIX.  Bleah!
>
>Administration is _not_ a problem of the filesystem. Sit down and write
>an administration program like SCO's sysadmin shell or like AIX's smit.

In a followup to him I mentioned this.  Most SVR3.2 and SVR4 systems have
a sysadmsh like management script and of course kkonfig for kernel
management.

>: In the Linux and BSD groups, I've seen a lot of new users who want to turn
>: UNIX into MSDOS.  I will fight to keep this from happening.  I have a decade
>: of experience with UNIX, and think it is the best OS that I ever used.  I used
>: to have a PC/XT running MSDOS, and have written diagnostics for dedicated
>: applications running on MSDOS machines to exercise and test commodity hardware
>: in a factory setting.  I am about as interested in using DOS as I would be in
>: programming on punched cards.
>
>If someone writes some user interfaces for UNIX, which makes it easyser
>for DOS users to use the system, fine, do it. As long as everyone can
>select how to use UNIX (at shell level or with an X11 user interface
>or whatever) all is fine. But it's a very poor idea to reduce the
>functionality of UNIX back to DOS.

Unfortunately, it appears that people don't like to change, and it appears
that they don't like to read manuals.

I usually tell people who want multitasking, and don't want to leave the
DOS world completely behind to get OS/2.  It seems to work very well.

And the really phobic will be able to buy SVR4.2, which comes up with
X11 running on the console.  All systems administration functions will
be menu driven.

-- 

Rick Kelly	rmk@rmkhome.UUCP	unixland!rmkhome!rmk	rmk@frog.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent